Thursday, July 20, 2006

Pew survey on bloggers

PRWeek reports

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report this week that found more than half of bloggers had never been published in another medium and 37 per cent publish blogs to relate their ‘life and experiences’.

Among those that focus on current events, 7 per cent of bloggers focus on entertainment, 6 per cent on sports, 5 per cent on news or business, and 4 per cent on technology. More than half of bloggers, according the survey, are under 30 years old.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

More interactive home pages

India’s Internet user-base is growing at a rapid clip. With 35 million users, India is the fourth largest in Net usage – the first three being the US (205 million), China (111 million) and Japan (86 million).

Though no authentic data is available, there seems to be a sea change in the needs of Net users in recent times. The accent is now on interactivity.

Mirroring the change are initiatives of top sites likes rediff.com and Yahoo!

Last month rediff.com overhauled its home page. This month it is the turn of Yahoo! to carry out the ‘most significant’ redesign of the site since its launch in 1994.

“Today’s Internet users are passionate about expressing themselves and contributing to the online conversation that is occurring every day among the estimated 500 million users of Yahoo! branded Web properties around the world,” Cammie Dunaway, Chief Marketing Officer, Yahoo! Inc, has told exchange4media. “We encourage these talented people to join us in celebrating the new Yahoo! home page with their own personal videos.”

In a media interview earlier this month, George Zacharias, Managing Director, Yahoo! India, said, "By using innovative technology, we were able to redefine what a home page could and should be. With an increased focus on search, content and community, we have built a home page that adds value and excitement for our users and advertisers."

Zacharias was earlier President and Chief Operating Officer of Sify.
Sify too is in the news. Raju Vegesna, Chairman, Sify, has taken over as the company’s Managing Director & CEO. R Ramaraj resigned from the posts of MD & CEO on Tuesday.

With these changes at the top, Sify might not lag behind in the revamp race, considering the rapid changes in the Net-user profile.

Explaining the reasons for the changes on the homepage and the inside pages, Ajit Balakrishnan, Founder and CEO, rediff.com, has said, “The Internet is first, and foremost, about helping you connect with the world. The joy of being online is all about the interesting people you encounter and the opportunity to exchange views through the various tools we provide: Blogs (ILand), Social Networking (Connexions), Instant Messaging (Bol), Matchmaking (Matchmaker). We have gathered all these community services together under 'Featured Users' and hope this will make it easier for you to participate in our community.”

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Digital communications, PR and blasts

On Monday evening, I received an unusual SMS urging me to observer one-minute silence on July 18 evening.

It is the first time that I am getting an SMS from any Indian Government. It is perhaps the first time any Indian Government is being so proactive….

How times are changing!

It only proves one thing beyond doubt: that the digital media (or call it New Media or digital communications) is spreading faster than anyone can imagine. This is what this blog has been repeatedly saying.

It is a major milestone in reaching out to stakeholders, prompting the all-important question: Is the Government machinery revisiting its public relations efforts?

Monday, July 17, 2006

Hill & Knowlton may win major Dubai PR deal

Ted McKenna reports in PRWeek:

Hill & Knowlton is expected to sign a one-year, $3 million contract from the Dubai government to promote the country as a welcoming, tax-free place to do business, a reliable global trading partner, and a tourist destination.