What would be your strategy for MySpace in India?

Internationally, our strategy has been around the user base. We try to build content and make sure that our users are part of it. Even in India we are trying to build content. All our media campaigns, be it offline or online, that we launch here will be more related to building content and making sure that our users are part of it.

Why did you choose to organise a rock concert to announce the launch of MySpace in India?

MySpace.com’s back bone is music. Globally, all the rock bands, all the people who are into music have a MySpace profile. But that doesn’t mean we are just catering to music. Our focus is to cater to all the talented people in India, may be an upcoming model, an upcoming actor, a film maker, software developer or a cricketer. We want to give them a global platform wherein they can display their talent. That's the idea, that’s what MySpace is all about.

So can we call this the USP of MySpace in India, that it’s a platform to enable people showcase their talent?

Yes. In India, we have a very talented bunch of people. But entertainment in India is overpowered by two things -- Bollywood and Cricket. Though, I am not saying that's a bad thing, it’s great. Let's have that. But if you see around, there might be more people who might be singers, dancers maybe a chef... who are really talented. And we have to give them a platform so that they can display their talent and we would like MySpace to be that platform and we are trying to build that platform.

There is a clear DNA connect between India and MySpace because India is full of talented people and MySpace wants talented people to showcase their talent through this platform. MySpace is just not another social networking site, it’s beyond that. MySpace not just connects you to your friends but it can also connect you to people with similar interests and give you a platform for your talent.

In a country where Orkut and to some extent Facebook have already made a significant presence, how would MySpace try to make an inroad?

No user will be associated with a single social networking website. One might be a part of a professional networking website for getting a job, while if I want to connect with my friends I could be on a casual networking site. So, I can be a part of multiple social networking sites. It's not necessary that if I have been a part of one then I can't be a part of the other. There is no exclusivity deal a user signs with the site when he or she joins it.

The other thing is MySpace is not just a social networking site. It’s a combination of a video blogging site where you can upload your own videos or watch other uploaded videos; a site where you can connect with your friends; also where you can have your work qualification displayed and try to get a new job; it’s all rolled into one. MySpace is more on the frame of a social media portal where we can create user generated content and we are trying to spin everything around it. Of course, it's networking at the end of the day where you can network with your friends and people with similar interest also but you can do much more than that, it can be your own place, your own space

And when you look at the overall internet penetration in India you will realize that the party is not even started yet. We are still on the edge of the tipping point for internet in India so it’s difficult to declare winners yet.

What would be your focus for MySpace in India, to capture the attention of existing users or try to increase the pie?

To increase the number of internet users in India, I guess, that has to be done more at the macro level where the government can play a significant role. The internet population in the country is about 35 million while mobile population is about 240+ million. On internet there are millions of websites, on mobile no great application. So, we are caught on opposite situations where in mobile you have a user base but limited applications and in internet you have less number of users but we have numerous sites to choose from with minimum product differentiation.

Of course, we have been seeing lots of revenues pouring in, though I won't say it's like great. If we look at the total advertising market it’s close to about five billion odd dollars; internet is close to about 100+ million dollars, not even one per cent. So in a whole everyone would have to collectively make sure that we sell it (internet) in the right way. And when I say to sell it in the right way I mean it has to be a part of the overall strategy for the advertisers and not be a part of just the media plan.

Most of the times, what happens is when you talk to an advertiser or its agency you talk to them very late. This is because you are only a part of their media plan. So for example, if an advertiser has a budget of Rs 20 lakh on the internet he might spend a percentage of that on few internet properties. At the end of the day, you are only fighting for the share in that twenty lakh. What if internet becomes the part of the strategy and one talks to the advertisers and agencies when they are actually building the strategy for a new product and they trust you to be a part of that strategy – automatically the budget on internet will be enhanced. Now instead of the 20 lakh which was apportioned on the internet it might be 1 crore, thus increasing the internet advertising pie. So, if we are part of the strategy we can get more advertising budget on internet.

How will MySpace go about it?

We have to win the confidence of advertisers in a way to make sure they include us in their strategy. And with the low penetration of internet in India this task becomes difficult. But one way to approach this is to integrate online with offline media and give the advertiser a 360 degree solution. We plan to integrate the online and offline media with the properties we will roll out in the market.

Potential is big: if you look at the growing online advertising market in India which is split between key verticals like finance, travel and online classifieds services. I guess, these three verticals command 80+ per cent of the market which means there is potential to get more advertisers on board from more verticals. We plan to grow the internet advertising pie from the existing users and also educate new advertisers about internet advertising.

For example FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), consumer durables, automobile advertisers contribute major percentage of the total advertising pie in India but not much to internet advertising. If they increase say from one per cent of their spending on internet to five per cent that itself would be something substantial for the overall pie of internet advertising.

We at MySpace have unique offering in the way of building custom communities for the advertiser where we bring out the live experience of interacting with the brand and give the user the opportunity to not only interact but be friends with the brand and thus triggering off a viral effect for the brand.

There is an opinion that social networking may not be suitable for advertising as the users may get offended when they see an ad on their personal profile page or on their community section and may consider it as a breach of their privacy? What's your take on that?

Impact of advertising on social networking websites can be gauged by factors like how many users interact with the brand online and for how long and how often. We have been building such solutions for advertiser and have great success stories – for major brands across the globe. We have many success stories in our international markets which will be replicated in the Indian market.

The key is to package the advertising as a part of their social web experience. The power of social networking website is that the user is in a mode to find new friends and new things and if we influx the advertising message through way of making it possible for the user to be friends with the brand then it is not in your face advertising for the user making the user experience the brand.

So, there is a way out?

Yes there is way out and we have proved this in international markets by creating branded custom communities for our advertisers and they have received great success. For example, we ran a custom community in Europe for Intel which was to position Intel as a brand that ‘multiplies music’. This community has 60,000+ friends and is still growing with over 6 million views. You can check this community at http://www.myspace.com/intelpowersmusic, though not sure if you can see this in India as it might be Europe IP targeted.

We also have tools like hyper-targeting wherein we can only show ads to people who have actually asked for certain things. So, a user when he makes his page and says I am interested in music, movies, the tools can display relevant ads to those sections. We are sure that our tools like hyper-targeting can get us better performance.

Considering that there are about 30 million internet users and more than 200 million mobile phone subscribers, do you have a strategy for mobile?

Yes, mobile is one of the core things though I can't talk in detail about it. It’s one of the core things that we are going to look at. Mobile is growing at a phenomenal pace.

The unique thing that we have in India is that many users or many people would be experiencing internet for the first time not on the desktop but on their mobile. They are so attached with the mobile. I guess it's the next best thing, may be to your girl friend or your wife; you are not with your wife for so long that you are with your mobile, so it's your best friend. And your best friend is giving you so much; it's giving you a window to the world. So there are going to be things which are going to be rolled out for the mobile audience.

Have you allocated some marketing budget for MySpace and are you going to use only online or also TV, print etc?

We would go for a mix, but our focus right now will be on building properties with powerful exclusive content. So first, we would be investing resources to build content, then, we might invest in marketing it on TV , Print or online advertising. When you try to build a product through advertising what happens is that you get a jump there but later on it actually fizzles down once your advertising comes to an end. But if you have content and especially exclusive content it helps you build constant strength. So the focus is going to be on building content.

But how will you get users on to the site?

We are definitely going to do it but the focus is going to be on building great properties with exclusive content. We would rather let the content speak for itself; let the content attract the users on its own. Of course we are going to do a fair amount of advertising.

How many users are you expecting in one year down the line, from India?

Currently, we have half a million users from India, according to comScore. And we have already grown 30 per cent month on month. And this was before we launched officially in India. We haven’t done anything specific yet but there are plans to roll out few properties soon. You are going to see a lot of things on the localization front.

What is the status of social networking space in India? How do you see the local social networking sites which are already present in the country?

Social networking has become a cultural phenomena in India and socializing on the net is one of the top activities for the Indian users. People in India like to express themselves and share their lives both online and offline. Another reason for the popularity has been that people in India use the social networks to meet new people of similar interests around the world. It also gives them the global platform to connect with new people.

The top activity of the internet user in India still remains emailing but in the last few years activities like job search and online music have also caught on. According to the eMarketer’s 2007 report, 51 per cent of the internet audience used internet to socialize with other people, as against 27 per cent in 2006. The report also states that social networking is one of the top activities on the net. With social networks the users are spending more time on the internet and also encouraging new users to come online due to the viral nature of social networks. The increase in the number of online users is definitely helping the growth of social networks in India. And I am sure there is a place for everyone, be it a local or international player if it can differentiate it well.

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Deep Malhotra is the Director of Sales & Business Development for MySpace India. He is part of the MySpace India founding team and he manages sales operations, business development and partnerships across the website. Prior to MySpace, Deep was part of the Google India founding team and was part of the team to setup the sales operations in India. Prior to Google, Deep worked at Rediff.com. Deep has also done a stint of entrepreneurship between 2000 and 2004 where he was the founder of Onmag.com. He has a MBA in Advertising & Communication from Symbiosis Institute Of Business Management, Pune and Masters of Mass Media from Mumbai. Deep is a movie buff and also writes and directs short movies in his free time.