New Technologies from Microsoft’s India Lab

Here is an article which throws light on three new technologies currently under development at Microsoft’s India Research lab. Many Ventures members and infact SMU students have worked on very simillar ideas to SixthSense, one of the technologies. SixthSense used RFID to identify misplaced objects around the house. The other two technologies are also quite interesting. Read on to find out more…

Posted by Aditya Maru

New Delhi: Imagine how easier life would be for people driving on India’s roads, if they could avoid a traffic situation, a crowded junction, or a road full of potholes, just by using their smartphones.

 

Microsoft Research (MSR) India, the research arm of Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software firm, is currently researching a software solution, TrafficSense, which will help smartphone users automatically monitor road and traffic conditions while they are on the move. TrafficSense uses different sensors on these phones—radio such as bluetooth or cellular wireless; microphone; global positioning system or GPS; an accelerometer; or even the camera—to help phone users monitor traffic and save time.

Managing Corporate Identities

Here is an interesting article from the IHT which shows how two very different companies make use of the same logo to market themselves. The symbol, an apple, has become a critical component of their branding and marketing efforts. So for new companies deciding on their branding and marketing, this would be quite helpful. It shows how the same object can symbolize different things for people in different industries. Follow the link to find out more…

Contributed by Nivedana Jalan

An odd couple takes a bite from the same apple:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/15/arts/design15.php?page=1

Entrepreneurs are Serial Risktakers, Not Gamblers

Here is an article from Knowledge@SMU which dwells into the character and psycology of an entrepreneur. The article is based on the research findings of Phillip Phan, visiting professor at SMU. He delivered a lecture at SMU recently about the escense of entrepreneurship, how to identify entrepreneurial opportunities, and the role of governments in supporting entrepreneurs.

To read the full article, visit the following website.

http://knowledge.smu.edu.sg/article.cfm?articleid=1165

Locomi – New Facebook Application

 

‘Locomi’ is a new facebook application developed by Ravi Bhushan along with You-At. Ravi is an SMU graduate and former Ventures V-P. You-At is an India-based firm looking to develop location based services for Asian markets. Here is the description of the application as it appears on Facebook.

“Locomi is for all you people fond of the good life. Check out the stuff close to your place – the restaurants, malls, theaters and what not. Read what others have to say and add your two cents along the way.

Locomi is currently available for Facebook users in Singapore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune. We will be adding other cities as we go along. Plans are underway to expand to more cities in Asia.”

 

The application currently has 210 monthly active users and growing rapidly.

Here is the Facebook link for downloading the app.

http://www.new.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=9976203821

Happy Discovering!

Looking for a loan? Try peer-to-peer networks

There are variouos websites which have come up recently which facilitate lending among members of a network. These websites connect borrowers with lenders. There are some micro-finance websites (like https://www.microplace.com/ and http://www.kiva.org/ ) which allow people to lend to poor borrowers in developing countries. This concept is simillar to an idea developed by a Ventures team for a business-plan competition in Hong Kong this year.

The following article talks about a website which links up borrowers and lenders and takes a cut (comission) for facilatating the transactions. So if you guys have excess money, you can use the following websites to lend. Or if you need urgent financing, you know where to look! Read on to find out more….

Posted by Aditya Maru

From The Economic Times

WASHINGTON: Saddled by student loans and credit card debt, Ryan Little was looking for relief. Like many, the 30-year-old insurance agent turned towards banks for a loan but he ended up finding a much better deal elsewhere, on the Internet, through a website called Lending Club ( www.lendingclub.com ). Little eventually borrowed 10,000 dollars from 30 people he didn’t know and had never met through Lending Club, a “peer-to-peer” or social lending network.

Networking Sites doing better than sex, porn

Posted by Aditya Maru

22 Sep, 2008, 1259 hrs IST, REUTERS

CANBERRA: Social networking sites are the hottest attraction on the Internet, dethroning pornography and highlighting a major change in how people communicate, according to a Web guru.

Bill Tancer, a self-described “data geek”, has analysed information for over 10 million Web users to conclude that we are, in fact, what we click, with Internet searches giving an up-to-date view of how society and people are changing.

 

Some of his findings are great trivia, such as the fact that elbows, belly button lint and ceiling fans are on the list of people’s top fears alongside social intimacy and rejection. Others give an indication of people’s interests or emotions, with an annual spike in searches for anti-depression drugs around Thanksgiving time in the United States. Tancer, in his new book, “Click: What Millions of People are Doing Online and Why It Matters”, said analysing Web searches did not just reflect what was happening online but gave a wider picture of society and people’s behavior.

‘Friend Locator’ could become next craze for social networkers

A new social network site, Gypsii, launched in Feb of this year, allows users to search for and identify their contacts. Imagine knowing the real-time location of your friends on Facebook! This will add a whole-new dimension to social networking. Some SMU students have undertaken projects recently which make use of such technology. With real-time location, you can know if your friend is in the next street or vacationing in the Bahamas! Follow the link to find out more..

Posted by Aditya Maru

http://www.livemint.com/2008/02/13132302/8216Friend-locator8217-c.html

Guerilla Marketing

Heres a link to a website that will give you the lowdown on Guerilla Marketing.

Posted by Aditya Maru

http://weburbanist.com/category/guerilla-marketing/

As Russia Advances, High Tech Gets Left Behind

Here is an article which provides an insight into the entrepreneurship climate in Russia.

Posted by Aditya Maru

By Steven Pearlstein

Wednesday, July 11, 2007; Page D01

 

MOSCOW Most Russians know plenty about Roman Abramovich, the 41-year-old former commodities trader who parlayed his interest in former state oil and aluminum companies into an $18 billion empire that includes England‘s Chelsea soccer team and the governorship of the Arctic province of Chukotka, where reindeer outnumber people.

And they know all about Mikhail Prokhorov, 42, Russia‘s nickel czar, who caused a minor diplomatic incident this year when police raided his infamous Orthodox Christmas bashes at a French ski resort after receiving reports that he’d flown in private planeloads of Russian prostitutes for the event.

But few Russians have ever heard of Anatoly Karachinsky or Arkady Volozh, who are as close as it comes to a local Bill Gates or Sergei Brin.

How To Make Money From Your Website – Part III

In continuation with the series, this article explains how search engines rank pages. This may be helpful to entrepreneurs looking to develop a website which will receive a higher ranking on the search engines.

Contributed by Pawan Gupta

How Do Search Engines Rank Pages (or your web-site)?

Before you try to add your site to the search engines, you should understand what they look for when they decide how to rank your site. Just because you’re listed doesn’t mean you’ll get traffic.  You have to make sure your site is search engine ready.

The general rule of thumb is that most engines use a “formula” to determine keyword relevancy. The technical term is called an “algorithm”, and each search engine has its own unique algorithm that it uses to rank pages.