Where Has the Abundance Gone?

Osama Manzar

Among
the thousands of Indian websites visited by millions of people, is there any
single  website without which, we in India, cannot start, spend or end our
day? This question is critical in understanding the state of Internet businesses
in the country. Or ask the same question again–is there any Indian Web
information services center which:

• Offers as critical information or
  service or ease of accessibility any deliverable, which you can depend on
  for day day-to-day needs?

• Has been successful enough to
  become a daily habit, without which you suffer withdrawal symptoms?

• Proffers such incredibly
  authentic and niche information that you are forced to return to it again
  and again before taking any corporate decision?

Before you answer this question, ponder over the fact that 1-800-flowers.com
promises to deliver anything you buy from it within 24 hours in any part of the
US; but India’s leading portal Rediff.com promises to deliver you within three
business days–and that within Mumbai! In this context, if the answer to the
above questions is ‘No’, then how could one convince oneself that any
website can become a revenue-generation Web corporation overnight?

There could be an argument that the Web makes many things possible, things
that were earlier not even thinkable. But for these "possibilities" to
crystallize, think also of the fact that the Internet is not yet a medium of
communication for over 99% of more than a billion Indians. It is, therefore,
important for the Internet entrepreneur community to indulge in some
introspection, take the medium to the masses and create real value in the
Internet as a media, business and technology platform to make it more meaningful
to masses as well as businesses.

Some of these possibilities are already showing up in sectors like B2B,
business-to-employees, government-to-consumers, e-learning, citizen-to-state, as
well as in the realm of convergence between media and businesses. And despite
the US slowdown, Internet businesses do have an optimistic outlook. Much of this
optimism will start yielding revenues soon after Internet-users in India reach a
critical mass–even a moderate 50 million. Amidst the dot-com debris, a ray of
hope is surely there for any serious Netpreneur conducting business–and not
the business of valuations.

In order for businesses and people to create value and wealth, the task is to
leverage three ingredients of the Internet–medium, message and technology.

Medium: Investments should be made by both private companies and
governments to increase Internet penetration geometrically. Education majors
like NIIT and Aptech can play a critical role should they decide to incorporate
a cyber-café stream in their centers across India.

Message: Unless the message on the Internet is local, Internet will
not be of relevance to a large section of people living in the countryside and
speaking different languages. Content will go a long way in familiarizing the
Internet to the people who matter. Technology companies and content creators
have a critical role to play.

Technology: Technology has ditched us the most and isn’t available
even in major Indian languages. In order to make the Internet meaningful for
teashops and the common Indian, PCs must function in the local language of
choice. We need a major thrust in making operating systems and Internet browsers
available in native languages. Indian technology companies can fill the void
created by the dominance of Microsoft.

There is an immense need for localizing the Internet. Only this will create
value and wealth for Netpreneurs as well as the large mass of Indians.

Osama Manzar is editor-in-chief of Inomy.com
and runs a knowledge technology enterprise called 4Cplus