Thursday, December 25, 2008

desimartini.com - where young boys and gals meet!

I am finally back with a first look on an Indian social networking site called desimartini.com! The web site was launched way back in 2006 by a 26 year old young business school graduate, Vivek Phawa. It was later sold in year 2007 to media giant, Hindustan Times Media which owns Hindustan Times, Mint and a radio channel called Fever 104. This web site targets average Indian youth of our times by providing common social community features. I would divide the features into following key areas:
1. Network creation: Profile creation, group creation, search and add friends
2. Communication: chat, send free SMS, blogs, polls, discussion forums, local questions etc.
3. Content creation and share: Ideas, photos, videos, music
4. Sticky content and tools: games, celebrity news, horoscope, love meter etc.
5. Events: Online events and contests like surveys with free prizes etc.
Overall, I found the site neat and simple from the usability perspective. The revenue generation primarily appears to be dependent on ads and online games! However, long-term given its existing user base, it can be used by marketers to influence buying behavior significantly! also do visit www.makkadman.com for some interesting STUFF :) !! check it out if you have some time !