Public Service AC Commercial Buzz Pulls More Parody Videos

We reported that placeholder public service commercial buzzed crazy a week after the Eastern Japan Disasters. This AC commercial film parodies have been being added more and more.

Each of cartoon character on the original ads calling people in society to greet and care each other, now has its own derivative works by mainly users of Nico Nico Douga, a big Japanese movie sharing service.

# To turn off Japanese overlaid comments, press icon at the bottom of right.

Great Arigatousagi (Arigatou=thank you, Usagi = rabit)

King Sayonaraion (Sayonara=see you, Raion = Lion)

Hyper Ohayounagi (Ohayou=good morning, Unagi = eel)

Konnichiwan Powered (Konnichiwa=hello, wan = woof)

Sonic Tadaimanbou (Tadaima=I’m back, Manbou = headfish)

Miracle Konbanwani (Konbanwa=good evening, Wani = alligator)

Ultimate Oyasuminasai (Oyasuminasai=good night, Sai = rhino)

Lightening Aisatsubouya (Aisatsubouya=greeting boy)

And, the opening theme of the fictional anime series featuring these animals and kids,

There are over 300 fan-made movies under the tag “攻強皇國機甲” [J, registration required], which pronounces the same as “公共広告機構”(Advertising Council Japan) but the letters mean “Imperial Armored Assault” or something like that.

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Gourmet Innovation Launches Donation Program For Serving Ramen Meals To Disaster Victims

Many years ago, I watched a TV commercial of UK automaker Rover Company, saying there would be nothing to proudly introduce in UK other than Rover and fish & chips.   Similarly, average Japanese are not able to have pleasant days without curry rice nor ramen noodles.

Gourmet Innovation[J], a Tokyo-based start-up operating an e-commerce site for the home delivery of frozen ready-made meals from popular ramen diners across the country, launched a donation program last week for serving ramen meals to the disaster victims.   You may place an order from three donation choices of 1000 yen for serving 4 persons (4 bowls of ramen), 5000 yen for 20 persons (20 bowls of ramen) and 10000yen for 100 persons (100 bowls of ramen).   The company expects to deliver packs of ready-made noodles to evacuation sites having water boiling facilities, or come to evacuation sites and cook noodles for the victims onsite.

On the Japanese websphere, the service is better known under its service name Takumen[J] than the company’s name.  More than 9000 users have signed up for placing orders of the Japanese instant soul food.   Gourmet Innovation was founded last year by Takuma Inoue (@GI_Inoue[J]) for giving the opportunities to earn additional revenues for ramen diner owners, and also for allowing ramen freaks to try inexperienced taste without visiting far-located diners.

 

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Sloka Telecom Raises $0.6 Million Funding From KITVEN

Sloka Telecom, a leading worldwide provider of radio access network solutions for emerging markets, has received venture funding from Karnataka Information Technology Venture Capital Fund (KITVEN). The latest round of funding for the company underscores the market demand for high performance but simple solutions that reduce the time and effort needed to rollout broadband wireless networks through extremely compact radio units that can be put on any tower, lamp post, without need for a/c housing thus saving substantial cost in installations and operations for service providers.

Sloka Telecom received $0.6 million by venture capital funding from KITVEN. With its order books running at full capacity, the company will use the additional capital to boost its manufacturing logistics, streamline supply chain, and marketing.

KITVEN, managed by Karnataka Asset Management Company Private Ltd, is contributed by Karnataka State Industrial Infrastructure development Corporation(KSIIDC), Karnataka State Financial Corporation (KSFC), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Karnataka Bio-technology & Information Technology Services and targets investments in IT, Biotech and Nanotech sectors.

Recommended Articles by Sloka Founder, Sujai

• Letter to Young Engineers – Build Real Things
• Future of Wireless in India – UMTS or LTE?
• Entrepreneurship – The China vs. India Divide
• Sloka CEO on state of Tech Funding in India [Must Read]

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What Are The Attributes of A Winning Mobile App?

[Editorial Note: Mobile users aren’t Loyal to Apps and while there is no formula to build a winning app, here is an interesting perspective (by guest author Pooja Gupta) on what makes an interesting app.]

I recently wrote how business models based on mobile app creation have gained momentum but can be unsafe or at least risky for sure (Read it here). The article also discussed that a way to insure against this risk is to develop a winning app which becomes almost indispensable to users. In other words, make an app which lets the platform piggyback on the app’s success and not vice versa (Think about Zynga apps here).

A good question which stems from the above is that how do we develop a winning app or to put it in different words – what are the nuances of a winning app? I have tried to discuss some of them here.

- The very first nuance is Attractiveness. By this I mean the very first impression that your app gives to users, which compels them to download the app and use it at least once. This attractiveness could come from the marketing activities for the app, word of mouth promotion, app features or even the app name (if it is just too catchy). Getting the user to download the app first time is just the first hurdle crossed. The real criterion for an app to be a winner is to ensure that users come back to it multiple times.

A good question at this point is – What will bring the user back to use the app a second time and multiple times going forward?

- The very first answer would be High Usability. Think about the Astro File Manager app on Android platform. Android phones themselves do not have a very good interface for accessing files on the SD card or in the phone memory. This app caters to this high usability niche. The app is almost indispensable and the user has to come back to it multiple times a day.

- Next one and also the most important one is the Addictiveness Quotient of your app – How addictive is the app. A great example of this is the Angry Birds (available on multiple platforms). I am myself addicted to it J. Even a minute of free time at my disposal and this is the first app which I open on my phone.

- Next one is Shareability. In today’s excessively social world, the ability to post directly to social media platforms has become almost a must have features in all apps. A popular app in the Health and Wellness segment is the Cardio Trainer. Run a couple of kilometers and the app would publish to your Facebook and Twitter accounts the distance you ran, the calories you burnt and would also map out your track on Google Maps. Everybody love sharing their smallest achievement with their friends.

- Next one is Incentive. Shareability often acts as an incentive. An app which shares scores/updates on social media platforms automatically triggers off a competitive spirit to be one with the highest score. A closer look at the last three features of a winning app show that they are inter-related in the following manner.

Do let us know your thoughts on the above discussed nuances of a winning app and also if I missed out on any must have feature. Also, what are the apps which you would rate as ones high on addictiveness quotient?

[Image credit]

Recommended Read:

• Nine Rules to Improve Usage of your Mobile Application ['coz Downloads Don't Mean Much]
• SMS based Apps– Are they the Killer Content Delivery Mechanism ?

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Seedfund Invests in Nevales Networks, Cloud Based Network Security Services For SMEs

IT Security for SMEs holds a huge opportunity for Indian startups and Seedfund has announced an investment in Nevales Network, a startup that delivers comprehensive and affordable Security on-Demand services to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Nevales Networks provides SME owners a security services platform that is on-demand to connect securely and access the benefits of the cloud. By doing so, the SME company can protect its own assets and better leverage cloud services.

Nevales – Unified Threat Management (UTM) Features :

• Nevales Firewall
• Nevales VPN
• Nevales Intrusion Detection Service
• Nevales Surf Protection (URL/Content Filtering)
• Nevales Virus Protection
• Nevales Spam Protection
• Nevales Spyware Protection
• Nevales User-Based Access Management
• Nevales Bandwidth Management

Nevales’s subscription based security offering  typically bundles everything into its single subscription fee – including automatic updates, maintenance and 24×7 technical support, thus enabling organizations to eliminate upfront costs, providing a predictable cost structure, and ensuring quality of service and the freedom to re-evaluate the solution decision any time making it highly suitable for SME.

Nevales has customers from various verticals, including education, healthcare, travel, finance, manufacturing, auto, among others and is looking at expanding it further.

Seedfund recently closed $54 million second fund and plans to launch an incubator (read this detailed interview with Seedfund team).

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Buy Handmade Items Online From NetHaat, NCR Based Marketplace Startup

While ecommerce is the flavor of (VC) season, very few companies are looking beyond electronics and gadget products. Infact, the VC money has forced everybody to sell the same category leaving the field wide open for niche products.

Nethaat.com is an online marketplace for the sellers of handmade items with categories from artisans,artists,designers and home makers. Sellers can go to Nethaat platform, create their online store in minutes and start selling their hand created treasures in minutes. Every seller gets his sub domain name and paypal is integrated for payments to reach directly into sellers account.Currencies are displayed in locally as per the country IP .

Given that the major buyer market is outside India, Paypal integration might just suffice for now and the business model of this NCR based startup is twofold – the company follows freemium model and charges commission to sellers.

The freemium service enables sellers to host up to 25 products for free and in order to sell more, they need to move up to PRO account. As far as commission is concerned, the company charges 3.5% to sellers, once the sale is realized.

Nethaats offers following features to sellers:

• Haating: This is an online negotiation feature on Nethaat.Sellers ,apart from their normal online store can display their excess inventory stock or any item they wish to put on sale for better turnaround.
• Locker: This is a secured place on nethaat for any seller  , who doesn’t want to show his unique creations / designs to the world for being copied. Locker can be only accessed by any one ,whom the seller wants ,by use of limited time password.
• Workshop : This is a module where buyer can get any of the items custom created from any seller.
• Remind me: Any one can feed their friends or relatives important dates like birthday,anniversary etc and get reminded with options to buy giftcards and items from the sellers.

Do give NetHaat a spin and share your comments. A feedback to the team – http://nethaat.com redirects to http://nethaat.com/featured_store_information.php which is a dead page [a simple issue, but you need to fix such bugs in your QA cycle].

As far as the team is concerned, the company has two cofounders [Rakesh sonava is a supply chain professional and an alumni of indian institute of materials management (IIMM)/Schulich school of Business,York university Toronto with PG and specialization in Supply chain management and Roshan agarwal ,an IT/IPR professional].

Similar Startup: Bangalore Startup, Aporv Brings Indian Handicrafts Online

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9leap: D2C And UEI Launch Program For Young Smartphone Game Creators

Do you know a student in Japan who is under 25 years of age and who can create cool smartphone games? If yes, 9leap, a new program that just launched, might be of interest to you.

9leap is the brain child of Tokyo-based D2 Communications (D2C) – a joint venture between Dentsu and NTT Docomo – and tech company Ubiquitous Entertainment (UEI). The program runs from May to December this year, with the first part lasting from May 1 to August 31 and the second part from September 1 to December 31.

Applicants are supposed to create an original smartphone game (based on JavaScript) and present it to a jury whose members include, for example, legendary game maker Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the CEOs of D2C and UEI etc.

The prizes the successful applicants get include MacBooks, the chance to attend the Game Developers Conference 2012 in San Francisco for free (plus there is a number of other bells and whistles).

You can check out details on the 9leap website as well as in this press release (in Japanese).

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Goo To End RSS Reader And Movie Sharing Service

Goo, a Japanese web portal run by NTT Resonant, a group company of NTT, announced to terminate their two sub services.

Goo RSS Reader

All variations of Goo’s RSS Readers, web reader [J], Windows application version and Japanese cellphone version will be discontinued [J]. PC and mobile web versions will stop on May 31, 2011. You may keep using the Windows app version, but no support will be provided.

In Japan, Bloglines got popular first as web-based RSS reader, then Livedoor Reader caught tech-savvy people. Later Google Reader is catching up. But as same as in English, RSS reader is not a prime tool for majority in the shade of social media like Twitter.

Goo ClipLife

Goo’s movie sharing service ClipLife [J] is also announced [J] to stop at the end of May.

According to Internet Watch [J], Goo RSS Reader began September 28, 2004, ClipLife started in August 2006.

As well as another big Japanese portal Nifty, those portals needed to have whatever new trending service under their brand, and that made them keep running those less popular web services for years. April 1st, the beginning of Japanese school year, is one good timing to cut them off and reassign their resource to something newer.

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Business Opportunities and Market Access for India – 8 Apr

India is the world’s second fastest growing economy. Home to more than 1.2 billion people, India is one of the most lucrative emerging markets today. Around 71% of the population is younger than age 35, providing opportunities to tap a young, vibrant emerging demographic that are technologically savvy. In terms of purchasing power, India is the world’s 4th largest economy and it could become the world’s fastest growing economy within the next few years.

This Friday, iAxil, Battle Ventures and MentorSquare present a talk on Business Opportunities and Market Access for India.

Ravi Narayan & S.K Guruprakash, veterans in the Indian market from MentorSquare, will address the opportunities and threats in the Indian Market, with special focus on:

Why is India a promising market?
Which sectors are hot and which ones are not?
How does a Singapore based company like yours break through the cultural differences and make full use of the India Opportunity?

India is a land of 30 states, 18 official languages and myriad cultures. Doing business here is very different from anywhere else in the world, and equally rewarding. The speakers from MentorSquare will guide the entrepreneurs in understanding the dynamics of accessing the Indian market, and forging partnerships with Indian referrals which are absolutely critical for your success in India.

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Speakers

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Mr. Ravi Narayan, CEO and Co- Founder, MentorSquare

Ravi Narayan is CEO and Co- Founder of MentorSquare., a serial Entrepreneur having started American Systems International (ASI) , Nextone Communications (sold to Genband), and Astuto Networks. He has also worked at various technical and management levels for IBM and Hughes Network Systems. He is a founder and Managing Director of Mentor Partners, one of the most successful early stage mentoring and venture funds in India. He brings several years of experience in the entrepreneurial world to help his portfolio companies achieve their maximum potential. He earned a Bachelor of Technology from IIT Madras, and a MS in Industrial Engineering, and MBA from University of Southern California. He is a founding member of PAN-IIT and Charter Member of the TiE organization.

Mr. S.K Guruprakash, Lead Mentor, MentorSquare

Guruprakash has 25 years of experience in the Industry and is a serial entrepreneur. He is operationally involved in working with several SMEs and Technology partners to bring together meaningful solutions to the community and Businesses. He Advise small entrepreneurial outfits to realise their dreams. He has also helped set up Centers of Excellence in Technology domains. He currently serves as the director of Strategic Alliance Pte. Ltd.

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Event Details

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When: Friday 8th April 2011
Time: 1:30pm – 4pm, registration starts at 1:30pm, light refreshments and networking from 4pm
Where: No. 87 Science Park Drive, Science Hub, Singapore Science Park 1, Seminar Room: Buona Vista and Portsdown

Admission is free. Please sign up at events@iAxil.net.

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Image Credit: mckaysavage

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Of Customer Relationship, DNA of Entrepreneurship and The Industry

I love the food in Delhi. I mean, this is such an oblique reference to the title of the post, but I really love the food in Delhi. As a regular on random chaat thelas, kathi kebab skewers, flashy juice stalls, and with a long-standing appetite for falafels, shawarmas, momos, kebab rolls at New Friends Colony, Khan Market and other such cleverly cut corners, I have come to form a super-impression about the food-sellers in Delhi: They are all about juicy delicious food served with brilliant customer relationship.

I mean, food is really NOT the only great thing about these stalls. The more terrific story is about how these sellers have built a super-cool customer-relationship over the years, even decades. Spicy enough to pull the customers back to the stall regularly. It is far more savory a recipe to learn about business from the thela-wallas than a delicacy itself. Even the high and mighty, brick and mortar retail space owners try to mimic the grass-root culture of these street vendors. A blunt attempt, IMHO, to piggy-back on the bustling charm of street-food industry. Shame, it is though that the malls can never get there.

Recently, I ran late into a shop at about 11:00 pm and asked the seller to pack something that cost me Rs. 240. I was very hungry. The guy, a tired and sweaty seller, was in a hurry to shut his shop because of the patrolling police-van nearby. And his business was done for the day. But he generously accepted my order and asked the khansama to pack the food for me. He asked for payment very politely. I gave him a 1000 rupee note, which he promptly adjusted and gave me back Rs. 800. And said “chhutta nai hai merey paas, baki paise aap kabhi aur pay karr dijiyega“.

He did not have change, and yet converted the business impasse into an opportunity. I was simply awestruck! The guy stuck two sugar laced arrows at the same time. He reposed faith in me, a total stranger, by asking me to complete payment another day. And he got me invited for another day. Another meal, more profit. I mean pffffft!! That’s what I call a cool way to build an honest customer relationship. It is really not about management mantras or a manager-client-process approach to have a warm business relationship. The incident also made me reflect on so very little sense in having an allocated CRM manager at my bank, whose name and phone number I need to note, before I start talking to them. Or if there is any value in seams and seams of contractual obligations that ink the nature of relationship between the customer and the seller? Is not a warm relationship good enough?

And I thought to myself how such a beautiful small scale industry with absolutely no capital support, or shape, or influencing muscle can employ millions in our country and at the same time beat the process-intensive thinkers sitting in the malls simply by depending on warm customer relationships. IMHO, great business is only about warm relationships, the risk taking DNA of the entrepreneur, and the culture imbibed by the industry as whole. The spice of great customer care, can beat the mightier processes because for people it’s not the process, but the service that matters.

Only the feeling has to be great. What do you guys think?

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