Corporate marketers by and large struggle with how to use social networking sites to reach potential customers. The problem is that executives think of online social networks as social media and treat it as another channel to get people to click through to a site. This wouldn’t work.

Recent findings show that people don’t click through on advertising on social networks. A good analogy is to imagine sitting at a table with friends when a stranger pulls up a chair, sits down, and tries to sell you something while you are talking to your friends. You will not get far with a strategy like this. Instead this might in the long run affect the brand equity at the cost of huge advertisement expenditure.

To be successful, you need to shift your mindset from social media to social strategy. A good social strategy essentially uses the same principles that made online social networks attractive in the first place by solving social failures in the offline world. Firms should begin to do the same and help people fulfill their social needs online.

In continuation with the earlier analogy, “You should come to the table and say, ‘Here is a product that I have designed for you that is going to make you all better friends.’ To execute on this, firms will need to start making changes to the products themselves to make them more social, and leverage group dynamics, using technologies and applications.  But the fact is that a lot of businesses treat it as another form of media which to me would not work.

The National Film Awards for 2007 were announced yesterday. Tamil actor Prakash Raaj has won the best actor award for 2007 for his performance in Tamil film “Kanchivaram”.   The movie has also been chosen as the best film for 2007.  The film depicts the lives and times of silk-weavers of Kancheepuram in pre-Independent India.

Umashree got the best actress award for her performance in Kannada film “Gulabi Talkies”. Renowned Malayalam director Adoor Gopalakrishnan has been adjudged best director for “Naalu Pennungal”.

Darshan Zariwala got the best supporting actor award for his role in “Gandhi My Father”. Feroz Abbas Khan, the director of the film, bagged the National Award for best screenplay. There was also a special jury award for this film, which explores the troubled relationship between Harilal Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi.

“Chak De India” bagged the award in the wholesome entertainment category and “Taare Zameen Par” in the family welfare category.  Lyricist Prasoon Joshi got the award for the best lyrics for “Maa” from “Taare Zameen Par”. The song also got Shankar Mahadevan the National Award for best playback singer.

We at ZaaBiz congratulate all the winners for bagging the precious National Award 2007. For more such news on entertainment industry, join our group “Entertainment in India”

Anand G Mahindra, is the man of the moment as he is being choosen as ET’s Business Man of the Year. The clear reason being Satyam deal, not merely for its size and complexity. Even more than that was its emotive public appeal something that took even Mr Mahindra by surprise.

The jury members had an intense debate in this category. The contenders were Mr Mahindra and OP Bhatt, chairman of SBI. Mr Bhatt’s attempts to transform SBI from a stodgy PSU into a nimble-footed consumer-focused enterprise is still work-in-progress, but many jury members gave him credit for the effort. Mr Mahindra’s leadership was also praised.

What clinched the argument in favour of Mr Mahindra was the M&M group’s remarkable achievement in the fields of technology and automobiles. M&M has emerged as the No 1 player in tractors and utility vehicles. The group’s daring gamble in acquiring Satyam was also noted by the jury though it felt a tremendous effort would be required in turning around the company.

We at ZaaBiz congratulate on behalf of all its members and the entire buisness fraternity.

There are many ways a company can take advantage of social media for business. If you want to take your business higher and further, here are some social media tips you can follow.

Use Social Networking Platform- Networking is not a new business idea.  It is a practice that intelligent businessmen have always taken advantage of. In the past, business people practices ice breakers, carried business cards in their pockets and attended social functions to network with potential business partners and clients. The internet has made social and business networking easier for people.  With social networks like ZaaBiz, a businessman in the Australia can easily network with a businessman in other Asia-Pacific regions and start a business transaction.

Join Forums and Business Groups - Online forums and business groups may seem outdated what with all the new messaging services like Twitter and other services available online but there are still many people that join forums for different purposes. Search crawlers also frequent forums because of the amount of user activities and information in these sites.  Just like social networking sites, the company must choose carefully what forums it must join and what types of conversations it must start or engage in. ZaaBiz offers many business groups a forums of various business interest and relevance which offers an opportunity for businesses to network, position and be heard in the virtual space.

Start Blogging - Blogging is one of the most effective social media task that businesses should take advantage of. With a good business blog, a company can reach its target audience and deliver useful information to them.  A business can put anything and everything they want on its blog.  The company just has to remember its goals for blogging and stick with the goals in terms of content. For the blog to be effective, the company blogger must also blog diligently.  Updating the blog often will help establish readership and will also help improve the blog’s search ranking.

Use social bookmarking- Social bookmarking is the process of bookmarking useful sites for future referencing.  It is just like bookmarking a site privately on your web browser, except it is done socially. There are many social bookmarking sites online that you can use to bookmark good sites. You can also use these sites to read other people’s bookmarked pages so you can find interesting information you can also use in your business.  When you bookmark good sites, you are also establishing yourself as a provider of value and people will tend to follow you and check out the sites that you bookmark. If you have really good contents on your blog, bookmark them too. This can also help with your blog’s search ranking.

The midnight of August 15, 1947 is memorable for every Indian within the country or an NRI, as it is the time, when India gained independence.

Flowers and Flags are sold at Colaba Market

I had the pleasure of experiencing India’s Independence Day celebrations last year while being in Mumbai. It was a very memorable event, very peaceful, colourful, joyful and it was the whole family that celebrated in the streets, on the many markets and in bars, cafes and restaurants. Nearly everyone I met was carrying a flag or wearing flowers as a sign of celebration.

Since 1947, it is celebrated with pomp and gaiety, across the length and breadth of India. Cultural programs and flag-hoisting ceremonies are the principal affair of the day. People indulge themselves in remembering the heroes of the freedom struggle and pay homage to them.

In all the schools and colleges across India, no academic work is done on Independence Day, but all the students and staff members would be present to celebrate the day. A sort of social gathering is arranged in the educational institutions, wherein cultural programs are organised. A majority of prominent business houses in India have the same routine as the educational institutions, while the rest spend their time on watching Independence day special LIVE from Red Fort.

Contradicting to the traditional Independence Day celebration, Generation Y in India is busy celebrating the same on the networking platform with their pals and business connects. It is a true day of India’s freedom and independence.

Our team here at ZaaBiz wish all our Indian members a “Happy Independence Day”.

Michael Brecht

Most students in India think about campus placements when they approach their final year. But here is a bunch of engineering students from Bangalore and Hyderabad who dare to be different.

Forty students from seven engineering colleges are part of a team guided by ISRO to create a ‘Pico satellite’. The satellite resembles a small cube, weighs approx 850 gm. It contains an imaging camera with a 90m resolution and will perform the function of a remote-sensing satellite. The major challenge in developing the mini satellite is to ensure that it functions similarly to an ordinary satellite.

These students have prepared a ground station. Additionally, an antenna has been placed on the terrace to detect the position of the satellite. The satellite will be controlled from the ground station. The most remarkable thing is that right from designing to welding and compiling of structures are done by the students themselves. The satellite will be launched in December through PSLV.

Google 41% emerges as most preferred source of information for Indian youngsters in the age group of 12 and 18, largely studying in English medium schools, and living in urban India, according to “TCS Generation Web 2.0 Trends’ - a comprehensive nationwide study across 12 Indian cities. Print (26%) and TV (25%) are the next important source of information.

Kolkata 77 % has the highest number of students using internet. Library usage amongst Cochin students is highest nationally 14% while Bhubaneshwar 45% and Lucknow 42% lead in information sourced through television. Mumbai at 12% prefer TV the least. The nationwide study captures the trends and pulse of the youth across India with a clear focus on information, technology and aspirations.

Blogging in metros revolves largely around their everyday life. Bangalore is the blogging capital of India, with 66% of students being part of blogging / social networking scene, against 39% nationally. More students in Mumbai (60%) and Ahmedabad(57%) read about film and celebrity blogs than youth in any other city.

Bangalore and Hyderabad 33% each students prefer blogging onstudies and school, highest nationally. With ZaaBiz’s focus on business networking and business groups will gain a major impetus due to a substatinal penetration of internet and web2.0 among Indian youth.

Chances are your blog is not going to land you a book or movie deal, but it is sure to bring you personal satisfaction, give you an outlet for expression, help you connect with others and even assist you with leveraging a business. Along the way, you can even come across little fame by way of following below mentioned steps:

• Blog is all about what you are passionate about. Coming up with fresh and interesting content is easier. And if you intend to onlt blog for money or fame, readers are sure to pick it up.

• Ensure to post frequently. Have a clear idea of what you are blogging about and post is consistently. Blogs do better when you have a focus.

• If you are an aspiring author, show that you have a loyal following. When someone talks about getting 25,000 unique visitors a month people pay attention. Such numbers of visitons are only possible if you have great stories to tell and/or you have great writing skills.

• Develop your unique voice. Write on topics that are unique in nature and there are many takers of the topic. But in the process of writing unique ensure to write on topic that interests you as well.

• Spend time on marketing your blog. With millions of blogs afloat on the Web, writing posts isn’t enough to attract followers. Focus on writing guest posts for other blogs or networking.

Raksha Bandhan is now considered as a day to celebrate the sacred relation of a brother and a sister. There have been examples in the past where rakhi has just been symbolic of raksha or protection. It could be tied by wife, a daughter or mother. The Rishis tied rakhi to the people who came seeking their blessings. The sages tied the sacred thread to themselves to safe guard them from the evil. Now a days, the sister ties rakhi to brother in order to seek protection or raksha for her brother.

On this auspicious festival, ZaaBiz wishes all its members “Happy Raksha Bandhan” and hope all its members get their due Rakhi symbolic of Raksha from their sisters.

Here is an important piece of advice for all ZaaBiz members. The usage shortcut Ctrl+C in the computer is not safe and this could be harmful especially if critical details like credit card number is copied. The copied data used by the shortcut is easily accessible on the internet when one visits websites that uses javascripts and ASP or any server side application.

Figure out the magnitude of the problem yourself if you are not convinced. Try to copy some text and visit website sourcecodesworld.com/special/clipboard.asp, a website that provides free source codes and projects. Without using the paste option the text will be pasted automatically. The website just provides an example of what could potentially happen to you, especially if you have copied your credit card details, bank details or any other sensitive information.