26thJanuary September 26, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Video Sharing , 4comments26thJanuary is another video sharing site for Indians online. It started somewhere in July 2007, according to techtalk blog. Although it manages to steer away from adult content submissions for the most part, there are bunch of family-unfriendly videos here and there. Overall, it has decent censorship and mostly Indian content when compared with other similar sites. With nobody making money enough to break even through advertising model, I’m wondering how such sites keep paying the bandwidth bill.
LayFile September 19, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Media Streaming, Video Sharing , add a commentAllright, I’m going to dive into the Indian youtube-clones reviews with LayFile. LayFile is a startup that went live sometime in April 2007.
Layfile seems to have a lot of content- but most of it is adult stuff. I didn’t waste my time clicking through the navigation to confirm their share of mainstream content though. The site seems to be overwhlemed by porn, although there is a feeble attempt to categorize it under “Adult videos” navigation link. The fact that LayFile decided to have a “Recently Viewed Videos” on the homepage accentuates the adult theme- every one of the recently-viewed is an adult video clip. Layfile may have started as a generic video-sharing service, but in a short span 5 months, is no more than a database of Indian porn.
Their LiveTV section seems to have plenty of streaming Indian cable channels (free), so that may be worth a look. There is no way to avoid the adult images on homepage though, so if you have kids in the house, it’s best to block it entirely.
eHealthOpinion September 13, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Healthcare, Technology , add a commenteHealthOpinion is an upcoming Healthcare IT startup by Ahmedabad-based MediSoft Telemedicine Pvt. Ltd. Launched on 24th July 2007, eHealthopinion aims to provide a platform for patients and doctors to connect remotely.
Basic idea is that patients (along with referring doctor) can initiate an online ‘case’ that can then be taken up by one of the registered ‘expert’ physicians. The service is free for the patient (and referring doctor) to submit the case, and free for the expert doctor to have a basic response functionality. The business model seems to be around a paid ‘premium’ membership for expert doctors, not sure if eHealthOpinion also takes a cut of the fee charged by expert doctor per case.
I think eHealthOpinion is a great networking tool for doctors- it a viable alternative for building professional relationships by directing referral traffic from a generalist to a specialist physician. It’s also an avenue for distressed patients to get virtual second-opinions, and can play a significant role as our healthcare economy moves online.
Having said that, the scope of clinical conditions that can be assessed just on the basis of written text is limited. Telemedicine is a spectrum of solutions- it can range from a simple phonecall/email to remote-monitoring (like ideatel or visicu) or domain solutions like PACS and robotic surgery. Even telepathology and teledermatology are on the horizon. Every one of these involves a wide array of technologies to solve clinical conditions and/or help care providers. Another issue with any web 2.0 solution is that the audience is fickle, they may start using the site in droves, but leave just as quickly when the initial enthusiasm dies. eHealthOpinion has impressive numbers for a fresh startup- 175 patients, 109 doctors and 27 hospitals from 20 countries had registered as this post goes online (official stats from the founder via email on 13th September 2007).
The website is quite professionally done with a neat design. Since it focuses on a relatively unconventional concept (of online consultations), it’d have been prudent to include a “How it works” section on homepage. Although the concept becomes clear once you click on the FAQ pages (buried in the menu), it’s still a good idea to allay the newcomers anxiety right away.
MediSoft has been operational since 2001, and besides eHealthOpinion, they have another product called ‘Tele Doctor 2.0‘ which is a desktop-based telemedicine system. Company statistics show that it has been installed in 105 locations in five countries. It’s heartening to see Indian entrepreneurs taking tangible steps in defining this upcoming market already.
YosCare.in September 7, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Healthcare, Technology , 1 comment so farYosCare is the product website for Yos Technologies, a Bangalore-based healthcare IT startup. The company seems to have formally come together in May 2007 when it secured its first round of funding- $1.25 million. Among its angel investors is the notable Rajesh Jain who founded IndiaWorld in 1995 and sold it to Sify in 1999 for $115 million.
Back to YosCare, though. It’s projected as a ‘e-Health Gateway’ that connects providers, patients, hospitals, Labs, Pharmacies and other healthcare players together. A provider to be able to access medical record in an emergency, or to remind the patient of an appointment are few of the much-needed improvements that YosCare can provide to Indian healthcare. But, as usual, I’m going to play the devil’s advocate more than the optimist.
In my view, having foreigners in the website graphics (even though its an India-focused company) is least of YosCare problems. YosCare has a lofty goal overall- the IT infrastructure and basic applications need to be pervasive enough in Indian healthcare economy for such product to be commercially viable. Although YosCare is sticking to international standards like HL7 , it doesn’t really matter If most pharmacies/labs/hospitals the patient goes to don’t have IT systems (and in the rare chance they do, it’s not necessarily HL7 compliant). I know its a chicken-and-egg situation, but that’s the Achilles heel- the overall penetration of IT as such is low for YosCare to leverage it effectively for a “gateway”. That argument aside, a remote-hosted model needs a minimum level of connectivity. What happens when the connection is down?
Second issue is around the consumer-controlled Personal Health Record. How many of the inundating patient population today have the initiative or (more importantly) the means to access/maintain/own their ‘personal’ health records? Insignificant fraction. That’s not because Indians don’t value their personal health info, but because they don’t have an incentive for doing so. Even in paperwork-heavy US healthcare, PHR’s haven’t taken off because most consumers (who have acute health issues) don’t see the value for it. Mobile-based health info is also an exaggerated concept today- besides an appointment reminder and few other logistical items, what else can you send in an SMS? and how secure is that mode for personal information?
Anyways, I do applaud YosCare on being one of the pioneers in a market plagued with difficulties (they have a nice ‘beta’ sign overlay on the logo). They seem to have a competent team and decent funding, I hope all my dismaying rant about the market conditions is proved wrong by them.
Mutiny.in September 4, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Faves, News , add a commentThe Great Indian Mutiny blog is a collection of thoughts and opinions of a group of independent writers and bloggers. They discuss news, experiences and ideas in an open and candid way, and that’s what sets them apart.
Mutiny.in was started by Jacob Joseph in mid-2004 and has since shown remarkable consistency in keeping a well-coordinated, entertaining and thought-provoking stream of blogposts.
DU.ac.in September 4, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Governmental , 5commentsThis is Delhi University’s official website. No particular reason why I decided to write about it, except that it reminds of transforming potential of the net. Getting to DU’s admission forms and exam results was a traumatic in-person experience a few years ago, but I think it’s become bit much more convenient now that parts of it are virtual. The ‘Phone Directory’ feature takes convenience to the next level, by bringing up people’s cellphone numbers and home addresses (no point in keeping that information private, right??).
With the exception of annoying flashing/scrolling signs here and there, the site has a simplistic look. Some nascent stuff like an eLearning Portal and ebooks section are present too.
Blogswara.in September 4, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Non-Profit , add a commentBlogswara is an online initiative by Indian artists, aimed at creating music collaboratively over the net. People with different talents (lyrics, singing, recording, etc.) come together in a virtual setting to create albums and compositions in hindi, tamil and malayalam. Listeners can download the music for free
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Since I haven’t listened to the albums yet, I don’t feel qualified to comment on the music. But the sheer ingenuity of the concept forced me to write about it. I think Blogswara is an excellent (albeit tad unusual) example of how a population can internalize technology as an infrastructure for it’s inherent talent. Passionate artists on Blogswara have creates three albums since May 2006, all working in synergy from different parts of the world.
In future, look out for such primordial soup of passion, collaboration and technology to spawn the next generation of artists and albums.
Indibloggies September 4, 2007
Posted by Pallav Sharda in : Faves, Non-Profit, Organizations , add a commentIndibloggies are the unofficial Indian version of the ‘bloggies‘ awards that started around 2001. The intent of rewarding and recognizing the best of blogs remains common to both.
Indibloggies started as a parody on bloggies by one guy in 2003, and grew from formal ‘jury’ in 2004 to official sponsors in 2005. Now they are a platform for showcasing the best of Indian blogs. The procedure for selection isn’t set in stone… its a mix of rating score by online voting and the interesting lineup of jurors. Anybody can submit nominations.
Like the redundancy of everything else in the internet-world, there are multiple of such ‘awards’ and organizations existing today. In case you are interested, valleywag has an interesting comparison of them here.