India's States

India, in many ways, looks like the European union. Each of the 28 regional states has its own language(s), culture, music, movie industry, food and festivals. This level of diversity is also seen in many other aspects, including in the economics and demographics. Here is a snapshot of the Indian economy and its demographics, wherein each state is treated as a separate country- in terms of three key aspects - population, GDP and per capita.



Now, there are states like Uttar Pradesh, which, if considered a country, would be fifth largest, more populous than Brazil; states like Haryana and Punjab that can claim to have income levels comparable to eastern Europe.

The social differences are more nuanced and a result of years of traditional values. For instance, Kerala (with a population the size of Canada), a welfare state in southern India, has social indicators in health and education that match developed nations, while, a large number of people who live in more prosperous states like Maharashtra, do not have access to clean drinking water, good health and education.

The future - where is India's diversity headed?

Despite the policy paralysis and lack of governance, India is on its way to grow at 7-9% per year in the long-term and is set to be the size of today's China in 10 to 12 years. Its share of services will be the highest at 70 per cent, industry at 20 per cent and agriculture at 10 per cent. By then, there will be more English-speaking people in India than anywhere else; a billion people connected to the internet; 7 out of 10 Indians will live in cities. Imagine a large, young, hyper-networked urban population with an average age below 30 years!!

In the short run, the Indian story shows signs of slowing down. There are also signs growth would be even less equitable, if the status quo remains.

Top-down structural changes are mired in politics, while at the same time, bottom-up structural changes are far more apparent. Just as millions of Indians in a way, leapfrogged land-line communication infrastructure and adopted mobile technology for voice and internet connectivity, people in states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat seem likely to bypass grid electricity via off-grid solar technology.

Indian companies like Tata, that made the Nano, design new products by holding cost as a primary constraint, some of which include a $20 water purifier or a $750 home with a solar roof. (less expensive than an iPad). And rapid adoption is more likely, as the need is much more pressing.

Given the Indian demand for home-grown high value, there is room for breaking old thinking, and using new business models that can potentially bring a large number of people at the bottom of the pyramid within reach of basic communication, power and infrastructure, education and health.

Evidence shows scalable models combining innovative product design with local expertise, can drive sustainable growth. Such innovation will help countries like India grow at a faster, more equitable trajectory. My bet is:  New models and product development  - keeping the "Indian aam aadmi" in mind, will go a long way in getting India its rightful place in the world..

Engineer Virality?

Are there "ingredients" for a campaign to go viral? Ingredients such as babies, animals, double rainbow, celebrities? Is there is a set formula? Evidence shows that 1 in 100 internet ads made - "the long tail" - become viral. 

Here is an example of an ad for a bottle-water company, which is a parody on "viral marketing" . Well, it has humor and "the ingredients". But, does it achieve its objective: would you share it with your friends? More importantly,
would you recall the product itself?

The feeling here is: you cannot force an ad to go viral by doing x,y and z. However, if you have the "ingredients" and a good story around it, your chances tend to be higher. For a product like bottled water - where you need high brand recall, low differentiation and low price sensitivity, this may work well.

Viral marketing is real and catching up in a big way. Research is beginning to figure out how emerging media can fundamentally shift how to reach out to "highly networked people”. The potential is huge. These are the facts - "Each day, 200 million people log on to Facebook. Each minute, 18 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. Each second, over 600 tweets go out." What would be the Obama 2012 campaign's main channel to reach out to young people? The obvious answer is - viral campaigns, significantly more than last time. 

There are a number of meaningful social causes, such as Embrace, that significantly depend on successful viral media campaigns. If these new channels are used to reach out to people, imagine the number of folks that can be engaged. In our Marketing using IT class at Rotman, one of the key take-aways, for me, has been -  how to leverage emerging media, coupled with high quality content, to get lasting domino effects.  

The Master Switch

Here is a prezi, based on the new book, The Master Switch: 

The Master Switch on Prezi

IMO, the book is an interesting read - and is about information   monopolies/oligopolies over the past century - in telephone, radio, movies, cable and computers - and the men who led them. Fast forward to the internet age: the focus moves toward three dominant firms - Google in information, Apple in products and online content and Facebook in social - and how, sooner rather than later, their "do no evil" play-books would change shape. 

There have been many instances where the ISP, (internet service provider) shapes traffic on the network, or blocks it completely, when there are conflicts of interests - such as Comcast vs. bitorrent or Telus blocking traffic to union workers. 

All these demand for what is called - the separation principle - just like we draw lines between the church and the state, news and editorial, investment advisory and investment services -  in information, transport and content if separated, can be a means to prevent potential abuse. Net neutrality, which is a sub-set of this principle has been a topic of discussion and is part of legal policy. My take on this is: we don't want powerful telecom players or internet companies to dictate how we use the internet - be it on wired or wireless devices. Me, as a consumer, would like the internet to be open and a vehicle for choice. 

Net Neutrality rules for wired is a good starting point.

Education Changing Form-Factor?

Imagine this: 

A high-school class - lectures are via online videos taken at home; practice exercises are  online, done at the student's own pace and the results can be tracked by the student/parent/teacher; "homework" is done in class, with the help of teacher/peers