Networking gets local with newer local social networking websites make their presence felt on the World Wide Web. Syeda Farida finds out
Photo : Bijoy Ghosh
Log in Social networking websites get local and their number is on the rise
A few years ago probably the very mention of a networking websites would have met with a ‘what is that again?’ Today these URLs come in vivid forms and each with a USP, from a very professional Ryze that can help connect with a fellow Indian businessman in Shanghai, to Orkut--to catch up with your ISB buddy on a community for the b-school. But what would you do when you are new in town and want to network locally for a little help on restaurants or weekend geta
ways? Or when in Brisbane, nostalgia hits you and you want to say a hello to someone from the biryani capital and ask for the recipe of Chapala pulusu?
Enter local networking websites that are making their presence on the Internet today. And the people behind these inarguably Hyderabadi catchy versions of My Space, Orkut, LinkedIn, Twitters and other URLs are young entrepreneurs from the city.
With a ‘get local, be vocal’ mantra Anand.R.Morzaria hits the bulls eye with his www.tolmolbol.com. Drop by to check a review of the new eatery in town and add your two cents too, apart from meeting fellow out of town techies.
“As a networking website the idea is to create a local social network where one can meet interesting people in town with similar interests that can be as basic as seafood. Members can also ask questions about town that can be answered by others on the local network,” says Morzaria.
“Today a lot of young people are spending time on the websites. Earlier there used to be pen friends and now you have web friends. URLs such as You Tube, Face Book and My Space are tremendously successful. There is a need to offer a healthy social networking platform locally. We have a lot of members from rural Andhra Pradesh as well,” says Venkat. S. Meenavalli, managing director, Northgate Technologies Limited, promoter www.bharatstudent.com that has many Hyderabadis hooked on to its various gangs a.k.a communities as activity partners or Telugu film buffs.
Apart from offering information on automobiles, classified space to sell your bike and platforms to discuss the goodness of Suleimani chai these local networking websites are scaling up on technology as well. Meenavalli leverages on his VoiP powered Internet services to offer a unique Campus TV that captures campus news and also offers jobs to students to upload their feed and get paid for it. Meanwhile Kalyan Manyam’s www.indyarocks.com from his Phonelinx Communications Limited has a mobile interface, where in you can post a message and receive an alert when a friend posts a message on your page, via an SMS and more. “We have used the scrapping concept and made it mobile enabled. Plus an unlimited photo upload, mobile blogging and more facilities are what users can look for,” says Manyam about the website that will be officially launched early June.
And for the users who are thronging to these local social networking websites a.k.a. online cafés, it is what they say soney pe suhaga. “They have nice features and are some of the best networking websites to be created b
y our people. That is a matter of pride,” says Kranti Kumar who logged in while doing his MIT in University of Sydney. “It is useful to connect with old friend and meet new people, read up on restaurant reviews and look at listed local businesses. You would value their advice more. It helps know the social community better especially if you are coming from another state or country,” says Shiv Asthana, an IT professional in the city.
If the world has been turning into a global village, local networking websites are sure to bring people closer. Till the neighbourhood blog becomes the next virtual pit stop, how about looking up a film preview as you say hello to your gym mate, all on one local social network? Just log in.
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