ApniCommunity June 29, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Video Sharing , add a commentA reader pointed me to ApniCommunity and I half-expected it to be a content aggregator like Bollyclips and Muft.TV. I found it to be a bit more organized than that. As the name suggests, it’s primarily a discussion board for the online Indian community.
It does have videos, but mostly movie promos and concert shows that are hosted on YouTube etc. Other than that it has bunch of community features like forums, friends, etc. The navigation layout is pretty similar to Muft.TV (maybe they use the same content management system in the background). Again, no idea about the business model except advertisements.
I prefer my useless media content on the rocks, no need for discussion threads or forums. If you like to indulge in supplementary gossip and make online friends along the way, try ApniCommunity out and let me know your experience.
Muft.TV June 29, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Video Sharing , 6commentsMuft.TV is another one of the almost ubiquitous ‘content-aggregator’ sites. They dont actually host any of the content, just simply point to it. Think of it as a media library, with the actual content being stored on popular sites like YouTube and DailyMotion.
Muft.TV has a better interface than others, although it still has too much navigation going on for me. Besides Bollywood, you can find tamil, telugu, malyalam, kannada, punjabi, marathi and bengali stuff here. There are some interesting categories like “Deleted Scenes” (which doesnt have anything yet), “Telly Videos” (links to episodes of sitcoms), “Shows & Concerts” (in case you missed Femina Miss India 2007 and likes) and “Music Videos”. They also have a page that lists a handful of online desi radio stations.
Anyway, it’s free
, much like MeTube and Bollyclips. I still cant figure out how these sites are paying the bills for bandwidth utilization with meager ads sprinkled here and there. If you are interested in more Indian media streaming sites, look here.
MediAssistIndia June 28, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Healthcare , add a commentThird party administrators (TPA’s) are financial transaction administrators that handle the processing and paperwork for retirement and/or insurances plans.
I was still speculating over the rise of health insurance in India, when I found out about MediAssist. They are a health insurance focused TPA operational in India. MediAssist provides ‘cashless hospitalization’ and facilitate reimbursement claims process both ways (for insurer and insured). A partnership venture of Nadathur Holdings and Reliance Health Ventures, MediAssist services 15 insurance companies with it’s 21 branches.
Damn. I thought it was early market for health insurance by itself, and didn’t even think of TPA’s arriving at the scene. Anyways, I’m still sticking to my theory that the health insurance market is very embryonic and the money being spent is just to have a foot-in-the-door when market arrives. In this article with ExpressHealth, MediAssist COO talks about using DRG’s going forward. I’m not sure if using a US-based classification system would work for India, let alone the fact that it’s not the most perfect system in itself. Again, it all points to the brash investment in health insurance and neglecting the actual problems that plague healthcare in India.
PlanetVU June 28, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Media Streaming , 3commentsPlanetvu is more than a television content streaming site. They have a proprietary IPTV platform technology that they developed with backing from Pinnacle Capital, a VC firm based in Canada.
They do broadcast Indian channels, but the selection is very, very limited. It’s a bunch of ZeeTV channels,
$8.99 for individual channel, and $14.99 for packages like Zee Punjabi, Zee Marathi. The compete.com data is rough but shows only about 1,200 visitors per month. I’m not sure about the quality of video since there are no freebies offered (there is a 2 week ‘risk-free’ trial, though).
In conclusion, I don’t think it’s worth a try in the current state. Maybe when they expand their channel offerings significantly, I’ll give them another shot.
JumpTV June 28, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Media Streaming , add a commentJumpTV or Jump.TV is probably the biggest online media streaming site I’ll mention on eIndia. That’s because they have an international focus when it comes to broadcasting television over internet and are backed by big names from Lionsgate Entertainment, Sony Pictures and others. They offer nearly 300 channels from 75+ countries including India, and get about 200,000 visitors per month.
Before you get all worked up, know that the Indian channel lineup is limited to 17 or so channels. Only six are available to watch for free (India TV, People TV, Punjab Today, S1 News, Tara Music and Tara Newz). Rest are in the range of $9-$12 per month subscription, and include some worthwhile channels like ASC Flix and Sahara Filmy. That being said, the streaming quality looks good and is stable. There are added niceties like channel guides, package deals, pay-per-view (sports events mostly) and community features (forums, blog etc).
If you want to pay money to watch (limited) desi television, I’ll recommend this site. It’s much more professional and reliable than other mom-and-pop startups (for example, read the negative experiences people had with Streambox.TV here ).
Kayastha2Kayastha June 28, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Matrimony , 4commentsAnother example of how we Indians are quick to utilize any media for niche, indigenous use. Kayastha2Kayastha is yet another specialized matrimonial site. They have several URLs directing to the same site- Kayastha2Kayastha.org, Kayastha2Kayastha.com and Kayastha.in.
Simplistic (borderline ugly), practical interface about finding a Kayastha bride or groom. I stopped caring about castes when the reservation quotas were announced, so had to look up wikipedia for insight into what makes a Kayastha. You can read about it here, it’s pretty detailed (geez).
Just like any other Indian matrimonial portal, they call themselves as “No.1″ Kaystha Matrimonials Portal. I’m sure the competition was tough for that title. I also find it interesting that the ‘Education’ search field has an option of ‘Doesn’t matter’ 
Seems counterintuitive that you’d not care for education in this time and age, but maybe I’m missing the point.. maybe it’s all about finding a Kayastha, nothing else.
Allright, you probably know by now that I’m not a fan of caste-system and elitist matrimonial sites. So I think I’ll stop here and let the hate-comments roll in.
Update: Kayastha.org is another, unrelated site promoting kayastha community. They have thier own matrimonial section, in case someone hasn’t had their fill from above.
Another Update: Ravi pointed out yet another matrimonial site for the Kayastha community- MarryAKayastha. Geez…
IndiaProperties June 27, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Real Estate , add a commentInitially I was going to file IndiaProperties in the ‘Unusable Real-Estate Sites‘ list, but had second thoughts.
Although it has flashing/scrolling graphics, just like its unusable peers (see my older post about ‘Hallmarks of an average Indian website‘), the site is seems more established than others. The compete.com data is rough but still shows about 1,000 visitors per month.
It’s a property listing service, so business model is overall about the sellers paying for their time-bound posting, and buyers browsing for free. The content seems to be existing (to say the least).I could find at least one listing for Ajmer, Glubarga and Almora each (that amounts to something, right? ).
Anyway. It’s another startup focusing on a MLS type service for India’s property market. They have a good domain name and a decent site, so I’d say they have a better chance of actually becoming a viable service long-term.
Update (Oct 2007): Seems like IndiaProperties is gaining some ground. They recently announced a tie-up with Hirco, an arm of the Niranjan Hiranandani group, to undertake online direct marketing of properties in Chennai.
Soundbuzz June 27, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Technology , add a commentSOUNDBUZZ is a prominent online music retailer for Asian market that does more than just music download. Since their inception around 2000, they have grown into a mobile+online content provider offering back-end technology, digital rights clearances, and acquisition of licenses from music publishers and recording companies. They serve music tracks, videos, ringtones for markets in India, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and 12 other countries.
Self-reported data states more than 200,000 online music track downloads, and 3 million mobile content downloads. The site interface does a decent job of cramming a lot of stuff in there. I checked some prices out- Indian songs are in the range of Rs.12 each, foreign songs are about Rs.19.99. English albums are Rs.200 (~$5) and Indian albums range from Rs.99-120. Just so you know, the content is windows DRM protected, and can be bundled with Creative’s mp3 players.
Interestingly enough, mobiles are increasingly being used to enjoy mp3 tracks in India. I guess the DRM-free wave hasn’t reached India yet, but till then, Soundbuzz sure has the upper hand in the Asian online/mobile music retail business.
IndiaeNews June 9, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : News , 1 comment so farI stumbled onto the IndiaeNews website while surfing. It’s a Indian news aggregator, mostly. But the layout is much more…er.. disciplined than other news websites that aren’t owned by major newspapers. So I thought I’ll give them a mention. I get my news in email via google alerts, so I haven’t been using this site at all, personally.
I’m still trying to find a webpage that has a comprehensive list of all online Indian news sites… Let me know if anyone knows a good one.
ManthanAward.org June 9, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , add a commentDigital Empowerment Foundation(DEF) is a non-profit organization based out of Delhi since late 2002. It’s aim is to use ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) to do social good and empower the needs of people in areas like agriculture, health, education etc.
ManthanAward is DEF’s initiative to provide recognition for organizations demonstrating best practices in digital media and creativity. The list of 2006 winners would give you an idea of profile that is rewarded.. like Bhojpuria.com, a site promoting language and community of Bhojpuri people. It’s a good collection of indigenous Indian websites that are hardly publicized otherwise. I’ll probably start reviewing them one by one in the future.