Makkad G's 10101

Makkad G's 10101 | 03.01 | Jan 1-15, 2009

2009-01-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.24 | Dec 16-31, 2008

2008-12-31T00:53:00.000-08:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.23 | Dec 1-15, 2008

2008-12-15T00:52:00.000-08:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.22 | Nov 16-30, 2008

2008-11-30T20:37:00.000-08:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.21 | Nov 1-15, 2008

2008-11-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.20 | Oct 16-31, 2008

2008-10-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.19 | Oct 1-15, 2008

2008-10-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.18 | Sept 16-30, 2008

2008-09-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.18

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for Sept 16–30, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

World Wide Web Foundation to certify if a website is trustworthy

Internet creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee has helped created World Wide Web Foundation that will vet websites, and certify whether they have been found to be trustworthy and a reliable source of information.

Google India's internet safety campaign 'Be NetSmart' moves to Delhi

Google India, in association with IAMAI, the government and local law enforcement authorities, has launched the second leg of its nationwide internet safety campaign, Be NetSmart, which was first introduced in Mumbai on 18th February 2008 and focused on school children in sixth standard and above.

Pressmart says NO to acquisition move by Google

Hyderabad-based Pressmart Media , which owns patented technology for digitizing newspapers and making them searchable on internet while preserving the same-as-in-print feel, has turned down an acquisition bid by Google. The internet search giant is already working on an initiative to make old newspapers accessible and searchable online.

Yahoo India launches brand campaign to promote its search engine

Yahoo India has launched a brand campaign to promote its search engine, which according to the company would now be more engaging and relevant to the users. The brand campaign is expected to run on leading TV channels for about a month. The company also plans to launch similar campaigns on other mediums including internet and radio.

Google allocates $10 million fund to support ideas that could improve people`s lives

As part of its tenth birthday celebration, Google has launched Project 10^100 (pronounced Project 10 to the 100th), under which the company has invited users to send exciting ideas for ways to improve people`s lives. Google has also committed $10 million fund to turn up to five of the best ideas into reality. The last date for submitting ideas to Google is 20th October 2008.

Yahoo testing its new home page with users in US, UK, France, India

Yahoo has begun testing a new home page with randomly selected users in US, UK, France and India who will give feedback to the company about the different ways that information and applications can be presented to regular users.

HTC to launch Google Android-powered phone in India by Dec 2008

Taiwan-based cellphone major HTC (High Tech Computer) is planning to launch Google Android-powered phone in India by the end of December 2008. HTC's G1 (the Google phone model) is a 3G phone and is specially designed to offer high-speed internet surfing. It has a touch-screen, computer-like keyboard, GPS, WiFi and a 3 megapixel camera.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

Guruji.com launches Image Search

Internet search company Guruji.com has launched image search feature at Guruji.com/Image Guruji.com also allows users to explore online images in six categories -- Actors, Actresses , Bikes/Cars, Nature, Sports and Places to Visit.

360 Sports Media launches cricket site Cricket360.com

360 Sports Media Group has launched Cricket360.com , a cricket website that seeks to foster an online community of cricket lovers and provide them an opportunity to share and contribute rather than just passively read news content.

Shoppers Stop launches online store with delivery across cities in India

Shoppers Stop, one of the largest retail chains in India, has launched its e-store with delivery across major cities in India. ShoppersStop.com will retail all the products including apparel, cosmetics and accessories available at Shoppers Stop stores.

TutorVista allows students to connect to a tutor for live, on-demand tutoring

Online tutoring company TutorVista.com has launched TutorVista Connect Now with Talk2aTutor, a new generation of tutoring technology that allows students to instantly connect to a tutor for live, on-demand tutoring and speak instantly with their tutor, without having to download complicated software application.

Yahoo India launches social networking site SpotM in limited Beta

Yahoo India has introduced SpotM , a social networking site currently available by invitation only. SpotM would offer two exclusive services -- the concept of a secret friend and SMS integration of anonymity to chat. The latter option will allow private conversations among users without revealing their mobile number.

Expedia launches flight booking service on its India site Expedia.co.in

Online travel company Expedia has launched flight booking service for Indian travellers. According to the company, Expedia.co.in , with access to nearly 80,000 hotels, 3,000 attractions and 70 airlines worldwide, will now allow Indian travellers to book their entire trip – flight tickets, hotels, attractions and activities – in one place.

Travel search engine Sprice launches hotel comparison site Sprice.co.in for India

France-based travel search engine Sprice.com has launched Sprice.co.in , a hotel comparison site for India. The website allows users to search for hotel rooms and check the quality of a hotel relying on ratings, reviews and photos posted by other users.

LearnHub launches online CAT community for IIM aspirants

Social learning network LearnHub.com has added a CAT (Common Admission Test) community to help IIM (Indian Institute of Management) aspirants prepare for the test online. CAT, one of the most competitive exams in the world, is the gateway to IIMs, and is taken annually by over 230,000 students.

SabseBolo.com launches local access number in Bangalore

Audio conferencing service SabseBolo.com has launched its Bangalore local access number (080 6722 4444). SabseBolo was launched in Mumbai (022 3980 4444) early this year by its co-founders Sabeer Bhatia and Yogesh Patel. The company is also testing its audio conferencing service in Delhi (011 6619 4444). SabseBolo.com claims to have registered over one lakh customers since its inception in January 2008.

BCCI (Indian Cricket Board) launches its official website BCCI.tv

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has gone online with the launch of its official website BCCI.tv . The website will offer deferred streaming video and mobile content, live scoreboard, official photographs, player interviews, profiles, schedules, statistics, user interaction and newsletters.

PositiveSaathi.com seeks to help HIV/AIDS sufferers find life partner

Anil Kumar Valiv, a government employee, has launched PositiveSaathi.com , a matrimonial site that seeks to help HIV/AIDS sufferers find life partners. Valiv lost a close friend to AIDS and it was this friend`s desire for a relatively normal life that inspired the website, reports Reuters .

MouthShut launches new section to allow employees review their companies

User-generated reviews site MouthShut.com , which claims to have about 2.4 million registered users and reviews of over one lakh products and services, has launched an online platform, called Employers , that enables employees to review the companies they are working in currently or have served in the past.

BharatMatrimony launches its matrimony services on Airtel WAP portal

BharatMatrimony.com , a part of Consim Info, has made its matrimony services available on Airtel's WAP portal, Airtel Live. The move will enable Airtel subscribers across India to access BharatMatrimony services on their GPRS enabled handsets.

OpenVideoPlayer.com launched to promote standards around video player development

Akamai Technologies has launched OpenVideoPlayer.com which seeks to facilitate the development and sharing of open standards and best practices for video player applications that support a wide range of advertising technologies.

Yahoo launches display ad platform APT

Yahoo has launched APT , an automated display advertising platform that gives advertisers a range of tools to control where ads should appear, what kind of Web surfers the ads should be shown to, and how much they are willing to pay.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

Yahoo India consolidates its field sales organisation under Debadutta Upadhyaya

Yahoo India is consolidating its entire field sales organisation under Debadutta Upadhyaya. Prior to this consolidation, she was driving sales for Yahoo India for Brand and Multi-Objective accounts. Debadutta Upadhyaya will be reporting to Pearl Uppal, director, ad sales, Yahoo India.

Tushar Burman joins Infomedia as Head of Internet

Infomedia India has appointed Tushar Burman as head of internet properties. Prior to joining Infomedia, Burman was associate editor at Indian Express. In his new role, Tushar Burman will report to Lakshmi Narasimhan, CEO of Infomedia's magazine publishing business.

MySpace partners with RIM to launch social networking service on BlackBerry

Social networking site MySpace and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion have joined hands to develop an integrated MySpace Mobile experience customized for BlackBerry smartphones. RIM has also created a BlackBerry community page on MySpace for users to access the latest BlackBerry smartphone news, content, videos, games, ringtones, skins and other features.

Hemant Sachdev joins Microsoft India as JMD for Consumer & Online Business

Microsoft India has appointed Hemant Sachdev as joint managing director for its consumer and online business which includes consumer software, windows mobile, MSN and the online services and search businesses. Prior to joining Microsoft India, Hemant Sachdev was group director at Bharti Group.

Mandar Natekar joins BigAdda as National Head – Sales

BigAdda.com , a social networking site owned by Reliance Big Entertainment, has appointed Mandar Natekar as national head – sales. Prior to joining BigAdda, Natekar was regional head, West and North for HBO at Turner International. He has also worked in ad sales at SET Max and The Times of India.

Vijay Jung Thapa joins Hindustan Times as Editor - New Media

HT Media, publisher of Hindustan Times, has appointed Vijay Jung Thapa as editor - new media and head of business development content for HindustanTimes.com . Prior to joining Hindustan Times, Thapa was executive editor at Star News.

Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts acquires 51% stake in MVAS company Coruscant Tec

Mukta Arts , promoted by filmmaker Subhash Ghai, has acquired 51 per cent controlling stake in Chennai-based mobile value added services company Coruscant Tec . According to Mukta Arts, it also has an option of acquiring the balance 49 per cent stake in Coruscant

Airtel partners with Affle to launch SMS-based search service

Bharti Airtel in association with Affle has introduced search through SMS service that will allow Airtel customers to Search - Airtel Live, Internet, Local search, Jobs and Property listings, from their SMS screen. The companies also hope that the SMS-based search service would open up a huge revenue model driven around delivering contextual advertising on the search results.

Cleartrip partners with IRCTC to launch train booking facility

Travel portal Cleartrip.com has launched online train bookings in partnership with IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation). "Over 17 million passengers travel daily by train, and Cleartrip is proud to be India`s first online travel agency to offer a new way to book Indian Railways trains online," Hrush Bhatt, founder, Cleartrip, has said.

Reliance Entertainment's BigAdda joins Jivox video ad network

Reliance Big Entertainment's social networking site BigAdda has joined Jivox video ad network, which enables publishers to monetize their video assets with its online video ad service that connects publishers with advertisers.

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.17 | Sept 1-15, 2008

2008-09-15T03:05:00.001-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.17

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for Sept 1–15, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

Indiatimes plans to launch mobile advertising service AdRingles

Indiatimes.com is planning to launch AdRingles, an AdRBT (ad ring back tone) service that will provide an advertising platform on mobiles for advertisers. With AdRBTs, each time a person calls an AdRingles customer he will hear an ad or a movie dialogue instead of a ring tone.

Sulekha.com makes its services available in 28 cities in India

Online classifieds and yellow pages portal Sulekha.com, which was earlier present in eight metro cities in India, has now launched its services in 20 non-metro cities in the country. Besides these 28 cities, Sulekha.com is also present in 15 cities in US and Canada.

Google to launch web browser called Google Chrome

Google plans to launch the beta version of its open source web browser called Google Chrome.

eBay launches marketing campaign for its price challenge activity

eBay India has launched a marketing campaign to promote its Price Challenge activity in which consumers are challenged to find prices lower than those advertised by eBay India.

Google to host Developer Day on 18 October in Bangalore

Google India is organising Google Developer Day on 18 October 2008 in Bangalore. The event aims to provide a platform for developers to share knowledge about Google`s tools and about web application development in general

Zapak to represent Indian online gaming industry at Casual Connect

Zapak Digital Entertainment has been invited to represent the Indian online gaming industry at Casual Connect Kyiv 2008, a premiere event for the casual games professionals. The event will take place on 22-24 October 2008 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Google to enable businesses share videos internally

Google is adding YouTube-like video communications features to its business application suite, Google Apps Premier Edition, which costs $50 a user per year for a package of business software, email, scheduling and website design capabilities.

Search marketing spends to reach $225 million by 2009-10

The size of the SEM (search engine marketing) industry in India is expected to grow from $112.5 million in 2007-08 to $175 million in 2008-09 and $225 million in 2009-10

Pressmart raises $6 million from DFJ, NEA IndoUS Ventures

Pressmart Media , a print-to-digital delivery service, has secured $6 million VC fund from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and NEA IndoUS Ventures. The investment is expected to help Pressmart accelerate its global footprint and expand its global sales, marketing and customer-support presence across 35 countries where it currently serves over 350 print media customers.

Google to scan old newspapers to make them searchable online

Google has launched a new initiative to make old newspapers accessible and searchable online by partnering with newspaper publishers to scan and digitize millions of pages of news archives. The company also plans to later blend these archives into its main search results so that when someone searches Google.com, he would be searching the full text of these newspapers as well.

Tata Communications invests $11.5 million in BitGravity

Tata Communications has invested $11.5 million in BitGravity, a next-generation Content Delivery Network for interactive broadcasting. The company has also announced the launch of a global CDN service which is powered by BitGravity and is available on single ASN global IP network throughout Europe, Asia, North America and India.

Dennis Publishing to launch magazines, websites targeted at urban males in India

UK-based magazine company Dennis Publishing has formed a joint venture with Media Transasia to launch a slew of niche magazine titles and websites targeted at urban male readers in India

ApnaLoan.com is now ApnaPaisa

ApnaLoan.com Services, an online market place for loans and credit cards, has changed the company name to ApnaPaisa . The new name reflects its expanded offerings, which now include empowering insurance consumers and retail investors apart from loan consumers.

Morpheus Venture Partners selects 7 startups for mentoring

Morpheus Venture Partners , founded by Sameer Guglani and Nandini Hirianniah, has selected seven startups for its Second Batch of 2008. MVP team will now work closely with these startups for the next 4-6 months on areas like product development and launch, customer traction, B2b deals, team building and revenue models.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

Google India launches Got the `App'titude Challenge for colleges

Google in partnership with Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi has launched Got the 'App'titude Challenge that aims to identify student, faculty, and alumni leaders across India to implement Google Apps within their colleges.

Indiatimes launches QnA service

Times Internet Limited has launched qna.indiatimes.com , a question and answer site that allows users to ask and answer questions and also get rewarded for the same.

LifeInLines.com allows users to chronicle little moments of their life online

OneLife Knowledge Services, a startup founded by an IIT Bombay and IIM Calcutta graduate who opted out of his campus placements to start his own venture, has launched LifeInLines.com , an online chronicle that allows users to capture little moments, thoughts and experiences of their life through phone calls, SMSs, MMSs, emails or Google Talk messages. Users can also login to LifeInLines.com and post texts, images, voices and videos on their page.

ApnaLoan launches home loan, personal loan comparators

Personal finance company ApnaLoan.com has launched home loan and personal loan comparators which would allow salaried as well as self-employed customers to compare data for both fixed and floating interest rates. One can also get to know about an approximate loan amount he is eligible for and the EMI he will have to pay for the seeking loan amount.

TeachersofIndia.org launched to enable teachers share best practices

Azim Premji Foundation , with support from the National Knowledge Commission, has developed TeachersofIndia.org that will provide an online platform for teachers to share best practices and generate discussion in the teaching community.

Google launches voice-based local search service in Delhi

Google India has launched its voice-based local search service in Delhi / NCR where users can call a toll free number (1 800 41 999 999) and get information about restaurants, movies and other local businesses. The company had earlier introduced this service in Hyderabad.

Amazon Video On Demand allows customers to watch movies within web browser

Amazon.com has launched Amazon Video On Demand , digital video service which allows customers to watch ad-free movies and television shows within their web browser. Previously, customers could only download titles and watch them on a PC or on their TiVo box.

Carazoo launches virtual car showroom for NBS International

Carazoo.com , a division of US-based Logix Microsystems, has launched a virtual online car-dealer showroom NbsMahindra.com for NBS International, a Mahindra & Mahindra subsidiary.

iXiGO launches online bus tickets search service

Travel search company iXiGO.com has partnered with online bus booking sites redBus , Ticketvala and TicketGoose to enable its users to search , compare and book bus tickets from multiple bus operators and bus booking sites in India.

NIIT creates online version of Preeti Technani

NIIT, an IT education company, has created an online version of Preeti Technani, a virtual character whose print avatar was introduced in 2006. While the print presence of Preeti is managed by a team at NIIT and Contract Advertising, Delhi, the online presence is looked after by a digital agency, Interactive Avenues.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

WPP appoints Neal Prescott as CEO of its new digital production unit, Deliver

WPP Digital has created a digital production unit called Deliver that will offer clients the ability to match digital briefs to the most suitably resourced and cost-effective agency involved with the company. WPP Digital has also appointed Neal Prescott, former executive vice president of Publicis-owned Digitas, as chief executive officer of Deliver.

Cyber Media ties-up with MyToday Dailies to launch Technology News on mobile

Cyber Media has partnered with MyToday Dailies, an initiative of Rajesh Jain's Netcore Solutions, to launch Technology News on the mobile, an opt-in SMS service that will offer tech news, with a focus on IT and telecom.

Mohit Hira bids adieu to Times Internet Ltd (Indiatimes.com)

Mohit Hira, director in charge of marketing, website usability, incubation of new projects, and group integration at Times Internet Ltd (Indiatimes.com), has put in his papers. He is currently serving his notice period in the company.

Ramakrishnan Laxman joins MCCS (Star News) as Head of New Media

Media Content & Communications Services India has appointed Ramakrishnan Laxman as head of new media. MCCS, a joint venture between ABP TV and Star Group, runs three news channels - Star News, Star Ananda and Star Majha. Prior to joining MCSS, Ramakrishnan Laxman was vice president, business development and media assets at Publicitas Digital.

Times Internet partners with Onyomo to launch SMS-based local search service ASK

Times Internet Limited has partnered with Onyomo to launch a mobile value added service called ASK that offers information on local listings across various categories including ATMs, restaurants, cafes, flower shops and chemist, to mobile phone users. The service is available on SMS (58888) and WAP platform of Indiatimes.

CNBC to broadcast content generated by LinkedIn community

Business news channel CNBC and professional networking site LinkedIn have signed a deal under which CNBC content will be distributed across the LinkedIn network, while LinkedIn functionality will be integrated into CNBC.com. The two companies will also work together to include community-generated content from the LinkedIn community for broadcast on CNBC.

Maya Hari quits MSN India as Head of Consumer Marketing; launches Stylkist.com

Maya Hari has left MSN India where she was head of consumer marketing. Hari has now launched a lifestyle e-commerce site Stylkist.com which markets stylish decor and gifts online. Prior to joining MSN India, Hari was senior marketing manager at Google India.

Reliance Entertainment acquires majority stake in cricket webcasting site Willow.TV

Reliance Big Entertainment, a part of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), has acquired a majority stake in the US-based cricket webcasting portal, Willow TV . The Anil Ambani company plans to invest Rs 300 crore in the portal over the next two years and the amount includes the acquisition price.

PerceptKnorigin appointed online agency for real estate portal NoBrokerage.in

Surf & Fish Internet Solutions has appointed PerceptKnorigin , the digital arm of Percept Holdings, as its online agency to promote its website NoBrokerage.in that seeks to connect property owners, buyers and tenants directly, eliminating payment of brokerage in the real estate business.

Info Edge selects Akamai to optimize search application of its job site Naukri.com

Info Edge India has selected Akamai Technologies India's Web Application Accelerator service to optimize the search application of its job site Naukri.com. Akamai's Web Application Accelerator service is expected to enable faster accessibility of relevant jobs to Naukri.com's customers.

Naresh Ajwani elected as member of Number Resource Organization

Naresh Ajwani, president, consumer infrastructure and operations, Sify Technologies Limited, has been elected as a member of Number Resource Organization – Number Council (NRO-NC), a global policy formulation body for internet.

Kalli Purie to head India Today Digital (Digital Today)

Kalli Purie, former COO of India Today Group Online and daughter of India Today founder and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie, will be heading India Today Digital (Digital Today). India Today Group Online owns a portfolio of sites including India Today, Business Today, Money Today, ITGO, Woman, Prevention and Men's Health.

Anuj Dahiya joins NDTV Media as National Head, Digital Ad Sales

NDTV Media, an independent ad sales arm of NDTV Group, has appointed Anuj Dahiya as national head, digital ad sales. Prior to joining NDTV Media, Dahiya was country head, business development at ValueFirst, a mobile data services company. He has also worked at JobsAhead.com, Rediff, Mediaturf and Group M`s Mindshare Interaction.

BuzzInTown partners with MyToday Dailies to offer events related information on mobile

Events-oriented social networking site BuzzInTown.com has partnered with MyToday Dailies , an opt-in SMS service of Rajesh Jain's Netcore Solutions, to provide its users events related information on the mobile.

Google, HSBC back initiative to provide internet access to 'other 3 billion' people

Google has joined hands with HSBC and cable operator Liberty Global to support a group called O3b Networks, which stands for the 'other 3 billion' people who do not have internet access.

Cleartrip names Stuart Crighton as its new CEO; Sandeep Murthy is now Chairman

Online travel company Cleartrip.com has laid off 42 people, about 15 per cent of its total staff of 300, over the past couple of months. Crighton, a co-founder of Cleartrip who was till now COO of the company, has taken over from Sandeep Murthy who has now become chairman of Cleartrip.

Rammohan Sundaram quits Yahoo India as National Sales Head - Performance Accounts

Rammohan Sundaram, national sales head - performance accounts at Yahoo India, is believed to have put in his papers. Sundaram is expected to launch his own venture, possibly an ad network, in early November 2008.

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.16 | Aug 16-31, 2008

2008-08-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.16

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for August 16–31, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

Consim Info looking for strategic partner for its job portal ClickJobs

Consim Info (formerly BharatMatrimony group) is looking for a strategic partner for its job portal ClickJobs.com.

Lifeblob raises $1 million funding from Seedfund

Bangalore-based online social media company Lifeblob, which recently showcased at the July 2008 edition of Proto.in, has received $1 million funding from Mumbai-based Seedfund.

IIMs to announce CAT scores through SMS, email

Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) have decided to make available the scores of the Common Entrance Test (CAT) through SMS and email.

TRAI allows Internet Telephony in India

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has allowed internet telephony in the country. The move will enable one to make calls from personal computers to fixed line and mobile phones. Earlier, voice call made from one computer could travel to another computer but not from a mobile or a fixed line phone.

Windows Live in talks with BSE, NSE to offer real-time search of stock quotes

Windows Live India is in talks with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) to offer real-time search of stock quotes. The move is part of Microsoft's efforts to offer search content that is relevant to local people.

Times Internet (Indiatimes) may acquire more internet properties

Times Internet Ltd (Indiatimes.com), which recently picked up 50 per cent stake in an online marketplace for books, A1Books.co.in, is now looking at acquiring more internet properties in the coming months, reports Afaqs.

Sify cyber cafes to act like virtual office of Mumbai Municipal Corporation

Sify Technologies and Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai have signed a deal under which Mumbai's citizens will be able to pay water and property tax, renew shop and establishment licenses, apply for birth and death certificates as well as health licenses, and register complaints by visiting to any of the Sify's ePort cyber cafe chain in Mumbai.

Nexus India closes its second fund of $220 million (Rs 960 crore)

Mumbai-based venture firm Nexus India Capital has closed its second fund of $220 million (about Rs 960 crore), more than double its first fund of $100 million. Nexus India's first fund has been deployed across 13 companies including DimDim, Games2Win, Komli, Kirusa, MapmyIndia and Mobile2Win.

Sanskrit newspaper Sudharma goes online to reach larger audience

Mysore-based Sanskrit newspaper Sudharma has introduced its online version to increase its reach from the current 3,000 subscribers to a larger worldwide audience.

Business networking site ZaaBiz launches its services in India

Australia-based business networking site ZaaBiz has launched its services in India as India has one of the highest numbers of networkers and almost 50 per cent of the members on its networking platform are Indians.

Jewellery piece worth Rs 8 lakh sold on eBay India

An eBay India seller based in Jaipur has sold a red 3.69 carat ruby to an American eBay buyer for $19,600 (Rs 8,20,000). The ruby marks one of eBay India's most expensive transactions and is the most expensive jewellery item sold till date.

Govt clears policy framework for commercial roll out of IPTV services

The government of India has cleared the policy framework for the commercial roll out of Internet Protocol TV services. IPTV involves delivery of television and video signals over a broadband network.

Indian Railways plans to launch online auction of train tickets

Indian Railways plans to launch an online auction of its Sleeper and AC class train tickets. About 10 to 20 per cent seats in select trains may be made available for online bidding. The online auction would open 48 hours before the departure time and close two hours before the scheduled departure.

Picsquare.com gets investment from offline printing company Bhola Digital Lab

Picsquare.com, an online photo sharing and printing company, has received investment from Bangalore-based printing solutions company Bhola Digital Lab. Picsquare has been using Bhola's printing services and the strategic alliance with the brick-and-mortar company is expected to help Picsquare solidify its position as one of the largest photo sharing company in India having presence both online and offline.

Seventymm raises Rs 50 crore in Series C funding led by NEA-Indo US Ventures

Movie rental company Seventymm.com has raised Rs 50 crore in Series C funding led by NEA-Indo US Ventures. Seventymm had earlier raised Rs 40 crore in funding from VC firms including Matrix Partners India, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and ePlanet Ventures, who also participated in this round.

MIH invests $10 million in mobile social network company BuzzCity

MIH, the investment arm of South African media conglomerate, Naspers, has invested $10 million in Singapore-based BuzzCity, which owns a mobile social network myGamma that has more than six lakh members from India.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

LD Sharma's Shoogloo launches affiliate network powered by OMG

LD Sharma's online marketing company Shoogloo.com has launched an affiliate network, Shoogloo Network powered by OMG's technology. UK-based Online Media Group, a leading affiliate network with strong position in the Finance and Insurance sector, has clients like Aviva, Barclays, MBNA and Virgin.

Pothi.com launched to enable writers self publish their books

Bangalore based Mudranik Technologies, a start-up founded by two IITians, has launched Pothi.com, an online self publishing platform that helps writers self publish their books in print without any upfront cost. The online store is currently live with around 20 books in English and Hindi.

Zapak launches gaming CDs 'to beat lukewarm response for its downloadable games'

Zapak Digital Entertainment, which owns gaming portal Zapak.com, has started selling gaming CDs "to beat the lukewarm response for its downloadable online games segment". Zapak has already released 150,000 CDs priced between Rs 49 and Rs 99 depending on the publisher, gameplay and the artwork.

PancreaticCancerIndia.com launched to build awareness on pancreatic cancer

A group of oncology experts in India have launched PancreaticCancerIndia.com, an online platform for building awareness on pancreatic cancer and periampullary tumors in patients and care givers as well as healthcare professionals.

Komli Media launches `premium` technology channel

Display ad network Komli Media has launched a `premium` technology channel whose inventory includes Geek.com, Slashgear.com, MSExchange.org, Computing.net, Phonearena.com and Phonescoop.com. The new channel will enable brand advertisers to specifically target and focus on audiences like technology enthusiasts, developers, mobile enthusiasts and IT decision makers.

Ramo Games launches kids gaming portal RamoGames.com

Ramo Games, a startup currently in stealth mode, has launched RamoGames.com, a kids gaming portal that features education games in different categories including geography, math and reading.

Games2win launches online game Gunning for Gold to honour Abhinav Bindra

Online gaming company Games2win.com has released a game called Gunning for Gold to honour the ace shooter Abhinav Bindra who recently won India's first Olympic gold medal in an individual event at the Beijing Olympics.

MeraMobi allows users to book air, rail tickets on GPRS-activated mobile phones

India Interactive Technologies, a joint venture between Sam Pitroda Group and Dainik Bhaskar newspaper, has launched MeraMobi, a GPRS-based service that allows users to book rail and air tickets, make utility bill payments, and get information on current affairs, stock markets and yellow pages.

BigAdda launches its mobile version MobileAdda available through SMS, WAP

Social networking site BigAdda.com has launched its mobile version called, MobileAdda. MobileAdda will be available through SMS (BIGADDA to 55454), WAP (wap.bigadda.com) and a downloadable application (wap.bigadda.com/download) for over 500 different mobile phone models across all operators and networks nationally.

India Today Group Online launches ITGO, Woman

India Today Group Online (Digital Today) has launched a general interest portal ITGO.in and a women-focused portal Woman.ITGO.in. The company is also believed to be planning to launch a revamped version of AajTak.com, the website for its Hindi news Channel Aaj Tak.

Google launches its Map Maker service in India

Google has launched its Map Maker service in India. Google Map Maker, conceived and developed by the Indian engineering team, allows users to add or edit features, such as roads, businesses, parks, schools, apartment buildings and localities and also to add detailed information about these locations.

R K Swamy BBDO launches HR services portal HRDirectionOnline.com

HR Direction, a division of advertising agency R K Swamy BBDO, has launched HRDirectionOnline.com that offers creative posters and e-mailers for internal communications through readymade creatives which can be customised by HR managers in any language font on their computers via an online editing interface.

World Phone launches internet service at Rs 95 a month in Delhi/NCR

World Phone Internet Services has launched cable broadband internet service in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) at Rs 95 a month, at the speed of up to 256 kbps with a 200 MB data download limit.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

TripAdvisor enters India; forges alliances with MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Cleartrip

Online travel community TripAdvisor, which is owned by US-based online travel company Expedia, has launched its local Indian site, TripAdvisor.in. TripAdvisor has also forged alliances with leading Indian online travel agencies including MakeMyTrip, Yatra and Cleartrip.

Sridhar Ranganathan quits Yahoo to join mKhoj

Sudhir Ranganathan, former business head for Yahoo Local and Maps, has joined mobile ad network mKhoj. At mKhoj, Ranganathan will be responsible for developing and executing the product strategy.

Cleartrip partners with Tata AIG to offer travel insurance for domestic flights

Online travel company Cleartrip.com has partnered with Tata AIG to offer travel insurance service to its users who book domestic airline tickets from the site.

HP Snapfish to enable Indiaplaza customers print, share, store photographs online

Online photo service HP Snapfish has partnered with online shopping company Indiaplaza.in, formerly known as Fabmall.com, to enable customers of Indiaplaza to print, share and store photographs online. Indiaplaza customers would also be able to choose from an extensive range of personalized products by Snapfish.in.

Pradeep Singh returns to Zee News Online as Business Head

Pradeep Singh has returned to Zee News Online as business head after a short, 10 month stint as group head, North and East, ad sales, Zapak.com. Singh had earlier worked with Zee News Online as a senior manager for two years.

Open2save partners with Zook to make available 'best' deals on mobile phones

Open2save.in, an online aggregator of deals and discounts available in the Indian retail market, has partnered with mobile answer engine Zook.in to make available the 'best' deals and offers on GPRS-enabled mobile phones. Once the user finds a deal of interest, he can just click on 'Call Me' and get connected automatically from his mobile to open2save Deal Experts.

Google to power Sify mail, chat service

Sify Technologies and Google have signed a deal under which Google Apps suite of communication and collaboration tools, including email, chat and online documents, will now power Sify mail and chat, as well as other applications using the Google Apps platform. According to Sify, the company will start launching these services for its users in the coming months.

Jump Games launches its operations in US; appoints Amit Khanduja as EVP

Jump Games, a publisher and developer of mobile video games, has appointed Amit Khanduja as its executive vice president in US. The company has already launched its operations in US and is now 'aggressively looking' to acquire mobile content licences and brands for distribution to mobile phones worldwide.

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.15 | Aug 1-15, 2008

2008-08-15T02:40:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.15

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for August 1–15, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

Google working on plans to launch a venture capital arm
Google is reportedly working on plans to start a venture capital arm. The group will be led by David Drummond, Google`s senior vice president of corporate development and chief legal officer. The company has also hired William Maris, a former entrepreneur who has worked as an investor, to help set up the venture.

Teach India programme gets 65% volunteers through website
The Times of India Group, which recently launched a social initiative called 'Teach India' to teach underprivileged children in India, has said that around 75,000 volunteers have enrolled for the Teach India programme, out of which around 48,000 people have enrolled through its website, Teach.TimesofIndia.com.

Kidmondo.com enables parents to record and share their child's life
A couple in US have launched Kidmondo.com, an online baby journal and organizer that gives parents a central place to record their child`s milestones and share images with loved ones far and wide.

HT Media eyes Rs 100 crore revenues from its internet business
HT Media (Hindustan Times) expects to earn Rs 100 crore in revenues from its internet business in around a year and a half. The company has invested around Rs 20 crore in the internet business so far, of a total planned investment of Rs 150 crore over the next three years.

eBay India selling one product a minute; men account for 75% of shoppers
eBay India has said its online shopping and auctions site eBay.in is witnessing one product being sold on the site every minute. The company has also said that men in the age-group of 25-30 years account for 70-75 per cent of the shoppers on the eBay India site.

Mobile gaming expected to generate $450 million revenue in India by 2012

India generated around $80 million in revenue through mobile gaming in 2007 and the figure is expected to reach $450 million by 2012, according to research firm Gartner. The country is also expected to account the most for total mobile gaming revenue in Asia.

Burrp revamps its Events section, adds more categories

Burrp.com, a social recommender website for events and hangouts, has revamped its Events section, which now cover lifestyle-related listings from a number of categories including art, dance, fashion, film, festivals, food, drinks, health, nightlife, literature, sports and theatre.

Voice search firm Ubona gets funding from Capital18

Ubona Technologies, a Bangalore-based startup that allows users in the city to speak the name of a restaurant over the phone and get connected directly to that restaurant, has received an undisclosed Series A round of investment from the Network18 Group's venture capital and private equity arm, Capital18.

Hungama plans to sell ad inventory for entertainment portals

Virtual Marketing India (Hungama.com) is eyeing the ad inventory sales business in the entertainment portals category. Recently, Hungama appointed Kunal Arora as ad sales head, consumer business. Prior to joining Hungama, Arora was working as regional manager, ad sales for Yahoo India's North and East region.

TripIt
TripIt is a travel itinerary planner. On sending TripIt one`s travel bookings, it builds an accessible master itinerary.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

MySpace India launches local hubs for Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore

Social networking site MySpace India has revamped its India specific section Indihub, which offers MySpace news, specials, videos, friends, cool tips and hot news on what is happening in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The company has also launched local hubs for these three cities and plans to launch more regional hubs in the future.

Scrabulous brothers launch new Facebook game called Wordscraper

Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla of Kolkata, the two brothers who had developed an online wordgame called Scrabulous that became a hit among Facebook users and subsequently attracted a law suit from US-based toymaker Hasbro, have launched a new online word game called Wordscraper, with significant changes to make the game look less like Scrabble.

Google opens its knowledge sharing site Knol for all

Google has opened Knol, a website that allows people to write about their areas of expertise under their bylines, for all. Knol, which stands for a unit of knowledge, was launched in December 2007 and had been limited to an invitation-only audience of contributors for the past seven months.

GREEdge.com launched to help students prepare for Graduate Record Examination

Chennai-based Valued Epistemics has launched GREEdge.com, an online training platform for Graduate Record Examination aspirants across India.

MagicBricks launches Call n Post helpline service

Real estate portal MagicBricks.com has launched Call n Post @ 0124 3915555, a helpline service which would enable property sellers and seekers to make a phone call and have their properties or requirements listed on the site. The move is aimed at making the process of property transactions available even to those people who don't have access to internet.

ICICI Prudential, Dignity Foundation launch job portal for senior citizens

ActivAge, an organisation jointly formed by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Dignity Foundation, a non-profit organisation for ageing people, has launched DignitySecondCareers.org, a job portal for senior citizens above the age of 50 years who are looking for a productive way to spend their free time. The job listings on the portal include both paid and voluntary work.

Google introduces Tamil News and Tamil Transliteration
Google India has introduced Google News in Tamil for the benefit of Tamil speaking people in India and overseas. This is the third Google News edition launched in India, after English and Hindi. The company has also unveiled Tamil transliteration on Google Search, Blogger and Orkut.

Malayala Manorama launches matrimonial portal

ManoramaOnline, the online division of Kerala-based Malayala Manorama Group, has launched a matrimonial por tal m4marry.com for Keralites. ManoramaOnline already owns a shopping portal, ManoramaEMart.com, and is now looking at the real estate vertical.

Rediff launches Bus FareSearch service

Rediff.com has launched Bus FareSearch that allows users to search for buses plying across seven states -- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

Ibibo launches travel search engine Bixee Travel; contextual ads platform AdX
Ibibo Web has launched Bixee Travel, a travel search engine that allows users to search for air, rail and bus tickets as well as hotel accommodation. The company has also launched a contextual advertising service called Bixee AdX.

AOL India launches South Cinema channel on its portal

AOL India has launched a new entertainment section called South Cinema on its portal, AOL.in. The new channel offers entertainment content from the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam film industries.

Cleartrip introduces hotel reviews powered by TripAdvisor

Online travel company Cleartrip.com has partnered with travel community site TripAdvisor to offer its users hotel reviews while they search for hotels on the Cleartrip site. Recently, Cleartrip.com redesigned its hotel information display and added hotel maps.

Radio City launches social networking site for music lovers

FM radio station Radio City has launched PlanetRadiocity.com, a social networking site for music lovers. According to the company, PlanetRadiocity will try to boost independent bands, singers and musicians and help them showcase their talent.

ApnaLoan launches credit card comparator

ApnaLoan.com has launched credit card comparator that allows users to compare about 212 credit cards issued by 28 issuers in India.

Games2Win launches online game starring Manmohan Singh

Games2Win.com has released an online game on Singh is King starring Manmohan Singh. According to Games2Win, the game is a hilarious take on the Indian Prime Minister`s action-packed political career.

LiveJournal launches writing contest for Indian writers

Community blogging platform LiveJournal in partnership with Caferati, a literary community, has launched Quick Tales, a writing contest designed to showcase best of Indian user-generated content to global audience. The LiveJournal-Caferati Flash-Fiction Contest, which is open till 7th September 2008, invites Indian writers to write a short story in no more than 500 words which has as its theme 'journal'.

Shaadi.com makes its services available to Vodafone mobile users

Matrimony portal Shaadi.com has partnered with mobile operator Vodafone to make its services available on mobile plat form. The tie-up would enable Vodafone users to access Shaadi.com's services by calling 57007, sending Shaadi as an SMS to 57007 or by clicking on Shaadi.com link on Vodafone live.

IndiaEnvironmentPortal.org.in launched to provide environmental information
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and National Knowledge Commission (NKC) have jointly launched IndiaEnvironmentPortal.org.in, an environment based portal targeted at users who look for environmental information.

Google, Yahoo introduce one-click opt-out Ads policy

Yahoo and Google have introduced a one-click opt-out policy that allows users to shut off targeted advertising on these sites. The move follows scrutiny by a US Congressional committee over the intrusiveness of online advertising and behavioural targeting.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

Times Internet (Indiatimes) acquires 50% stake in online book marketplace A1Books

Times Internet Limited, a part of the Times Group, has acquired 50 per cent stake in Webnotions Books India, which owns an online book marketplace A1Books.co.in. US-based Webnotions was founded in 1995 by Shinu Gupta. The company entered India in December 2007.

People Group (Shaadi.com) appoints Badri Sanjeevi as CFO

People Group (Shaadi.com) has appointed Badri Sanjeevi as chief financial officer. Prior to joining People Group, Sanjeevi was with Deloitte MCS London where he was in-charge of strategic business planning, operational improvement, cost reduction, shared services and merger and acquisition related projects.

InvestmentYogi launches personal finance portal; looks to raise $5 million VC fund

Hyderabad-based InvestmentYogi FinAdvisory Services has launched InvestmentYogi.com, a personal finance portal that aims to help users manage their money, plan their financial future and navigate through market fluctuations. The company is also looking to raise $5 million (around Rs 20 crore) venture capital fund to grow further.

Uday Zokarkar quits as chief business officer of ClickJobs; to launch his own venture
Uday Zokarkar, chief business officer of ClickJobs.com, which is a part of Consim Info (BharatMatrimony), has put in his papers. He is expected to launch his own entrepreneurial venture in the next two weeks. Uday Zokarkar's new project would focus on the integration of conventional media like print, television and radio with internet.

Friendster raises $20 million in funding; appoints Richard Kimber as CEO

Social networking company Friendster has appointed Richard Kimber, former regional managing director of South Asia at Google, as its new chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors. Recently, Friendster raised $20 million in funding.

Google to sell its Performics search marketing unit to Publicis Groupe
Google has decided to sell its Performics search marketing unit to the France-based advertising holding company Publicis Groupe. Performics had been owned by DoubleClick, and ever since Google's acquisition of that company in March 2008, Google has been expected to unload Performics. The conflict of interest is pretty clear, given that Performics advises clients on how to maximize their visibility on Google.

S Parameshwar appointed as CFO of Consim Info (BharatMatrimony)

Consim Info (formerly the BharatMatrimony group) has appointed Subramanyam Parameshwar as chief finance officer. Prior to joining Consim Group, Parameshwar was vice president, finance at Zenta Knowledge Services, a leader in US mortgage and realty services.

FutureBazaar hires Wipro Technologies to redesign its online store

E-commerce site FutureBazaar.com, a subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail India, has hired Wipro Technologies to redesign its online store. FutureBazaar.com plans to relaunch its portal with more dedicated online stores and an extensive range of products which would include regional language movies and books from regional publishers.

Kashyap Vadapalli joins eBay India as marketing director
eBay India has appointed Kashyap Vadapalli as director, marketing and operations. Prior to joining eBay India, Vadapalli was sales and operations manager at Google. He has also worked as director, sales and business development at Tata Interactive Services.

Rajan Mehra, former country manager of eBay India, turns VC; joins Clearstone
Rajan Mehra, former country manager of eBay India, has become a venture capitalist. He has joined Clearstone Venture Advisors as venture partner. Rajan Mehra has an entrepreneurial background in the internet space. In 2000, he set up Bidorbuy.com (Bid or Buy) which was later acquired by Baazee.com (now eBay India).

Consim Info (BharatMatrimony) appoints Media Direction as its media AoR

Consim Info, formerly known as BharatMatrimony Group, has appointed Media Direction, a part of RK Swamy Media Group, as its AoR (agency of record) to handle all its media buying and planning activities. The account size is pegged in excess of Rs 25 crore. Publicis Ambience handles the creative duties of Consim Info.

Neeraj Sanan quits Web18 as CMO
Neeraj Sanan, chief marketing officer of Web18 has put in his papers citing personal reasons. He had joined Web18, which holds all the internet properties of the Network18 Group, in 2007. Before joining Web18, Sanan was deputy general manager, marketing in the consumer care division of Dabur India

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.14 | Jul 16-31, 2008

2008-07-31T03:06:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.14

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for July 16–31, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

MRM scouting for tech savvy interactive agency in India

MRM Worldwide, the digital arm of global advertising agency McCann Worldgroup, is scouting for potential acquisitions and partnerships in India. MRM exists in India as a niche direct marketing function within ad agency McCann Erickson India.

RailTel to offer broadband internet connection in Kerala

RailTel Corporation, which manages the communication sector of Indian Railways, plans to offer broadband internet connection in Kerala through cable operators who have connectivity across the state.

YouSendIt raises $14 million in Series C funding

US-based YouSendIt, which enables users to send large files to any email address, has raised $14 million in a Series C round of venture capital financing from new investor Emergence Capital and existing investors Sigma Partners, Alloy Ventures, Sevin Rosen Funds and Cambrian Ventures. The latest round brings YouSendIt's total funding to $34 million.

Communicate2 plans to increase its headcount to 350 by Mar 2009

Mumbai-based search marketing company Communicate2 is expanding its presence in Pune and plans to increase its headcount to 350 from the current 70 by March 2009. Communicate2 has already opened its offices in Bangalore and Delhi. Global communications group Aegis Media recently acquired a strategic stake in Communicate2.

Info Edge (Naukri) plans to invest Rs 6.5 crore in Applect Learning Systems

Info Edge India (Naukri.com) is planning to invest Rs 6.5 crore for a 40 per cent stake in Applect Learning Systems. Info Edge has already made investment in Delhi-based education portal StudyPlaces.com

Ybrant Digital may acquire US-based online marketing firm Media Breakaway

Hyderabad-based digital marketing firm Ybrant Digital is considering to acquire US-based online advertising and direct marketing company Media Breakaway for about $100 million.

Instablogs raises funding from Indiagames founder Vishal Gondal

Citizen journalism site Instablogs.com has raised funding from Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of Indiagames. The deal size is pegged at Rs two crore.

TutorVista raises $18 million from Sequoia Capital, LightSpeed Venture

Online tutoring company TutorVista.com has raised $18 million from Sequoia Capital and LightSpeed Venture Partners to fund its expansion into an online-offline education model. The company is also in talks with strategic investors to raise another $15 million independently.

Social review site LivingSocial.com raises $5 million VC fund

US-based LivingSocial.com, which started as a set of applications on Facebook and other social networks that let users review movies, books, music, games, restaurants and beers, has raised more than $5 million in Series A funding led by Grotech Ventures and includes a personal investment from Steve and Jean Case.

Intel Capital to invest $17 million in 3 companies including Yatra, BuzzInTown

Intel Capital, a global investment organisation of Intel Corporation, has decided to invest $17 million (around Rs 70 crore) in three Indian companies including an online travel company Yatra.com and an events-oriented social networking site BuzzInTown.com. The other company which will receive the funding is an out-of-home advertising firm Emnet Samsara Media.

Digitas launches second agency to focus on southern Indian markets

Global digital marketing solutions consultancy Digitas, which entered India earlier this year with the launch of Solutions Digitas, has launched its second agency called Digitas that would be based in Chennai and would initially focus on the southern Indian markets.

R K Swamy BBDO plans to launch HR services portal HRDirectionOnline.com

Creative agency R K Swamy BBDO is preparing to launch HRDirectionOnline.com, an online HR services portal that will prepare HR advertisements as well as release them for the client companies. The portal will also help large companies to send a message across their employees.

Mensxpert.com looking for investment

Mensxpert.com, a lifestyle portal for Indian men, is looking for its first round of investment and is seeking to tie up with media led web initiatives like Firefly eVentures (a part of HT Media), Web18 (of the Network18 group) and the Times Group.

Bar Council allows lawyers to advertise their services on internet

Bar Council of India, which had earlier prohibited the legal fraternity from advertising their services, has now decided to allow lawyers to advertise their services on internet.

Facebook disables Scrabulous for US and Canadian users

Social networking site Facebook has disabled Scrabulous, an online word game, for its users in US and Canadian. Facebook has, however, clarified that the decision to block Scrabulous for US and Canadian users was made by the Scrabulous developers.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

VR Group launches hotels comparison site GhumiChale.com

VR Group India has launched GhumiChale.com, an online hotels comparison site that claims to compare over 900,000 deals across the globe. GhumiChale currently has over two million hotel pictures with maps and 2.4 million reviews.

Online family tree builder Kindo launches its website in Hindi

UK-based Kindo.com, a family tree builder and photo sharing site, has launched its service in Hindi, one of the top five languages spoken in the world, with over 500 million native speakers, 330 million in India alone.

Rediff MoneyWiz enables users to track short listed stocks, mutual funds

Rediff.com has added a new feature called My Watch List to its personal finance service Rediff MoneyWiz. The new feature will help users track their short listed stocks and mutual funds.

Makaan.com unveils Computer Chacha viral campaign

Real estate portal Makaan.com, a part of Anupam Mittal promoted People Interactive, has launched a new viral campaign hosted at ComputerChacha.com. Makaan.com claims that its earlier viral campaign KahaniMeTwist, which was launched in March 2008, attracted 1,54,350 unique visitors over a period of three months.

Rediffmail allows users to add news feeds from Orkut, Facebook

Rediff.com has introduced a new feature in its email service Rediffmail that will allow users to receive news feeds from social networking sites like Orkut and Facebook without actually having to visit them. The new feature will help users to keep abreast of the activities of their friends and family on various social networking platforms.

MySpace launches contest for game developers in India, China, Japan, Korea

Social networking site MySpace has launched TheGame08, a Pan-Asian game applications competition that invites game developers from China, Japan, Korea and India to showcase their talents by creating the most innovative gaming application

Cleartrip launches international flight booking facility

Online travel company Cleartrip.com has launched international flight booking facility that would enable users to search and book for flights from India to any of the world's destinations.

Ezeego1.com now available in Hindi

Travel site Ezeego1.com has launched its service in Hindi. Ezeego1 hopes that its new initiative will open up large untapped markets especially in the Tier II cities such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jullundur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Bhopal and Indore.

PaisaWaisa.com allows users to file their taxes online

Financial services portal PaisaWaisa.com, a part of Rupiz Infotech Group, has introduced a new e-tax section on the site that would enable users to file their taxes online.

Microsoft launches campaign to get visibility for its Live Search service

Microsoft India has launched an innovative OOH (out of home) campaign in Mumbai to get visibility for its Live Search service. The campaign, titled 'Think It, Find It', also aims to get users try the company's online search service.

AnjaliBhagwat.com launched to promote rifle shooting

Sportz Interactive has developed AnjaliBhagwat.com, which is dedicated to ace woman rifle shooter Anjali Bhagwat. The website aims to promote the sport as well as give the 2002 Commonwealth Games champion a platform to connect with her fans.

Rupiz Infotech launches gaming and social networking site Koffii.com

Rupiz Infotech has launched Koffii.com, an online gaming and social networking website that offers games, allows users to share videos and photos, and also includes video conferencing feature, apart from blogging and communicating via voice-video-text chat.

Rediff invites developers to build applications for Rediff.com properties

Rediff.com has launched its developer program, inviting application developers to build applications for Rediff.com properties. Rediff has opened its content sharing platform iShare for application developers.

Shine.com launches viral campaign to promote its salary tool feature

Job portal Shine.com, a part of HT Media's Firefly eVentures, has launched a viral campaign hosted at Pagaar.in to promote its salary tool feature. Its Salary Tool is based on an analysis of more than 1.5 lakh profiles across 52 different industries, with participation from top, middle and junior managerial levels across 230 cities in India during the period April-May 2008.

Zapak launches mobile gaming site Zapak.mobi

Gaming portal Zapak.com has launched Zapak.mobi, a GPRS-based mobile gaming site that allows users to play single player games as well as play games against others and chat with their opponents.

Ticketvala.com enables users to book bus tickets on mobile phones

Mumbai-based bus ticketing company Ticketvala.com has launched mTicket, a mobile bus ticket solution that allows users to book bus tickets on their mobile phones. The application also allows users to make payments and receive bus tickets on their mobile phones.

Meebo launches Instant Messaging service for online communities

Meebo.com, which allows users of different instant messaging services such as Yahoo, MSN and Google Talk to interact with each other, has launched Meebo Community Instant Messaging service that would enable online communities to offer instant messaging service to their users.

ClickIndia launches its mobile version Wap.ClickIndia.com

Neighbourhood classifieds site ClickIndia.com has launched its mobile version Wap.ClickIndia.com that will enable users of GPRS enabled mobile phones to view classifieds and business listings on their mobile phones.

ThomasCook.in allows users to book Indian Railways reserved tickets

Thomas Cook India has launched Indian Railways reserved ticket booking facilities on its travel portal ThomasCook.in. The move is aimed at offering a complete range of travel options to the Thomas Cook customers.

Chandamama.com now also available in Hindi and Tamil

Chandamama.com, an online magazine for kids, has launched its website in Hindi and Tamil. This takes the number of languages on the website to four including English and Telugu. The website has also introduced a new section where users can post their stories, essays, poems, travelogues, riddles and jokes.

NSICPartners.com launched to provide information for SMEs

National Small Industries Corporation, a government of India enterprise, has launched NSICPartners.com that will provide information on small and medium enterprises sector.

Admart.Asia launches classifieds website for people living in Asia

Admart.Asia has launched a classifieds website that seeks to provide the Asia community an online forum to place advertisements, including items for sale, community notices, public events, employment opportunities, real estate and accommodation, night life, dining and entertainment services.

GharExpert.com introduces construction cost estimator

GharExpert.com, which provides construction, interior decoration and home improvement resources, has launched home construction cost estimator to help users find out the estimated material and cost required for each stage of their home construction project.

Foodiebay.com launched to help users find food options in and around Delhi

A group of IIT-Delhi students and alumni have launched Foodiebay.com, an online restaurant directory that seeks to help users find food options in and around Delhi. The site currently offers menus, reviews, ratings and contact details of over 1200 eating joints in Delhi and NCR (Gurgaon and Noida).

Cuil launches internet search engine Cuil.com; aims to unseat Google

US-based startup Cuil (pronounced as 'cool') has launched an internet search engine Cuil.com that ranks results by the content on each page and not its popularity. The company have indexed 120 billion web pages, three times more than any other search engine. Cuil has received series A funding from Tugboat Ventures and Greylock Partners, and series B funding from Madrone Capital Partners.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

IXiGO ties-up with Travelguru, Inasra, Hostelworld, HolidayIQ, OkTataByeBye

Travel search engine iXiGO.com has partnered with a leading hotel network TravelGuru.com, hotels aggregator Inasra.com and an international online reservations provider to the budget and youth travellers Hostelworld Travel Network.

Twitter acquires search engine company Summize; launches Twitter Search

Micro blogging company Twitter has acquired Summize, a search engine which indexes Twitter messages. The deal size has been pegged at $15 million in stock and cash. Following the acquisition Twitter has launched Twitter Search. As part of the deal, five out of six Summize employees -- all engineers -- will join Twitter. Jay Virdy, CEO of Summize, is going to do something else.

BigFlix ties up with Shemaroo to offer Shilpa Shetty's Yoga on its website

Movie rental service BigFlix, a part of Reliance ADA group, has partnered with Shemaroo Entertainment to offer Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty's Yoga content on its website.

YouTube signs revenue sharing deal with Hollywood filmmaker Lions Gate

Google-owned video sharing site YouTube has entered into a deal with Hollywood film studio Lions Gate Entertainment to share revenue from ads that Google places on Lions Gate movies' clips uploaded on YouTube by its users or the studio itself.

PodTech acquired by ViewPartner for less than half a million dollars

Video blogging company PodTech is believed to have been sold for less than half a million dollars to ViewPartner, a communications technology company.

Santosh Ghosh quits Car Wale as VP - Advertising Sales & Alliances

Santosh Ghosh has quit CarWale.com as vice president - advertising sales and alliances.

Shaadi.com partners with DishTV to make its services available on TV

Matrimony portal Shaadi.com has partnered with a direct to home service provider DishTV to make its services available on TV. The move is aimed at making Shaadi.com services available to a wider user base that may not have access to internet.

Ashok Kumar De joins CarWale.com as VP, Finance

Auto portal CarWale.com has appointed Ashok Kumar De as vice president, finance. Ashok Kumar De has over 15 years of experience in financial management. He was with Web 18 prior to CarWale. His earlier associations have been with ITC, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages and Reliance Communications.

Mauj Mobile appoints Yuzdi Badhniwalla as Head of Consumer Marketing

Mauj Mobile, the wireless division of People Group (Shaadi.com), has appointed Yuzdi Badhniwalla as head of consumer marketing. Badhniwalla has worked with the Times Group and Rediff.com, where he was involved in the launch of TimesClassifieds.com and in scaling up Rediff P4C classifieds.

BharatMatrimony partners with Tata Sky to make its services available on TV

Matrimony portal BharatMatrimony.com has partnered with a direct to home service provider Tata Sky to make its services available on TV. The move is aimed at making BharatMatrimony.com services available to a wider user base that may not have access to internet.

Harmeet Singh Arora joins mKhoj as Director & Head of Sales

Mobile advertising network mKhoj has appointed Harmeet Singh Arora as director and head of sales for India and neighbouring countries. Prior to joining mKhoj, Arora was head, media sales and strategic alliances at Reliance Entertainment`s gaming division Zapak.com. He has also worked at Rediff.com as director, corporate business development.

99acres.com partners with SecondSpace to share property listings

Info Edge India's real estate portal 99acres.com has partnered with SecondSpace.com, a US-based online marketplace for second homes and recreational retreats. The partnership will allow users of both the portals to access listings for buying second homes and recreational retreats.

NDTV Convergence partners with Hovr to launch gaming channel on its wap portal

NDTV Convergence has partnered with Hovr, a mobile media company, to introduce a gaming channel on its wap portal Mobile.NDTV.com, also known as NDTV Active.

CyberMedia Careers shuts down, migrates users to TimesJobs
IT jobs portal CyberMedia Careers (formerly Cyber Media Dice Careers) has decided to vacate the online recruitment space, and has transferred its candidates' database to TimesJobs.com, a job portal owned by Times Business Solutions.

Accel Partners join hands with Erasmic to launch Accel India Venture Fund

Bangalore-based early stage investment firm Erasmic Venture Fund has merged with Accel Partners, a leading venture capital firm that operates in US, Europe, Israel and China. The new entity will be called Accel India Venture Fund, which will be raising a $60 million fund later this year.

BCCL (Times group) picks up stake in NaapTol.com

Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (The Times of India group) has picked up a stake in NaapTol Online Shopping, owner of comparison shopping portal NaapTol.com.

GigaOm acquires mobile-focused blog jkOnTheRun

Blogging network Giga Omni Media, the company behind OM Malik's GigaOM, has acquired a mobile-focused blog jkOnTheRun. James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel, founders of jkOnTheRun, will join GigaOM and will continue to write their posts, record their podcasts and shoot their videos.

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.13 | Jul 1-15, 2008

2008-07-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.13

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for July 1–15, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

Miyowa raises $8 million in 2nd round of funding; plans to expand in US, Asia

France-based mobile instant messaging company Miyowa has raised $8 million in a second round of funding from Techfund and Credit Agricole Private Equity. Miyowa had previously raised $4.7 million in September 2006 from Techfund. The new round brings Miyowa's total funding to $12.7 million.

MySpace allows users to share their MySpace profiles with other websites

Social networking site MySpace has launched Data Availability, a data sharing project that would enable users to share their MySpace profiles with other websites. However, third-party sites would not be allowed to store MySpace user data on their websites.

Ozone Media raises $4 million from IDG Ventures India

Bangalore based online ad network Ozone Media has received $4 million from IDG Ventures India. This is the first round of funding by Ozone Media which intends to use the fund for increasing the number of its partner websites and strengthen its marketing strategy.

Sulekha.com plans to enter UK, Dubai; to expand in 30 more cities in India

Social networking and classifieds site Sulekha.com, which is currently present in 35 Indian cities, 12 cities in US and Toronto in Canada, is now planning to enter UK and Dubai. The company is also preparing to launch its services in 30 more Indian cities.

Ideacts Innovations raises $5 million from Sequoia Capital

Ideacts Innovations, which has developed a desktop interface application Clinck, has raised $5 million from Sequoia Capital. Clinck aims to provide cyber cafe users shortcuts to internet browsers, messengers, search, news, entertainment and online storage, as well as advertisements from various companies.

IndiaMart nominated for Emerging India Awards 2008

IndiaMart.com, an online B2B marketplace, has been included in the three companies nominated for Emerging India Awards 2008 for the small and medium enterprises sector. The awards, jointly organized by ICICI Bank and CNBC TV 18, seek to recognise India's most globally competitive SMEs.

eBay fined $63 million for allowing users to sell fake merchandise on its site

Online auction company eBay has been ordered by a court in Paris to pay 40 million euros ($63 million) in damages to a leading luxury brand, Louis Vuitton (LVMH), for turning a blind eye to the selling of fake merchandise on its site.

LD Sharma to bring another affiliate network to India powered by UK-based OMG

UK-based Online Media Group, a leading affiliate network with strong position in the Finance and Insurance sector, will power LD Sharma's newly set up online marketing company Shoogloo to bring second affiliate network in India. OMG, which has clients like Aviva, MBNA and Virgin, is expected to launch its technology in India by the middle of August 2008.

YouTube asked to submit logging information of its users

Video sharing site YouTube has been ordered by a court in US to divulge the logging information of its users. The ruling came in response to a $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by Viacom which demanded to review all of YouTube's logging information to prove that copyrighted clips are more popular than amateur videos on the site.

Indiaplaza.in launches annual award to honour Indian author of fiction

Online shopping company Indiaplaza.in has launched Indiaplaza Golden Quill Book Awards, an annual award to honour Indian author of fiction. The company has invited publishing houses in India to nominate their best books published in 2007.

MagicBricks property show in Kuwait nets Rs 70 crore in business

Real estate portal MagicBricks.com has its property fair organised on 20th and 21st June 2008 in Kuwait witnessed the participation of over 1,000 property seekers who conducted business of over Rs 70 crore.

HomeShop18 raises $21 million from SAIF Partners, Capital18

HomeShop18, a joint venture between Network 18 Group and SAIF Partners, has raised $21 million in second round of funding. In this round, while SAIF Partners has invested $16 million, Capital18, the private equity arm of Network 18 group, has put in $5 million.

Electronic Arts plans to launch Facebook application to challenge Scrabulous

US-based Electronic Arts, a video gaming company that owns rights to digital versions of the board game Scrabble, plans to launch a Facebook application based on Scrabble. The new application is expected to challenge Scrabulous, a popular Facebook game developed by Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla of Kolkata.

PaidContent acquired by Britain's Guardian Group for $30 million

ContentNext, a US-based company which owns popular blogs like PaidContent, MocoNews and ContentSutra, has been acquired by Britain's Guardian Media Group for $30 million. ContentNext, which was founded by Rafat Ali in 2002, also organises conferences and publishes reports.

DimDim raises $6 million in Series B funding

Web conferencing company DimDim.com has raised $6 million in second round of funding from existing investors Index Ventures, Nexus India Capital and Draper Richards. Last year, DimDim had raised $2.4 million in its first round from the same investors.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

Zoomtra launches travel review application for social network users

Travel search engine Zoomtra.com has launched India Dekha, a destination and travel review application for users of social networking sites Orkut and Facebook.

Goosefish launches travel ad network GoSindbad

Goosefish Media Ventures, a company promoted by the founders of Webchutney, has launched GoSindbad.com, a vertical ad network for the online travel companies and airlines websites.

MouthShut allows users to publish product reviews through SMS

MouthShut.com, a product reviews portal, has launched a SMS-based service that enables users to send quick review of a product or service in 160 characters through their mobile phones.

Rajshri Media launches short video clips for mobile phone users

Rajshri Media has launched Akbar Birbal Remixed, a series of short video clips designed for viewing on mobile phones. The short clips of three minutes duration each is currently available for Idea Cellular's subscribers who have GPRS-enabled mobile phones. Rajshri Media is also in talks with other telecom operators for a similar deal.

AOL India launches micro sites to promote Bollywood movies

AOL India has launched two micro sites to promote Bollywood movies Love Story 2050 and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. According to AOL India, the micro sites offer movie wallpapers, articles on the stars, pictures, video clips and movie trivia.

TakeOverCode.com to help companies in mergers and acquisitions deals

Corporate Professionals, a corporate legal and financial advisory firm, has launched TakeOverCode.com based on laws relating to mergers and acquisitions in India.

TalentCraft.in launched to offer assessment and training solutions

Times Business Solutions has launched Talent Craft that would offer assessment and training solutions to enhance business performance and reduce attrition. For these solutions, Talent Craft has partnered with NIIT, Dale Carnegie, Skill Profiler Analytics, Grid International, Vital Smarts and Aspectum Consulting.

Indg.in launched to provide information on agriculture, health, primary education

Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a part of ministry of communications and information technology, government of India, has developed India Development Gateway portal, Indg.in, that aims to provide information to villagers and weaker sections of the society about their strategic needs related to agriculture, health, primary education, energy and e-governance.

NDTV Convergence launches NoGyan.com to offer unusual news

NDTV Convergence, the digital media arm of NDTV Group, has launched NoGyan.com that would offer news, views and analysis of unusual happenings in areas such as glamour, celebrities, sports, technology, spirituality, health and automobiles.

Rediff Trains FareSearch allows users to check for train seat availability

Rediff.com has launched Trains FareSearch that allows users to check for train seat availability, fares, PNR status, and schedule of trains including arrival and departure status.

DoubleClick Performics Affiliate renamed as Google Affiliate Network

Google has launched an affiliate advertising network called Google Affiliate Network, earlier known as DoubleClick Performics Affiliate, which allows online publishers to get paid for every successful sale transactions that their websites bring to advertisers. Google acquired online advertising firm DoubleClick in March 2008.

Games2win launches online gaming network Invizi Ads

Online gaming company Games2win.com has launched Invizi Ads Network, an online gaming network that allows game developers to preload their games with ads powered by InviziAds and earn revenues when their games are played. The network also enables developers to make the ads visible or invisible on the websites of their choice.

Times Internet (Indiatimes) launches auto portal ZigWheels.com

Times Internet Limited (Indiatimes.com) has launched ZigWheels.com, an auto portal that allows users to search for used and new cars.

Zedo launches ad reporting technology designed for Web 2.0 sites

US-based ad serving company Zedo has launched an internet ad reporting technology Zedo Ad Sequence Deep Dive Report, designed for photo sharing sites, social networking sites and gaming websites where users stay on for a considerable amount of time.

MySpace launches mobile application for iPhone users

Social networking site MySpace has launched a mobile application for Apple iPhone users. The new application integrates MySpace's core social networking components and allows users to get real-time updates, search the network and add friends, compose and delete mail, view and post bulletins, and upload and share pictures.

Google Lively enables users to create 3D virtual chat rooms

Google has launched an online tool called Lively that allows users to create 3D (three dimensional) virtual chat rooms where they can invite friends and chat with them online. Users of Lively can also decorate their online chat rooms and personalize the surroundings with avatars, outfits and furniture of their choice.

Pitchh.com provides an online meeting ground for brands and agencies

New Delhi-based Scenario Consulting has launched Pitchh.com, an online meeting ground for brands and agencies. The website allows brands to create and invite pitch applications while agencies across streams of advertising, public relations, marketing and social media can submit their responses to be evaluated privately.

HolidayIQ launches travel game for Orkut users

Travel community portal HolidayIQ.com has developed a travel game called Your HolidayIQ which is now live on social networking site Orkut.

Antya lets users check availability of upto 10 domains simultaneously

India focussed human powered search engine Antya.com has introduced a new service that allows users to check the availability of domain names. With the help of this service users can check domain availability for upto 10 domains at a same time.

ICICI Bank launches internet banking with zero charges and no minimum balance

ICICI Bank has launched B2-Branch-free Banking, a direct bank which will enable customers to manage all their finances online. Customers opting for B2-Branch-free Banking can benefit from zero charges and no minimum balance.

Yahoo Games offers ad-supported downloadable games

Yahoo has launched Yahoo Games that offers ad-supported downloadable games from the top casual games publishers. Paid downloads without advertising will also be available to users on Yahoo Games.

US-based travel search engine Kayak enters India, launches Kayak.in

US-based travel meta search engine Kayak.com has launched its India specific website Kayak.in that currently offers its users flight search and fare alerts facilities.

Ayushveda launches online lingerie store LeTease.in

Ayushveda Informatics has launched LeTease.in, an online lingerie store with over 400 exclusive designs for women's innerwear including thongs, g-strings, baby dolls, camisoles, teddies, bustier, corsets, chemises, mini dresses, gowns, robes, garter belts and chainmails.

Brijj.com launches contest to encourage users expand their network

Brijj.com, a professional networking website owned by Info Edge India (Naukri.com Group), has launched Build2Win contest designed to initiate Brijj.com users to invite contacts, add people and expand their network.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

Expedia acquires majority stake in Travelguru for $17 million

US-based online travel company Expedia, which launched its India operations in March 2008, have acquired a majority stake in Travelguru, one of India's leading online travel company with focus on hotel booking, for $17 million. The deal values Travelguru at about $30 million.

Samfra partners with CricBuzz.com to offer live cricket scores

Local search engine Samfra.com has partnered with cricket site CricBuzz.com to offer cricket scores of live matches on its search results page. The website displays the score on the right side in search results page while users are searching for anything in Samfra.

Mohan Anand joins SimplyMarry.com as head of ad sales

Mohan Kumar Anand has joined Times Business Solutions as chief manager and head of ad sales for SimplyMarry.com. Prior to joining Times Business Solutions, Mohan Anand was working as senior manager, interactive business at Zee News.

OnMobile acquires speech technology company Telisma Mobile value added services company OnMobile has acquired France-based Telisma, which has developed a speech technology and language processing software that enables people to use their own vernacular language to access value added services and interactive voice services over the telephone.

BCCL (Times Group) picks up stake in Taxshax.com

The private equity arm of Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd (The Times of India Group), has picked up stake in First Altus Resources and Networks which owns an online income tax return filing site Taxshax.com. The stake is in exchange for ad and branding support for Taxshax in the BCCL-owned properties.

Arunava Sinha joins NDTV Convergence as Chief Product Officer

NDTV Convergence, the digital media arm of NDTV Group, has appointed Arunava Sinha as chief product officer. Prior to joining NDTV Convergence, Sinha was chief product officer at Ibibo Web where he was involved in building a complete suite of Web 2.0 products.

Microsoft acquires search startup Powerset

Microsoft has acquired Powerset, a US-based search startup whose technology attempts to understand the full meaning of phrases and not just keywords. With this acquisition, Microsoft hopes to take Search to the next level by adding understanding of the intent and meaning behind the words in searches and web pages.

Marc Andreessen joins Facebook board of directors

Web pioneer and Netscape founder Marc Andreessen has joined the board of Facebook which includes Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and venture capitalists Jim Breyer and Peter Thiel.

NDTV Convergence ties-up with July Systems to launch Mi SMS in India

NDTV Convergence, the new media arm of NDTV Group, has partnered with US-based mobile technology company July Systems to launch Mi SMS in India. The new service, which offers a sachet version of the mobile internet, will enable GPRS activated mobile phone users to access live multimedia content on mobile internet via SMS.

BuzzInTown ties-up with Zook to offer events related information on mobile

Events listing site BuzzInTown.com has partnered with mobile answer engine Zook.in to offer information about local events on the mobile platform. The service is currently available in 10 cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Bangalore.

Sunil Rajshekhar joins Times Internet (Indiatimes) as COO

Times Internet Ltd (Indiatimes.com) has appointed Sunil Rajshekhar as chief operating officer of the company, reports MediaNama. Prior to joining TIL, he was head of BCCL's (Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd's) Private Treaties business. At Indiatimes Rajshekhar will report to Dinesh Wadhawan, MD and CEO, TIL.

Yahoo partners with IIT Bombay to drive search innovation

Yahoo has partnered with top technology universities including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University to drive search experimentation, innovation and research for search.

OnMobile partners with mobile operator to launch Ad Ring Back Tones

Mobile VAS (value added services) company OnMobile has partnered with a GSM operator in Mumbai to launch Ad Ring Back Tones. When a user subscribes to Ad RBT, callers to that user will be presented with audio ads, which are personalized to the caller's profile.

PaidContent acquired by Britain's Guardian Group for $30 million

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.12 | Jun 16-30, 2008

2008-06-30T02:37:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.12

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for June 16–30, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

Virtual Marketing (Hungama.com) in talks to sell minority stake
Virtual Marketing India Ltd is in talks with Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Kishore Biyani's Indivision and Standard Chartered Private Equity to sell a minority stake for $40 million (around Rs 170 crore). The company's valuation has been pegged at Rs 800 crore.

RBI issues guidelines for mobile payments
Reserve Bank of India has issued draft operating guidelines that aim to facilitate fund transfer through mobile phones across networks and service providers. The central bank has permitted the use of SMS-based mobile payments for small transactions up to Rs 1,500 in its draft.

ThatsCricket.com to offer live cricket scores in 5 Indian languages
ThatsCricket.com, the cricket portal of OneIndia.in users would be able to see live cricket scores coverage in five Indian languages -- Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, besides English whenever there is a cricket match in progress.

FutureBazaar to partner with logistics service company Aramex
FutureBazaar.com is all set to partner with Aramex, a Dubai-based logistics service company, which will help the e-commerce company deliver goods to over 12,000 destinations in India.

Jivox raises $10.7 million from Opus Capital, Helion Venture
US-based online video ad company Jivox, which helps small businesses to create, target and deliver online video ads, has closed a $10.7 million Series A round of funding led by Opus Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm. Helion Venture Partners, an India-focused venture fund, also participated in the round, along with Jivox's existing investors.

MagicBricks property show in Hyderabad nets Rs 10 crore
Real estate portal MagicBricks.com has said its two-day property fair organised on 14th and 15th June 2008 in Hyderabad witnessed the participation of over 5,000 home seekers who conducted business of over Rs 10 crore.

LinkedIn raises $53 million in funding led by Bain Capital
Professional networking site LinkedIn has raised $53 million in the fourth round of funding led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from LinkedIn's existing investors Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Ventures. LinkedIn had previously raised $27 million. The investment of $53 million by its partners values the company at over $1 billion.

Tencent to acquire 50% stake in MIH India (Ibibo) for $7.5 million
MIH India (Ibibo.com) has entered into an agreement to divest about 50 per cent stake to China-based Tencent Holdings. Tencent, in turn, will invest at least $7.5 million in MIH India over a period of three years.

PayMate plans to partner with IRCTC for railway tickets booking
Mobile payment company PayMate India, which recently raised $9 million in a second round of funding which took the total funding received by the company till date to $14 million, is planning to partner with IRCTC (which runs Indian Railways' online passenger reservation site IRCTC.co.in) for railway tickets booking. It also plans to increase its visibility in Sri Lanka and Nepal and is looking to enter the Middle-East

MagicBricks to organise property fair in Kuwait on 20-21 Jun 2008
Real estate portal MagicBricks.com will host a property fair in Kuwait on 20th and 21st June 2008. India Property Show, Kuwait is aimed at NRIs (non-resident Indians) and PIOs (person of Indian origin) who are planning to return to their homeland or invest in real estate in India.

Firefox 3 available in Gujarati and Punjabi, but not in Hindi
Open source web browser Firefox 3, which was recently launched by Mozilla, is available in more than 45 languages including Gujarati and Punjabi. However, the absence of Hindi as one of the languages is most surprising considering that Gujarati and Punjabi have made the cut, reports DNA.

TimesJobs job fair in Pune witnessed 27,540 walk-ins
TimesJobs.com has said its two-day job fair organised on 14th and 15th June 2008 in Pune witnessed the participation of over 27,540 jobseekers of whom 1,240 received spot offers and 2,650 candidates were shortlisted by companies for interviews.

Firefox 3 sets record with 8 million downloads in 24 hours
Firefox, the second most popular web browser in the world after Microsoft's Internet Explorer, claims to have set a world record after the latest version of the web browser was downloaded more than eight million times in first 24 hours of its launch.

Rediff invests in SMS content sharing site Vakow.com
Rediff.com has invested an undisclosed amount in Vakow.com that allows users to post their SMSes on its website and share them with their friends through phone, email or various social networking sites. Vakow was launched by IIT Bombay alumni Rahul Gupta and Amit Upadhyay in October 2007.

Classifieds website Kijiji India renamed as Quikr.com
Kijiji India which runs a classifieds website Kijiji.in has been re-named as Quikr.com. The new name Quikr captures the simplicity of use and features the website is built on.

Nokia plans to offer internet based services for rural India
Mobile phone maker Nokia plans to offer internet based services in micro-finance, distribution and agricultural information for the people living in rural India. The company is already in talks with mobile operators and content providers in India to take its internet services brand Ovi to more number of cities in the country.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

Nautanki.tv to rate online videos, ads shown on its network
Online video channel Nautanki.tv has introduced a video rating system called Online Video Rating Points to judge the popularity of the video content and pre-roll or post-roll ads that run on its network.

LootStreet.com allows users to bargain before they buy or sell products
Hyderabad-based startup AKVenture Info has launched LootStreet.com that allows users to bargain before they actually buy or sell products on the site. The website accepts payments in the form of demand drafts, debit cards, bank transfers and PayPal.

KheloStocks.com seeks to help investors learn stocks trading skills at zero risk
Three IIT Delhi graduates Akhil Bansal, Sameer Gandhi and Vivek Goel have launched KheloStocks.com that aims to help budding investors experience the dynamics of real time stocks trading at 'zero risk and zero cost basis'.

Tyroo Media launches cricket channel
Online ad network Tyroo Media has launched a cricket channel whose inventory includes CricketNirvana.com (Neo Sports), KrishCricket.com (online initiative of ex-cricketer Krish Shreekant), vCricket.com, CricBuzz.com, ZeeCric.com along with cricket channels of Sify, OneIndia and ExpressIndia.

123Greetings.com launches e-card application for Orkut users
123Greetings.com has launched an e-card application that allows users of Google-owned social networking site Orkut to send e-greetings to their friends and see what cards other people in their network have sent. The e-card application is already live on Bebo, Facebook, MySpace and Friendster.

Yahoo launches localized version of Yahoo Go 3.0 for India
Yahoo has introduced localized versions of Yahoo Go 3.0 for India, Australia and Southeast Asia, including a local language version for Indonesia, and an English version of Yahoo oneSearch with voice that recognizes regional accents.

Zee News launches 'masala' gossip site SpiceZee.com
Zee News has launched SpiceZee.com, which will feature news and views pertaining to glamour, entertainment and lifestyle.

MySpace unveils new design to enhance user engagement
Social networking site MySpace has introduced a series of user interface changes that include the site's home page, navigation, profile editing, search and MySpaceTV player. The redesign is aimed at empowering the website's global community to more intuitively navigate throughout the site and better communicate with their family and friends around the world.

Microsoft launches its 'Are You Ready for the Big Game?' campaign on mobile
Microsoft has partnered with mobile VAS (value added services) company Mobile2win to take its original software promotion campaign, 'Are You Ready for the Big Game?' on the mobile platform.

Dailymotion launches video sharing site for Indian users
France-based video sharing site Dailymotion has entered India with the launch of Dailymotion.com/in that will offer localised as well as international content. The website allows users to upload videos of upto 20 minutes duration. But for select creative users, called MotionMakers, the file size is unlimited.

Yahoo launches email domains ymail.com, rocketmail.com
Yahoo has launched two new email domains ymail.com and rocketmail.com which will offer the same Yahoo Mail experience, like unlimited storage, integrated instant messaging, free text messaging and localized versions around the world.

Technorati launches ad network for blogs
US-based blog search engine Technorati has launched Technorati Media, a blog advertising network that will be open to large as well as small blogs and sell ads on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis.

BigAdda launches mobile blogging service for Amitabh Bachchan
Reliance Entertainment's social networking site BigAdda.com, which counts Amitabh Bachchan as one of its bloggers, has introduced a mobile blogging service called MoBlog exclusively for Big B. The company also plans to make this service available for other users of BigAdda.

Google Trends for Websites allows users to know how popular a website is
Google has launched Google Trends for Websites that allows users to know how popular a particular websites is, the countries where the website is most popular, the top related sites and search terms. The new service also compares and ranks website visitation across geographies, and related websites and searches.

Cleartrip launches International Flight Search
Online travel company Cleartrip.com has launched International Flight Search, which would allow users "to search for flights from India to any of the world's destinations". Currently, users can only search for flights and not book them. The online booking facility is expected to be made available in the next few days.

Youtopia.in launched to help companies create their own social networks
Online video channel Nautanki.tv has launched Youtopia.in that will enable companies to create their own social networking site. Youtopia is currently in alpha stage and access to the site is available through invitation only.

SlideShare launches online contest to select 'best' PowerPoint presentation
SlideShare, which enables users to share PowerPoint presentations, has launched an online contest called World's Best Presentation Contest 2008. The contest is aimed at uncovering the Global Presentation Superheroes for 2008.

Yatra.com enables customers to cancel domestic air tickets online
Travel portal Yatra.com has introduced Online Ticket Cancellation facility that will enable customers to cancel their domestic air tickets online. The new service also offers partial cancellation facility under which customers can cancel air ticket of a single passenger from a group ticket.

Google launches Ad Planner tool for online media buyers
Google has launched Google Ad Planner that provides general traffic and demographic information for websites, including gender, age, education and household income. The new service is aimed at helping online media planners in selecting websites where they could place their ads to get maximum impact.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

Aegis Media acquires strategic stake in search marketing firm Communicate 2
Aegis Media, $20-billion global communications group, has acquired a strategic stake in Mumbai-based search marketing and contextual advertising firm, Communicate 2. The partnership will enable Aegis Media to include search into the communication solutions from its media planning arm Carat in India and launch Isobar as the digital marketing solution for the Indian market.

BCCL (The Times group) acquires stake in TravelChaCha.com
Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd (The Times of India group) has acquired stake in New Delhi-based Culture Holiday, which owns a travel portal TravelChaCha.com. BCCL had earlier acquired 17 per cent stake in Bangalore-based Leisure & Lifestyle Information Services, which owns travel community portal HolidayIQ.com.

Yahoo, Google to enable interoperability between Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk
Yahoo and Google have agreed to enable interoperability between Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk, their respective instant messaging services, bringing easier and broader communication to users. The agreement is part of a broader deal under which Yahoo will have an option to display Google ads alongside its own natural search results in US and Canada.

One97 Communications appoints Sandeep Mirakhur as COO
Mobile value added services company One97 Communications has appointed Sandeep Mirakhur as chief operating officer. Prior to joining One97, Sandeep Mirakhur was chief marketing officer of Bharti Airtel's West Hub. In his new role, Mirakhur will lead the sales and business unit operations at One97.

Yahoo ties-up with Idea Cellular to carry graphical ads on Idea network
Yahoo has partnered with Idea Cellular, a mobile phone operator in India, to carry a variety of graphical advertisements, sold and served by Yahoo. The new partnership with Idea Cellular is the result of continued collaborations to develop and enhance the mobile internet experience for consumers.

Vdopia to serve video ads on ZoomTV.in
Video ad network Vdopia has entered into an advertising deal with ZoomTV.in, the website of Zoom TV channel, to procure and serve advertisements for ZoomTV.in's video partner network.

Sify iWays to distribute GiftMate mobile gift vouchers
Mobile payment company PayMate India has partnered with broadband service provider Sify Technologies to make its GiftMate mobile gift vouchers available through 3,000 Sify iWay cyber cafes spread across 180 cities in the country.

Sachin Vashishta joins ABP Digital as head of internet properties
ABP Digital, which own brands like BusinessWorld.in, TelegraphIndia.com, AnandaBazar.com and iLoveKolkata.in, has appointed Sachin Vashishta as head of internet properties.

CrazyPricing Online Services acquires majority stake in CafeGadgets.in
Delhi-based consumer electronics retail chain CrazyPricing Online Services has acquired majority stake in CafeGadgets.in, a leading online retailer of gadgets and gizmos, for an undisclosed amount.

MTV ties-up with MSN India to take its reality show MTV Splitsvilla online
MTV has partnered with MSN India to take its romance-drama reality show MTV Splitsvilla, in which 20 female contestants vie for the attention of two male contestants, online. Under the deal, MSN has created a site MSNIndia.com/Splitsvilla that features video clips, a contest and a blog.

DailyMotion appoints Hungama Mobile as its strategic partner in India
France-based video sharing site DailyMotion.com, which recently launched its Indian operations, has appointed Hungama Mobile as its strategic partner in India. Under the deal, Hungama Mobile will advise DailyMotion on the companies with which it can forge an alliance with.

Sulekha.com ties-up with CareerBuilder India to launch Premium jobs section
Social networking and classifieds site Sulekha.com has partnered with CareerBuilderIndia.com, an online job portal owned by US-based CareerBuilder.com, to launch its Premium Jobs section. Under the agreement, CareerBuilder India will provide job posting, resume posting and job search services for all the premium job prospects on Sulekha.com.

Facebook signs $2 million ad campaign deal with credit card company Visa
Social networking site Facebook has signed an ad campaign deal worth $2 million with credit card company Visa. Under the deal, the credit card company will give $100 in advertising credit to each of the first 20,000 US businesses that download Visa Business Network.

NDTV Imagine's TV serial Ramayan launched on BIGFlix.com
NDTV Imagine has partnered with Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group's movie rental service BIGFlix to make its TV serial Ramayan available on BIGFlix.com. NDTV now plans to launch some of its other popular TV shows on BIGFlix.

CricInfo partners with Myntra to offer cricket merchandise
Cricket news and information site CricInfo.com has tied up with Myntra.com, an online platform for personalized merchandise, to allow its users buy cricket merchandise like T-shirt, coffee mug, mouse pad and poster.

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G

Makkad G's 10101 | 02.11 | Jun 1-15, 2008

2008-06-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Makkad G's 10101

1nformation 0n 1ndian 0nline 1ndustry

(Beta…, Beti, Bhai, Behen. Every1's invited!)

Version 02.11

Hello,

Here's your issue of Makkad G's 10101 for June 1–15, 2008.

Happy Reading!

Makkad G

Talk of the Town

Yahoo sued for disseminating copyright content from T-Series
Delhi High Court has passed an interim injunction that prohibits Yahoo Video from streaming copyright content from music company Super Cassettes Industries. The court has also issued a notice to US-based Yahoo and its Indian subsidiary.

Sify revenues grow by 11% at $150 million for 2007-08
Sify Technologies has reported revenues of $150.59 million for the year ended 31st March 2008, a growth of 11 per cent as compared to $136.12 million reported for the previous year. Net profit, however, went down from $6.25 million in the March 2007 ended year to $0.12 million in the 2007-08 financial year.

MouthShut Local offers information on what's hot in 20 cities
MouthShut.com, a product reviews portal, has launched MouthShut Local, a city guide that offers information under 13 categories on what's hot and what's not in 20 cities of India. MouthShut Local is currently available in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bhopal, Mysore, Surat, Amritsar, Cochin, Goa, Jaipur, Lucknow, Mangalore, and Trivandrum.

Amul to set up its virtual production facility in Second Life
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which has already set up Amul virtual ice cream parlour in Second Life, is now planning to buy eight to ten islands, equal to 160 acres of virtual land, in the 3D online virtual world to set up a simulation of its production and distribution facility.

Turner creates its own ad network
US-based media company Turner, a part of Time Warner, has created its own ad network to consolidate and sell its display and video ad inventory across its 19 web properties including CNN.com and CartoonNetwork.com.

Fin-e-ssential gets funded by Mumbai Angels, Erasmic Venture
Mumbai-based Fin-e-ssential Infotech, which owns an online tax filing site FileMyReturns.com, has received early stage investment, estimated to be under $1 million, from Mumbai Angels and Erasmic Venture Funds.

RedBus conducted business worth Rs 20 crore in 2007
The company conducted business worth Rs 20 crore during the 2007 calendar year and plans to increase it three-fold this year. They plan on doing this by tapping other segments which are underserved today. RedBus is not too keen on serving any of the traditional offerings like air tickets, hotels etc.

Microsoft India in talks with mobile operators to expand its SMS search services
Microsoft India, which has already partnered with Vodafone to offer SMS (short messaging service) search services in the country, is now in talks with various mobile service operators including CDMA player Reliance Communications to expand the reach of its SMS search services in India.

WebSight!-Spin the Web. Explore!

PubMatic MediaKit to help Web publishers sell ad space directly to advertisers
Ad network aggregator company PubMatic has launched PubMatic MediaKit that enables website publishers to create a customized media kit that would help them sell advertising space on their websites by giving potential advertisers all the information they need.

LaunchPad-Just Born Online (I just love the Betas!)

Shilpa Shetty launches her website ShilpaShettyLive.com
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has launched her website ShilpaShettyLive.com that aims to promote brand Shilpa in general and popularize her perfume and Yoga DVD in particular, reports South Asian Women's Forum.

Burrp goes mobile; launches WAP site m.burrp.com
Burrp.com, a social recommender website for events and hangouts, has launched its WAP site m.burrp.com which can be accessed on GPRS-enabled mobile phones.

Rediff Product Search allows users to compare products, read reviews, check prices
Rediff.com has launched Rediff Product Search which allows users to compare products, read reviews, check prices and find 'the best deals' in their city. The service currently covers 16 product categories including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptops and mp3 players under electronics and cars and bikes under automobiles.

MyDuniya enables mobile phone users to send email through SMS
Bangalore-based MyDuniya Networks has launched an SMS-based application that allows mobile users to send emails, save and retrieve personal information and share contact details by sending an SMS without the need for an internet access.

AOL launches Indian version of its men's lifestyle site Asylum.com
AOL has launched Asylum.in, the Indian version of its men's lifestyle site Asylum.com. The website was first launched in US in December 2007.

Games2Win enables Orkut users to slap their friends
Online gaming company Games2Win.com has launched Slapster, an application for users of social networking site Orkut. The new application, which is based on one of Games2Win.com's popular games, allows users to virtually slap their friends and also state the reason for slapping.

Travelguru.com launches new user interface to enhance hotel booking experience
Online travel company Travelguru.com has launched a new hotels user interface to enhance the user's overall hotel booking experience. The new hotels user interface features tab-based browsing and includes Google Maps to help users view hotel locations on a map. It also allows users to search by hotel name, star rating and amenities.

Galileo launches travel related podcast service in India
Galileo, a global travel technology solutions provider, has launched Galileo Podcast, an internet radio service in India. It aims at 100 per cent e-ticketing.

Green.NDTV.com launched to promote TV reality show India's Environmentalist
NDTV has launched Green.NDTV.com to generate entries for and engage people with its TV reality show called India's Environmentalist that seeks to search for people who are involved in environment protection work.

People Group's ad network targets South Asian people living in UK
People Group, which owns matrimony portal Shaadi.com, social networking site Fropper.com and real estate portal Makaan.com, has launched an internet ad network, People Online, that aims to help advertisers and media buyers communicate to the South Asian people living in UK.

Yulop launches WAP site; offers local information for mobile users
Vertical local commerce site Yulop.com has launched its mobile WAP site at http://m.yulop.com, which can be accessed on GPRS enabled handsets. Yulop's mobile WAP site offers geo-coded local search information on local businesses, bus routes, movie timings and events from Bangalore.

Papam.in enables users to send personalized paper greeting cards
Noida-based startup Pcmbplus Technologies has launched Papam.in, a web platform that allows users to send personalized paper greeting cards, corporate certificates and customized invitation cards at the doorsteps of the recipient.

Rediff introduces toolbar compatible with Firefox 3
Rediff.com has made its Rediff Toolbar compatible with Firefox 3, the latest version of Firefox browser. With this release, Rediff claims to have made its toolbar application available for all versions of both Internet Explorer and Firefox web browsers.

Nexus-Link.Un.Link

Ibibo, FTV to jointly launch iFashion Photographer Hunt
Social networking site Ibibo.com in partnership with FTV channel is planning to launch Ibibo FTV iFashion Photographer Hunt that would allow amateur fashion photographers to showcase their talent and be a part of FTV and also get guidance from ace fashion photographer, Jatin Kampani.

Microsoft partners with HP to increase usage of its Live Search service
Microsoft has signed a deal with HP to install a Live Search-enabled toolbar on all HP consumer PCs planned to ship in US and Canada, beginning in January 2009. As part of the deal, the default search engine setting in the browser on all HP consumer PCs will also be set to Microsoft Live Search.

comScore acquires mobile media measurement company M:Metrics
Internet research firm comScore has acquired US-based mobile media measurement company M:Metrics for $44.3 million in cash plus 50,000 options of comScore stock.

Ibibo ties up with FTV to launch Ibibo FTV iFashion Photographer Contest
Social networking site Ibibo Web has partnered with fashion and lifestyle channel Fashion TV to launch Ibibo FTV iFashion Photographer Contest to enable amateur fashion photographers across India showcase their talent at the national level. The contest is being supported by a TV campaign and online media.

Ambika Tiku joins Starcom IP as India head
Starcom IP, the digital marketing arm of Starcom Mediavest group, has appointed Ambika Tiku as the company's head for its India operations. Ambika Tiku moves from Lowe India where she was the head of digital. She will replace Hari Shankar, the current Starcom IP India leader, who will be moving into a product focused regional role.

ApnaLoan to power UTVi Loans column on UTVi.com
ApnaLoan.com, an online marketplace for loan products, and UTVi.com, website for UTV's English business news channel UTVi, have signed an agreement under which ApnaLoan will provide content, information and services about home loans, personal loans, credit cards, car loans and educational loans to the users of UTVi.com under the UTVi Loans column.

Contests2win ties-up with iTasveer.com to launch photography contest
Contests2win.com in association with online photo management site iTasveer.com has launched monsoon photography contest where users can upload images around the theme - Monsoon Magic and also rate images uploaded by other participants of the contest.

MTV launches its adventure based reality show MTV Roadies on Orkut
MTV has partnered with Google to launch the online version of its adventure based reality show MTV Roadies on Google's social networking site Orkut. In order to participate in the contest, users will first have to add an application called Sony Ericsson MTV Roadies Battleground to their Orkut profile.

Yahoo, Havas Digital to jointly develop media trading platform
Yahoo and Havas Digital, one of the world's leading interactive agencies, have signed an agreement under which Havas Digital will work with Yahoo's Right Media Exchange to develop a proprietary media trading platform.

That's all for now folks!

Makkad-G