What’s Wrong With Indian Social Networking Sites?
Welcome to Gauravonomics Blog! Subscribe to my feed now and you'll never miss a single post!
Quick Summary: To build an identity and a broad Indian user base for themselves, Indian social networking sites need to reflect the unique nature of relationships in the Indian society.
According to a recent cover story in the Outlook Magazine, there are almost 10 mn users of social networking sites in India. Orkut has 7.1 mn users, Facebook 1.6 mn, BharatStudent 1.7mn, Fropper 1.0 mn, BigAdda 1.4 mn, Minglebox 0.6 mn, adding up to 13.4 mn (tweet). Add smaller social networks, factor in duplication across social networks, and the total user base for social networks in India may be ~10 mn (tweet).
As the number of Internet users in India is estimated at between 20 mn and 30 mn by most sources, at least one third of all Internet users in India now use a social network.
However, according to the IDC Value Web Matrix study, there are only 1.5 mn users for India focused web 2.0 startups, including social networks (you can find a good list of Indian web 2.0 startups at Prabhu’s blog). As the study includes enterprise-focused web 2.0 startups like Zoho, the number of users for social networking websites in India may be closer to 1 mn. I know that BharatStudent in itself claims to have 1.7 mn users, but that number looks overstated to most people I have spoken to. In any case, we can safely peg the number of users for Indian social networking sites between 1 mn and 2 mn.
Therefore, out of 10 mn social networking users in India only 1 mn to 2mn (only 10% to 20%) are on Indian social networking sites. Which begs the question: what’s wrong with Indian social networking sites (tweet)?
Most of the Indian social networking sites are basically India-focused Facebook/ MySpace/ Orkut/ LinkedIn clones (tweet). Such clones would only be popular amongst a small set of twenty-something Indians in metros who won’t want a clone anyways (tweet).
To really build an identity and a broad Indian user base for themselves, Indian social networking sites need to reflect the unique nature of relationships in the Indian society (tweet).
To illustrate my point, let me plot the Indian social networking sites on a 2X2 matrix with Indian-vs-global social dynamics on the X-axis and Indian-vs-global user appeal on the Y-axis (tweet) –
Quadrant 1 (Global social dynamics and global user appeal): These are original concepts and tweaks with broad international appeal, Indian only because they are started by Indians (tweet). Examples include: Slideshare, Like, and my friend Shweta’s Criticat. Please note that most of these startups have a mix of Indian and foreign founders.
Quadrant 2 (Indian social dynamics and global user appeal): I couldn’t find an example of such a social network, but a yoga-centered social network based on the guru-shishya tradition would probably fall in this quadrant.
Quadrant 3 (Global social dynamics and Indian user appeal): These are India-focused Facebook/ MySpace/ Orkut/ LinkedIn clones. Most of the well-known Indian social networking sites would fall in this quadrant.
Quadrant 4 (Indian social dynamics and Indian user appeal): These are original concepts & tweaks with niche Indian appeal. So far, I have been able to find only two examples. BabaJob – a Bangalore-based professional social network for household help – taps into the unique Indian dependence on household help (tweet). Sumitr allows you to create a password-protected, closed-wall private network for family members and close friends.
Over time, such social networking sites that reflect the unique nature of relationships in the Indian society are more likely to build an unique identity and a broad Indian user base for themselves. Otherwise, most of the Indian users of social networking sites will continue to flock to Facebook/ MySpace/ Orkut/ LinkedIn and not their Indian clones.
Do you know of any other Indian social networking sites that are built on uniquely Indian needs and sensibilities (tweet)?
Ideasmith raises a very important point regarding Indian matrimonial websites in the comments section –
I’ve a suggestion for Quadrant 2 – the matrimonial sites. Or don’t you consider them social networks?
In fact, when I started writing this post, my starting point was that matrimonial websites — like BharatMatrimony, JeevanSaathi and Shaadi — are the Indian equivalent of international dating sites. A lot of my Indian friends who wouldn’t risk being seen on a dating site, use matrimonial sites basically to meet interesting people they can date (and, just maybe, marry). Ideasmith has a valid point. Matrimonial websites are also social networks — you create a profile, you browse or search for other people with similar interests and you connect with them online or offline. Except that I’ll classify matrimonial websites in quadrant 4 (Indian social dynamics and Indian user appeal), which means that my case that Indian social networking sites need to reflect the unique nature of relationships in the Indian society just became stronger.
Related posts:
- Three Dimensions of Differentiation for Indian Social Networking Sites
- Comscore Report on Social Networking Sites in India
- Indian Social Networking Sites Ibibo and BigAdda Focus on Entertainment to Woo Users and Marketers
- Recap of the Social Networking Space in India in 2008
- Search Trends for Social Networking Sites in India
Suresh Mangaladurai and 10 others are discussing.
Navin 12:43 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Gaurav,
Your post seems to assume that there is indeed a need for an Indian/Indian social networking site that has broad appeal. Maybe that is not true. Maybe Indians are not that different from the rest of the world after all and facebook/orkut/linked-in are good enough for us to handle our online social lives.
The two examples for Indian/Indian that you have listed (babajobs, sumitr) are both very specific (and tiny) niches, and I would say will never get more than a tiny fraction of users.
I can only see a Indian/Indian site really hitting it big if it manages to draw in the non-web-savvy crowd. They guys with the mobile phones (but no computers). Or even the guys without computers (example)
IdeaSmith 12:44 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
I’ve a suggestion for Quadrant 2 – the matrimonial sites. Or don’t you consider them social networks?
Gaurav 1:36 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
@Ideasmith Very valid point. Yes, matrimonial websites are also social networks, except that I’ll classify them in quadrant 4 (Indian social dynamics and Indian user appeal), which means that my case that Indian social networking sites need to reflect the unique nature of relationships in the Indian society just became stronger.
Gaurav 2:01 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
@Navin: Wow! You have raised some great points.
You’ll find that I often approach the social media/ social networking space form a “business opportunity” perspective. I’m myself saying that most urban twenty-something Internet users will prefer Facebook/ Orkut/ LinkedIn to their Indian clones.
Maybe BabaJob & Sumitr aren’t great quadrant 4 examples, but matrimonial websites are (see the update).
I also agree that the big value in the future lies in the mobile web space:
Garav on Indian Social Networking Sites | How to Make Your Users Happy 5:02 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
[...] has written an excellent post on the problem with Indian social networking sites. I agree with Gaurav as most of the Indian SNS ventures are just mimics of the successful [...]
Network Problem | DesiPundit 5:45 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
[...] Gaurav ventures a guess at what’s going wrong with the Indian networking scene. Most of the Indian social networking sites are basically India-focused Facebook/ MySpace/ Orkut/ [...]
Rajesh 6:07 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
http://www.blogworks.in/blog/blogs_social_media/reliance_entertainments_social.php
http://www.blogworks.in/blog/blog_the_talk/blog_the_talk_edition_2_impact.php
You might find some interesting perspectives on this subject on these 2 posts.
Cheers.
Rajesh
Danesh 9:43 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
I have posted some similar thoughts on ibibo.com here – http://www.daneshzaki.com/post/24301579
Nitin Rao 11:22 pm on March 12, 2008 Permalink |
Also a lot of Indians just like to try out something that’s tried and tested by millions of users across the world. Rather than try something new everytime and get confused.
Nitin
http://www.my2dimes.com/
Gaurav 11:38 am on March 13, 2008 Permalink |
@Rajesh: Great insights in your BlogTheTalk 2 panel discussion on social networks in India with Amit Ranjan, Alok Mittal and Prerna Gupta.
@Danesh: Yes, I agree, great marketing will get people to sign-up for a service, but only a unique content or sevice offering will get people to stay and re-visit on a regular basis.
@Nitin: That may be true for twenty-something Indians like us living in a metro, because our social dynamics have more or less converged with the West. However, I’m talking about a bigger opportunity — to tap into the older, non-metro, non-English-speaking, non-broadband, maybe non-Internet user — that the present Indian social networking sites are missing out on.
Indian social networks can differentiate themselves along three different dimensions — social dynamics, language or access — and I haven’t seen much initiative along any of these.
Three Dimensions of Differentiation for Indian Social Networking Sites | Gauravonomics Blog 8:07 pm on March 13, 2008 Permalink |
[...] Gauravonomics Blog Gaurav Mishra’s Weblog on Marketing, Technology & Social Media < What’s Wrong With Indian Social Networking Sites? [...]
Ekalavya 8:47 pm on March 17, 2008 Permalink |
U can’t call bigadda and ibibo indian sites with a global appeal
Gaurav 10:52 pm on March 17, 2008 Permalink |
@Eklavya: In fact, I haven’t called BigAdda and Ibibo “Indian sites with a global appeal”. I have classified them as clones of international social networks, in Quadrant 3 (global social dynamics and Indian user appeal).
(Another) Gaurav 12:41 am on March 18, 2008 Permalink |
Gaurav,
I don’t think I will categorize matrimonial sites as social networks.
“you create a profile, you browse or search for other people with similar interests and you connect with them online or offline”
This is true, but one looks for a particular type of user (generally opposite sex), which means the user base is divided into 2 segments.
Although you can create a free profile with most of the sites (you can’t do much with it though), but the site’s aim is to funnel you into buying the *premium* membership. So, I think the revenue models are different than a regular SN.
There is no community aspect in matrimonial sites, which is the main focus of a SN. The relationships are based on one-to-one than being a group.
People visit Matrimony sites and Dating sites for a particular goal – get married or find a date. Once the goal is achieved, the user does not return back. Whereas SN are used for general communication and not to achieve a goal.
A lot of relatives/friends use matrimonial sites on behalf of the ‘user’, which beats the whole purpose of user interacting with other users.
Sorry for the long comment. I’ll write another comment on my take on Indian focused SNs.
Jesmi 2:17 pm on April 9, 2008 Permalink |
I think that Indian social networks can differentiate themselves along three different dimensions. These are the social dynamics, language and access. But these dimensions are help to the Indian society become stronger.
Aakriti 3:44 pm on April 16, 2008 Permalink |
I really dont think that matrimonial sites are anywhere close to networking right now… the purpose is classifieds on the net… and not building a network there…
The Social Web is Not Flat (Part 2): The Social Technographics Profile of Metro India | Gauravonomics Blog 10:56 pm on June 3, 2008 Permalink |
[...] putting the size of the user base for social networking sites in India at 16mn (I had recently estimated it at 10mn). Assuming a higher social networking usage percentage of 60%, the number of Joiners in [...]
Suresh Mangaladurai 2:58 am on November 14, 2008 Permalink |
Its a pity that you talk of lack of originality and cloning done by Indian social networking sites but you have yourself not been original in naming your blog and have merely imitated Swaminathan's Swaminomics which was started by the Times of India. Even suggesting that Indian social networking sites must be based on the Indian Guru Sishys parambara as found in your matrix reflects an ignorance of the Guru sishya tradition for a Guru carefully selects his Sishya and does not interact with all and sundry, especially the creepy kind of characters that prowl around in these sites.
Suresh mangaladurai 3:01 am on November 14, 2008 Permalink |
Social networking on the web is a Western concept and in a country where the majority of Indians are illiterate or semi-literate (Govt. statistics be damned) expecting the people to network on the web is pretty dumb. At the most social networking on the net can only be a niche market with only pseudo Indians taking part. Actual networking in India especially in rural India is not virtual and takes place in village squares under the pupil tree and in temples, fairs and other melas. As conscientious Indians who should not lose touch with our roots we should not try the top down approach of thrusting Western mores, values and contemporary life-styles on the Indian people. They are not ready for it and many of them whom I have interacted with consider that imposing our will on them is only adding to their problems as well as pressures and not in anyway alleviating them.
Top Seven Social Media Predictions for India for 2009 | Gauravonomics Blog 10:57 pm on December 19, 2008 Permalink |
[...] the social networking space in India became a two horse race with Orkut and Facebook and several Indian social networking websites, that were essentially Facebook or Orkut clones, lost significant traffic. We will see this trend [...]
kaali1900 6:11 am on January 21, 2009 Permalink |
I reckon that Social Networking is already splintering from broad to narrow/ special interest groups. Over the next couple of years, you will see a lot more special interest communities gathering momentum. http://biigpiic.com/ is for example a network that is consolidating advertising, events, fashion, movies, music, broadcasting and publishing segments.
Comscore Report on Social Networking Sites in India | Gauravonomics Blog 2:25 pm on February 18, 2009 Permalink |
[...] networking websites gaining ground from Indian social networking websites to continue, because most Indian players in the space are mere me-too clones. As I said in my social media predictions for 2009, several Indian social networking websites will [...]