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India Signs MOU With US On Cyber Security

by Paul Joseph July 20, 2011 Featured

We at WATBlog have been covering extensively on cyber and related crimes. Indeed, internet has become the breeding ground of unwanted crimes and activities. In India, it is so high that we now have a cyber crime investigation manual already. If you remember, it did rain cyber crimes in India in 2010. And the god of social networking, Facebook has many crimes related to it. Amid these lurking menaces, there seems to be a silver lining. And that is, India and US have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to ensure an increased collaboration in cyber security, reports the Economic Times . The MOU was signed by R. Chandrashekhar, secretary, India Department of Information Technology, and Jane Holl Lute, deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now the MOU will allow for a closer cooperation and the timely exchange of information on cyber security between the two countries. This agreement comes as a part of  the second India-US strategic dialogue, participated by the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Indian External Minister SM Krishna , to expand counter- terrorism ties between the two countries. The Economic Times also mentions of a statement from US Embassy stating that this agreement helps fulfill the joint commitment of both nations to advancing global security and countering terrorism , one of the pillars of the US-India Strategic Dialogue launched on July 20, 2009. The two parties to be involved in the operation are the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) , Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and DHS’ United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT ).  Altogether, this MOU is an outcome of the first comprehensive bilateral dialogue on homeland security issues between the US and India that was held in May this year. India has already been touted as the country most affected by cyber crime. You may have also heard about cyber attacks in India during festive seasons. You also prolly would not like to overlook numerous online lottery scams that have robbed many people of their hard earned money here. To counter all these, there have been many initiatives from the concerned authorities.  Last year too, the CBI and NASSCOM collaborated on beating the same. Indian Army too has a new strategy on cyber terrorism. There are exclusive cyber crimes police stations in Hyderabad . And many more. Do you think the MOU and all these initiatives will enable India to counter this big threat of our times? Let us know. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts NASSCOM And CBI Collaborate To Beat Cyber Crimes Janrain Includes Support For Orkut To Help Brands Tap Indian Market India gets its first Cyber Crime Investigation Manual to strengthen cyber security Facebook Drawing Marketing Money Away From Google And Foursquare? Facebook Places Begins India Roll Out

Tagged as: agreement, country, cyber law, cyber-crime, emergency, india, marketing-money, media, mou, orkut, web

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People Give +1 to Google+

by Paul Joseph July 12, 2011 Featured

When Google+ was launched few days back, almost everyone was asking just one question. Will Google be able to do this time around? Google has almost taken over the internet space in last few years. But, the only major thing that was missing from its catalog was social networking . But, if we go by the first reactions of Google+ users, it looks like Google has done this time around. Google has already flirted with the social networking space in the past; not just once or twice, but thrice. It’s previous attempts were Orkut , Wave and Buzz , which all failed to make an impact. What e-commerce was to Web 1.0 , social networking is to Web 2.0 . Facebook is reigning at the top in this space with more than 500 million active users . But, Google+ has made Facebook take serious note of it. It was evident when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took a hasty news conference on last Wednesday to announce its so-called awesome feature (which was not that awesome after all). Google+ is still an invite-only service. The real test will be when it becomes available to the masses. But, if we go by the initial response, it looks like Facebook has got a serious competitor and may give it a run for its money one or two years down the line. Google+ has got few really interesting features like Circles , Hangout and Sparks . Many people believe that Circles was the best thing to have happened to social networking. Afterall no one wants to share the same stuff with his/her friends, boss and family. Hangout allows Google+ users to make video calls among multiple contacts. Users can also have one-to-one conversations. Facebook has integrated its chat with Skype to counter this feature, but lacks the same functionality. One of the early users of Google+, Nikita Wable says, “ I got invites from two people. My first reaction after joining the service was, Wow! Time to bid adieu to Facebook. I was fascinated with Hangout and other features. But, I am not sure if Google+ will really work. Because when Facebook was launched, people were uncomfortable to shift from Orkut. Only time will tell if Google+ succeeds in attracting people just like Facebook did .” Google+ has attracted massive attention in short span of time since it was launched. One thing is true that Google has done something solid this time. But, only time will tell if it succeeds in dethroning Facebook or not. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts The Verdict – Facebook Overtakes Orkut In India Skype Adds Video Calling Feature On Facebook; Google+ Are You Listening? Video Calling Service On Android Devices Thanks To Skype Google+ A Challenge To Facebook Networking Google +1 Button For Websites Has Arrived

Tagged as: facebook, feature, features, friends, india, leading-social, media, orkut, skype, social-networking, space, time, video, web

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BharatMatrimony Profiles Become More Credible With Linkedin Integration

by Paul Joseph June 30, 2011 Featured

Last year a report was published in Times Of India which documented how a woman was cheated on a matrimonial website. A conman had posed to her as a suitor, but instead he duped her of Rs. 8 lakh. And this is not a standalone story. There are many more such instances. On the background of this, Bharatmatrimony.com , one of the leading matrimonial websites in India, has taken a major step in the direction of adding credibility to profiles on its website. BharatMatrimony has integrated with LinkedIn which will enable users to display their Linkedin profiles along with their matrimony profiles. The addition of the Linkedin profiles will enhance the overall credibility of their profiles, increase the depth of professional information available about them and improve the response to their profiles from prospects. LinkedIn is a professional networking site with a user-base of 10 million in India. Hence, it is a significant move by BharatMatrimony. Also Professionals making use of this feature can enhance their credibility and get better responses to their profiles because when it comes to marriage, professional identity is as important as personal identity. LinkedIn has an open API (application-programming interface). BharatMatrimony will use the same for this integration. “Our relationship with Bharatmatrimony seeks to add a deeper level of trust to the matrimonial profiles of professionals seeking a partner/spouse. We are delighted that Bharatmatrimony is using our open API in a creative and innovative way to develop an enhanced offering and create value for their members”, says Hari V. Krishnan, Country Manager, LinkedIn India. Last month BharatMatrimony launched a wedding gifts portal called MatrimonyGifts.com. It already has many special portals like PrivilegeMatrimony.com, EliteMatrimony.com, DivorceeMatrimony.com, ManglikMatrimony.com, DefenceMatrimony.com as well as religion and language-specific portals. BharatMatrimony was launched in 1997 and has gained 20 million registered users so far. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts BharatMatrimony Ventures Into Wedding Gifts Services, Launches MatrimonyGifts.com WATBlog Exclusive : Orkut Introduces Applications, Other Minor Changes A Glimpse into How Google aims to Change the World of API’s with Open Social Aadhar Project Expands To Various States; A Million UIDs A Day From October Basic Aadhar Authentication API To Be Available For Free

Tagged as: api, basic-aadhar, bharatmatrimony, country, linkedin, matrimonygifts.com, orkut, other-minor, profiles, project, tie ups, various-states, web, wedding

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Anonymous Hacks NIC Website To Protest Corruption

by Paul Joseph June 8, 2011 Featured

Anonymous, the notorious hacker group defaced the National Informatics Center website as a part of its campaign called Operation India (#OpIndia) to protest against corruption in the country. The message put up on the defaced site reads Greetings! We exist without nationality. We exist with humanity. NIC took 3 mins, This time we talk to the government – On NIC Homepage and Sub-Domains. There is no use securing. There is no use of spending on forensic. Get this message clear Mr. Prime Minister and others. We do not like to talk much and Yes! IT is our world. Expect us Anonymous also issued a press release after the attack. The #OpIndia movement has a Facebook page , a Twitter account and an IRC channel to possibly get more hackers to carry on their movement. Even now the NIC site says that it is under maintenance and will be up soon. NIC is the government IT organisation which is responsible for building a lot of websites and implementing e-projects for the government. Government sites, in the past have been at the receiving end of a lot of attacks, mainly originating from Pakistan.  The Central Bureau of Investigation website was hacked in December 2010 by Pakistani hackers claiming to seek revenge for a similar attack by Indian hackers on Pakistani sites. The anonymous is an organization which has in the past targeted sites like Paypal , Mastercard , Visa because they had refused to accept funds for Wikileaks . They are also said to be the ones behind the attacks on Sony’s Playstation Network . The hacker community has been very active of late, CCAvenue , Gawker, PBS , Sony and many other websites had been hacked and sensitive data like passwords and addresses were leaked. While there wasn’t any data leak in the NIC attack, the government is taking the issue seriously and has set up a Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism acts like these. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Smishing Hits Mobile Users Municipal Elections Held Via Internet In Gujarat City Using Scytl Janrain Includes Support For Orkut To Help Brands Tap Indian Market Anna Hazare #Janlokpal Bill Campaign Takes Off On Facebook & Twitter Facebook Drawing Marketing Money Away From Google And Foursquare?

Tagged as: anonymous, corruption, country, elections, government, hackers, internet, janlokpal-bill, mobile, money, nic, orkut, social, web

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Municipal Elections Held Via Internet In Gujarat City Using Scytl

by Paul Joseph May 23, 2011 Featured

The first Internet Elections in India have taken place, according to Scytl , a provider of secure remote voting technology. Business View called it a  ’major step in India’s electoral history as citizens were able to vote through the internet for the first time ever’. Internet voting technology was used by the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation for its elections in April. An impressive 77.16% of the registered voters cast their vote electronically from e-voting booths and from the convenience of their homes.  A trial had been carried out previously in September 2010 and this April’s elections were the first larger scale elections  carried out using the new system of Scytl’s Internet Technology. Gujarat may soon not be the only state.  Other states are also considering the implementation of Internet voting in their public sector elections. Scytl recently opened a New Delhi office, headed by Rajeev Sood, General Manager Of Operations, India. Scytl is said to be fully automating the voting process while ensuring the highest levels of security in terms of voter privacy, vote integrity and transparency thanks to its unique Internet voting technology and audit ability capacities. Scytl’s Internet voting platform is the only one that has been certified by leading democratic Governments in the world such as France, Switzerland and the USA. While we welcome new innovations and technology in our lives, we find ourselves skeptical about trusting voting: the most important aspect of our democratic government, on the internet. However secure a company may be, we have seen giants like Sony’s PS Network get hacked. In India too, 2010 saw a rise in cyber crimes . If voting can be done via the internet, we have no doubt that it is going to be attacked by hackers. If even one attack is successful, the entire election loses all credibility. We feel the web can be used to aid the election process , like online registration of new voters but trusting an entire election on the internet seems too risky on today’s age. What do you feel? Should this be adopted everywhere or is physically being present at the ballot center important? Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts It Rained Cyber Crimes In India In 2010 Janrain Includes Support For Orkut To Help Brands Tap Indian Market McAfee Uses Facebook To Spread Its Anti Virus Software Facebook Drawing Marketing Money Away From Google And Foursquare? Nokia And Reliance Bring Operator Billing To India’s Ovi Store

Tagged as: democratic government, election, elections, france, gujarat, homes, Indian, internet, network, operator, orkut, scytl, social, usa

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Janrain Includes Support For Orkut To Help Brands Tap Indian Market

by Paul Joseph May 10, 2011 Featured

Janrain allows brands to provide third party sign in facility to its users. The company’s flagship product, Janrain Engage is used by over 350,000. The latest quarterly report from Janrain showed that Facebook is the most popular login option for most users across all verticals, platforms and regions. But, the report also highlighted that beyond Facebook, the other social networks which were used, were not uniform and were dependent on various factors. This created some obstacles for brands using Janrain Engage. The company is now taking initiatives to do away with this problem. Today morning we received an email from Michael Schwabrow of Janrain, informing us that the company has taken a major step to help brands tap the Indian market. Janrain is now providing support for Orkut and brands would be able to allow their users login using the social network’s credentials. The inclusion of Orkut would not make much difference for international brands but, brands which target the Indian market would benefit from it. Yet, the question arises how much brands can benefit from Orkut, which is itself dying a slow death in India while Facebook is growing by the day. A recent report from Inside Facebook Gold showed that in April 1.8 million people joined Facebook in India . It is true that Orkut has lost its throne as the most popular social networking site in India to Facebook. But, it still does have a considerable userbase and Google has been launching new features or upgrading the UI to hold on to this crowed. But, this announcement is not only for the Indian market but, also the Brazilian market, where Orkut is yet to be dethroned by Facebook and enjoys 20 million monthly users . Schwabrow also informed that, for companies wishing to grow in the German market, Janrain is now providing support for the VZ-Netzwerke of sites which make up the largest social network in Germany with approximately 14 million active monthly users. Schwabrow explained how these new inclusions would benefit brands by stating, “Orkut and VZ-Login provide rich profile information on users logging into websites or through mobile applications. Using these social IDs expedite registration and enable opt-in targeting by enabling users to share a user name, email address, profile photo, address information and much more with your brand.” It is beyond doubt that using Janrain Engage is beneficial to brands as it provides users with multiple options to login with, thus does not reduce the userbase which readily happens when using a single Open ID. What has to be seen is how users in India are reacting to this inclusion. Would they login into third-party sites using their Orkut profiles? Would brands include Orkut in the mix of provided services? These answers would be revealed once Janrain publishes its next quarterly report. Check the Winners Of WATAwards Here Related Posts The Verdict – Facebook Overtakes Orkut In India Facebook Will Dominate Orkut In Social Networking In India – Was There Ever Doubt? Twitter Usage Dominated By Indonesia, Brazil and Venezuela – India Comes In At 18th Facebook Overtakes Orkut in India! Facebook takes on Orkut in India

Tagged as: facebook, india, Indian, orkut, social, venezuela, web

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Social Media Advertising Revenue To Reach $8.3 Bn In 2015: BIA/Kelsey

by Paul Joseph May 4, 2011 Featured

Social media as an industry will continue to boom, it will not be saturated in the near future. According to BIA/Kelsey, a social media advisor firm, social media advertising revenue will go up to $8.3 billion within 2015, while In 2010, revenue spent on social media advertising was $2.1 billion . So, the industry would see 295% hike in 2015 compared to the 2010 ad spending. Along with this prediction, BIA/Kelsey made another proclamation. The firm informed that by 2015, non-display ad formats will muster popularity. Twitter’s business models which include the promoted tweets, profiles and trends are good examples of non-display ad formats. Although these ad formats do not generate much revenue now, BIA/Kelsey seemed optimistic when they said that by 2016, there will be scores of new non-display ad formats which will generate $600 million from null at present. Out of the said $8.3 billion , $7.7 billion is expected to be earned from display advertisement, while the rest will come from non-display advertising. BIA/Kelsey’s report brings with it good news for Facebook as it suggests that a major share of the revenue earned by social media advertising by 2015 will belong to Facebook. A point that is worth mentioning here is that BIA/Kelsey doesn’t include virtual goods and rewards, social gaming and social commerce within their definition of social media advertising. So, if earnings from those segments are added as well, the projected revenue will be even greater. A social media platform like Facebook does depend on ads for revenue but it has other business models as well like Credits, which is expected to become a major part of Facebook’s revenue stream. We had also reported earlier this year that Facebook is looking at more revenue sources past games. With these in mind, it seems like the prediction made by eMarketer that ad spending on Facebook will reach $4 billion in 2011 and the current prediction of BIA/Kelsey seem right. Jed Williams, a chief analyst at BIA/Kelsey’s Social Local Media practice said in a press release: It’s no surprise that Facebook commands a dominant share of all social ad impressions served and ad revenues generated. As the social market leader, it already serves the most display ad impressions of any digital company, surpassing both Yahoo and Google. We fully expect Facebook to increase both impression share and ad revenue, as buyer awareness accelerates and creative formatting and targeting improve to optimize performance. However, one might look at the report from a skeptic’s point of view and argue that the projection is mostly speculative. Numbers often lead to sheer confusion. It happened with Efficient Frontier, where had to defend their premise that Facebook ad prices has climbed up by 40 percent this year. But even though skepticism can grow, one thing is undeniable, social media’s ad spending has still many cups to win and many stones to turn. Check the Winners Of WATAwards Here Related Posts Marketers, Social Media, Barriers And Methods – eMarketer Report Facebook To Reach Half Of The U.S. Population In 2013: eMarketer Facebook And Twitter Were The Most Unsafe Social Networking Sites In 2010 Recap 2010 : Social Networking After Facebook, Twitter, And Orkut Accounts, Priyanka Chopra Launches Website

Tagged as: ad spending, advertising, bia/kelsey, business, definition, emarketer, facebook, facebook ads, orkut, orkut-accounts, social-media, twitter, yahoo

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Google Launches Marketing Campaign For Display Advertising In India

by Paul Joseph April 11, 2011 Featured

Even a few years back, advertising agencies, business houses and marketers in India weren’t that familiar with all the technicalities upon which Google Adwords was based. But, the scenario is changing very quickly. Even small and medium companies nowadays are putting various marketing strategies in effect to attract consumers and while doing so, they are subscribing to Google’s Adwords platform. To augment this awareness, Google is rolling out an advertising campaign called “Watch the Space” to popularise its display advertising platform. Through this initiative, Indian agencies will be introduced to Google’s display ad platform. Shailesh Rao, Google’s head of media and platform for Japan and Asia Pacific said, “With the campaign, we want to explain how Google is helping to make display advertising even better and to showcase the opportunities in this space for agencies and marketers in India.” Indian advertising agencies and marketers will benefit out of this initiative as Google’s display networks, including YouTube and Orkut, are apt for brand promotion. Along with leveraging Indian advertisers, Google is also looking forward to address the display advertising arena with better technology. Rao said that over time Google has been investing in search engine advertisement and it has produced satisfactory results, similar types of techniques should be applicable to display advertising. Google is putting emphasis on the creative aspects of the advertising industry. Though basically an internet company, Google will include print and outdoor ads in the campaign. Web is definitely a viable medium, but when it comes to creativity, print, electronic and outdoor ads also stand tall. Customers often feel inclined to a particular product after watching an attention-grabbing TV commercial. Google has taken a good approach not to undermine their significances but incorporating them within the web. As Rao said that they are developing a technology that, “unlock creativity enabling true audience engagement combining the benefits of sight, sound, and motion from traditional television advertising with the interactivity of the web.” Rao also said that there are many dimensions, yet to be discovered within the realm of display advertising industry. Already display ads fetch $2.5 billion to Google globally. Once it grows further, Google will see more cash and all parties, the advertisers, agencies and publishers will get benefited. So, Google is heading to the right direction. What’s your take on Google’s initiative to popularise display advertising in India? Showcase Your Digital Work Here! Win An Award! Log onto WATAwards Related Posts Google Zeitgeist 2010 Is Here – What Did India Search For? Google’s ‘Creative Sandbox’ Arrives In India WATBlog Picks: International Websites to Watch Out For in 2008 Youth behaviour on Orkut – Users deleting scraps Do we need law 2.0?

Tagged as: advertising, campaign, google ads, google adwords, google india, india, india-search, Indian, japan, orkut, search-engine, technicalities

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Google Maps now beneficial for Public Transport Information in Mumbai

by Paul Joseph April 5, 2011 Featured

Lifeline of Mumbai City are local trains. How many times have you heard this line? Many times, isn’t it?. But this lifeline of Mumbai is the same with the cluttering crowd commuting in and out every day. If you are new in the city and want to carry on the usual Mumbai Darshan,  you will be told 10 different ways to reach at a particular destination. How many times have you purchased train schedule time table or have asked timing and no. of  buses. An easy way is said to come our way, Google have introduced Google Maps with detailed timings, proper routes and scheduled information for BEST buses as well as Trains.

Tagged as: first-global, freedom, google-launches, google-maps, media, mobile, mobile-phones, mobile-search, orkut, reports, web

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Samsung New Mobile Galaxy S I500

by Paul Joseph March 29, 2011 Featured

Launching of new mobile handsets with upgraded features has given rise to cut throat competition among the mobile manufacturing companies globally Samsung Galaxy S i500 Features : With the brand name of Samsung, the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 features some unique additions which no other mobile handset has introduced in its new handsets. Upgraded with latest Android 2.1 operating system and supported by 1GHz processor the Samsung Galaxy S i500 features the powerful operation of the inbuilt applications. The 1 GHz processor of the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 features the fast transfer of data at the speed of 3.1 Mbps thus enabling the user to access their mail at fast speed with the facility of file transfer. Apart, from this the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 features the Google mobile services. Thus, a user can now easily get connected with the Google services i.e., Gmail account, Google maps, Youtube, and other Google supported social services like Orkut and other. With this the Samsung Galaxy S i500 is uploaded with the facility of 5MP camera supported by Power LED Flash, which enables the user to shoot the best quality of photos and videos of their beautiful and memorable moments. With this the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 offers the best inbuilt java supported games to enable the user to enjoy his leisure time. The new Samsung Galaxy S i500 features the inbuilt memory of 2 GB supported by 16GB memory SD card expandable upto 32 GB. Apart from this new Samsung Galaxy S i500 also features the facility of DivX Playback to give the experience of listening the best music at comfort. With this the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 also features the facility of Mobile office, E-book reader and MPEG4 player. And last but not the least, the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 features the giant battery of 1500 mAH thus enabling the user to get free from the tension of charging battery at regular intervals. Samsung Galaxy S i500 Specifications: While speaking about the Samsung Galaxy S i500 Specifications in single it can be said “The Best Phone’. Because after going through the Samsung Galaxy S i500 Specifications it is clear that a phone which is upgraded with Android 2.1 OS and the inbuilt processor of 1GHz the phone will make the consumers feel free from the tension of slow processing of applications. With this various other features like fast transfer of data at the speed 3.1mbps, 5 MP power LED Flash camera, and various other features the Samsung Galaxy S i500 Specifications make it different from other phones. Samsung Galaxy S i500 Price in India : As far as Samsung Galaxy S i500 Price in India are concerned company has not declared the prices it will be deciding for Samsung Galaxy S i500 Price in India. Samasung Galaxy S i500 Review: Samsung a worldwide recognized name in manufacturing home appliances is soon going to launch its new mobile handset in the Indian market. To this new handset it has named as Samsung Galaxy S i500. With some upgraded features which other phone lack it is believed that Samsung Galaxy S i500 will leave its contenders far behind after its launch. Samsung Galaxy S i500 Review states that upgraded with an inbuilt 1GHz processor the new Samsung Galaxy S i500 offers the processing of various applications at the faster speed. The 5 MP camera supported with Power Led Flash enables the users to shoot their special moments with good quality of pictures. Apart, from this upgraded with the browsing speed of 3.1mbps of internet the user can enjoy the pleasure of data transfer at high speed. Thus, on the basis of Samsung Galaxy S i500 Review it can be said this handset offers the versatile features to its users.

Tagged as: cdma samsung mobiles, facility, flash, galaxy, india, Indian, orkut, phone, power, samsung, specifications, user

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