Glob – The Indusgeeks Blog

Am posting this from my room in Guwahati. All hail the new messiah .. the HSIA ( short for High Speed Internet Access) Device.. my Photon + . I brought along my lil Lenovo S10-2 netbook instead of my XPS and my shoulders have professed undying love already.. ! I was here on the invitation of the ABP Group ( Telegraph, Business World etc.) to speak on ‘Looking at Tomorrow – Emerging Entrepreneurs’.  Having had a packed week before the conference I arrived in Guwahati on the 27th of August without a single slide for the presentation on the 28th !

But I really wanted to test the power of virtual communications and productivity and sure enough as soon as the lights blinked green on my Photon + USB..I knew, I would be okay. This is what 24×7, universal access to broadband can do. Give you the confidence to prioritise work .. not on the basis of scarce resources ( i.e. Internet availability ) but on merit and availability of your time. So I worked through the night and early morning with Google, girl friend in L.A. and Ashi in Bombay to finish off the presentation.

The next day ..at the conference the presentation was well received ( thanks Ashi and Namita) . The accounts of other entrepreneurs such as Mr. Santosh Ostwal of Ossian ( Pune) who has created a mobile controlled device for water pumps which won a global award from Nokia made me think of convergence between mobile and computers again! With a slew IEDs ( Internet Enabled Devices) available in the market the days of ‘anytime access’ can’t be far behind..  India with it’s 441+ million mobile connections projected to grow upwards of 700 million by 2012 will be one of the first countries I believe to be significantly affected by this ICT revolution. For the first time in Indian history – ‘real time’ information will be available through various IEDS like netbooks, mobiles etc. at the doorstep of the ‘aam admi’  - the socio – economic – political implications of this are immense and I touched upon the same in my presentation at the summit.

Another thing I noticed during my first visit to Guwahati was the energy radiating from the youth. After years of separatist and insurgency marked violence the region, at least Guwahati, seems to want to get down to business. Interactions with another panelist Mr. Parthapratim Phukan , CEO of Gray Matter ( a marketing research and consulting ) company based out of Guwahati made me realise the youth here wanted to move on.. needed to move on..  Can Internet technologies like Social networks and Virtual worlds ( which are infact two facets of the p2p networking) bridge the alienation at the average youth in the North East of our country feels from the ‘mainstream’ India. What if ubiquitous IEDS and reliable broadband ( both of which are still unavailable – at most places in the North East and indeed most of India) could bring together people from all parts of India seamlessly without 3 hour flights, army barracks, terrorist threats and language barriers. Could we indeed build the future India as an ‘idea state’ with a sense of shared identity through a virtual universe?  Would this in turn solve the problem of alienation and lead to greater normalcy on the ground for the citizens of our country living in remote locations ( geographically) ?  It might be idealistic and naive to believe that ICT can be the cure to all problems of North East India but we can make a start by reaching out.. from the comforts our home to see if we can make ‘any’ difference.

I believe in the near future networks of people will form for social, business and other purposes seamlessly using 2D and 3D virtual worlds ( think Facebook, Linkedin and Second Life ) and companies like Indusgeeks needs to play an enabling role in the process. The government needs to make Internet access a priority as countless studies have shown the benefits to the overall population when this is done.

Final thoughts from this trip as I pack up… need to spend some time looking at the magnificent Brahmputra before I head towards the airport..

Note to self need to visit here more often..nudge nudge ABP Group.. NICT 2010?

- Sid

Hey all.  So it’s an exciting time for  the company and in our first post for the new year  we’d like to make this big announcement. Yesterday we launched Tata Indicom’s campaign in Second Life and I will post more info on the progress and strategy of the campaign in further posts. For now this is the promotional video/machinima :

Tata Indicom in Second Life

PRESS RELEASE                         FOR FAVOR OF PUBLICATION

Irfan and Yousuf Pathan launch Virtual
Talent Hunt Contest on Tata Indicom Island

First-time ever: Indian Real-World Celebrities in Second Life

•     Only Indian telecom operator to have presence in the Virtual World
•     Exclusive partnership with Indusgeeks to kick off unique Talent Hunt

Mumbai, 20 January 2009: Tata Teleservices Limited, the country’s youngest and fastest-growing pan-India telecom service provider, today announced the extension of its hugely-successful Suno Dil Ki Awaaz brand campaign into the Virtual World, by becoming the first Indian telecom operator to enter the popular Second Life community. This unique marketing initiative is being kicked off with an interactive ‘Virtual Competition’, which combines two hot trends of the day—Virtual Worlds and Talent Hunts.

To top it all, the contest was launched in a unique manner—by the ‘Virtual Avatars’ of Tata Indicom brand ambassadors Irfan and Yousuf Pathan, on Second Life.

TTSL’s unique global outreach initiative has been made possible by a partnership between the company and Indusgeeks Solutions Private Limited, India’s first and the largest Virtual World Development and Services firm based in Mumbai, with partners in London, Milan and Dubai.

The ‘Follow Your Heart’ Talent Hunt is a platform for amateurs (artists, musicians, photographers, etc.) to showcase their talent at the Tata Indicom Island in Second Life from January to March 2009. Participants can upload music, photographs and artwork on the website and experience them in a showcase on the Tata Indicom Island where people can vote.

“With the exciting Second Life initiative, we continue with our tradition of launching many industry-firsts,” Tata Teleservices Limited’s Vice-President (Marketing) Abdul Khan said. “The digital world is evolving at a fantastic pace—cutting across geographical and cultural barriers—and we firmly believe that the Virtual World has a huge outreach potential for businesses. As a company at the cutting edge of technology, TTSL always scouts for relevant and innovative technologies and opportunities. We feel our association with Second Life will redefine the concept of outreach and take digital interactivity to the next level—for this will allow Tata Indicom to engage with the growing digital audience in a manner that is relevant to them.”

This initiative adds many new firsts for Tata Teleservices Limited—Tata Indicom is now the first Indian telecom brand to have a mass media campaign of this scale in the Virtual World, the first Indian telecom brand in Second Life, and the first to offer a Virtual Talent Hunt which will allow people from anywhere on the globe to participate. To top it all, Tata Indicom’s brand ambassadors will also be present in their virtual avatars, engaging with visitors in a highly interactive forum—yet another industry first.

“We are thrilled to partner with Tata Teleservices and create a benchmark initiative,” Mr Siddharth Banerjee, Chief Executive Officer of Indusgeeks Solutions Pvt Ltd, said. “Tata Teleservices has demonstrated true thought leadership in the domain of digital marketing by using this interactive, immersive 3D medium to convey their brand story. Indusgeeks is glad to be partnering Tata Indicom in this first initiative of its kind in the Indian context,” he added.

“It is a great feeling to watch myself and Yousufbhai interacting with media friends on the Tata Indicom island in Second Life. It has been a thrilling experience and I am sure it’s going to be as exciting for anyone who visits the site and experiences the brand first-hand,” Irfan Pathan said. “I wonder how long it is going to be before I can play cricket on the Tata Indicom island—though I must say I had fun kicking the football around and beating Siddharth’s team! We are glad Tata Indicom is providing people an opportunity to showcase their talents and bring out the creative in them,” he added.

The Second Life initiative will see Tata Indicom create and own its own ‘island’ in the Virtual World. Users can ‘visit’ this island, participate in the talent hunt, get a deeper understanding of the company’s vast repertoire of products and offerings, ‘feel’ and enjoy the ‘softer properties’ on the island like games, songs and other interactive programs—all in all, get a true feel of Brand Tata Indicom. To learn more and experience Second Life, you can access contest information and details on how to participate by visiting www.tataindicom.com/sl.

About Tata Teleservices Limited:
Tata Teleservices Limited is one of India’s leading private telecom service providers, having a pan-India presence. The company offers integrated telecom solutions to its customers under the Tata Indicom brand, and uses the latest technology platform(s) for its wireless network. Tata Teleservices Limited, along with Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, operates in more than 7,500 towns across all of the country’s 22 telecom Circles. In November 2008, Tata Teleservices entered into an agreement with Japanese telecom major NTT DOCOMO, as part of which the Japanese company acquired a 26% stake in TTSL for USD 2.7 billion. The transaction marks a key step in the strategic evolution of Tata Teleservices, as it moves towards a pan-India dual network presence. The company also recently announced a unique reverse equity swap strategic agreement between its fully-owned telecom tower subsidiary, Wireless TT Info-Services Limited, and Quippo Telecom nfrastructure Limited—with the combined entity kicking off operations with 18,000 towers, thereby becoming the largest independent entity in this space. Tata Teleservices’ bouquet of telephony services includes mobile services, wireless desktop phones, public booth telephony and wireline services.

About Indusgeeks Solutions Pvt. Limited:
Indusgeeks is India’s first and the largest Virtual Worlds Development and Services Company based in Mumbai with partners in London, Milan and Dubai. In India, Indusgeeks has pioneered the use of 3D immersive spaces on the Internet for Marketing and Branding, Virtual Events, and Education and Training. Indusgeeks’ clients include global brands like La Gazzetta dello Sport, CRY, The Brand Union, Satyam Computer Services Ltd.etc. Indusgeeks consults with clients and also provides turnkey virtual worlds services to help them arrive at the right strategies to meet their marketing or training objectives. Currently, Indusgeeks is partnering with Sun MicroSystems to create a distance learning platform. The company is also working with other Fortune 100 companies to design virtual solutions to meet their business requirements.

For details, contact:
Shefali Jhaveri                        Atul Dwivedi
Tata Teleservices Limited                    Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
Handphone: +91 9223542427                    Phone: +91 9212743191
e-mail: rajeev.narayan@tatatel.co.in                e-mail: adwivedi@vccpl.com

Cool article in the Economic Times about us..

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=ET&BaseHref=ETM%2F2008%2F12%2F12&ViewMode=GIF&GZ=T&PageLabel=13&EntityId=Ar01301&AppName=1

Check it out

We know we are late.. but we are there atlast!  Recognising the need for micro -blogging to keep people updated with relevant news of the Virtual Worlds market we have launched our twitter channel : http://twitter.com/Indusgeeks

Rss feeds can be found at  : http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/17897503.rss

We have also inserted a RSS Reader right here called ‘Lil Globs’ that will showcase the twitter channel on our blog.

So start following to keep up with what’s happening with the  Indusgeeks and Virtual Worlds in India and abroad!