A new dotcom boom?

A week ago, the BBC reported on a development that could well foretell the shape of things to come (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7410600.stm). Apparently, some of the giants of social networking (YouTube and MySpace) are debuting in India. The honchos at these heavyweights admit that internet penetration in India is still quite low. But there are upsides to being the world’s second most populous country. Even the small fraction of Indians that are online constitute huge numbers, possibly larger than the populations of some European countries!

This is part of a larger trend that has seen many big-name IT giants set up shop in India. In their case, it’s our IT whiz-kids that draw their dollars to the des. But these social networking sites are probably not in India for talent-scouting. It’s eyeballs they are after. It’s the elderly doctor with a penchant for karaoke (http://www.youtube.com/user/drkchaudhry). It’s the randy guys with a hankering for derrieres and décolletage (http://www.youtube.com/user/polish143). It’s the linguistic patriots (http://www.youtube.com/user/meemadhav) charged with passion for their mother tongues. These are the people everyone is out to woo. They are the drivers of the new dotcom boom.

While the fortunes of the last boom rested on the fickle favours of Californian angel investors and the vagaries of Wall Street, the future of this new boom may well be forged in homes in Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Chennai, etc. The drivers of the new boom may, as individuals, be far less powerful than those who had their fingers burnt when the first boom went bust. But collectively, they my wield far more muscle and may prove to be no less fickle. It’s one thing to keep suit-clad (NYC) or pony-tailed (SF, LA) executives happy. To keep Papaji, Mummyji, and Pappu coming back for more is quite another thing altogether.

Will the new boom last? Who knows? But while it’s happening, I’m going to get my fix of old classics, of Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Urdu poetry. And (dare I admit it?), a rain-soaked thumka or two!

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