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Mohit Gundecha is the Head – India and Director, Business Development at mig33. This article is originally a part of the Blogworks India Social Media Report Edition 2 in association with NM Incite ( A Nielsen McKinsey company)
Silicon Valley has always been intrigued about opportunities in India’s Internet and mobile markets, especially the growth of mobile internet. Through my research at the Stanford University and now at mig33, I have learned why people in smaller towns in India are more hooked on to mobile social networks than the people in metros. It’s hard for companies in the valley (and even in India) to comprehend that mobile social networking in India is driven by people in smaller towns. Through this article, I would attempt to share my learning of behavioral traits of people, adaptation and adoption of mobile social networks and the movement beyond Facebook or Twitter in smaller towns of developing countries, especially India.
My learnings are derived from my meetings with mig33 users across 20 small towns of India – Bhagalpur, Patna in Bihar to Bharuch, Vapi, Valsad in Gujarat to Rohtak in Haryana – I met these users as part of mig33’s process to decide our expansion strategy in India.
With the keen objective of finding out the driving factors for growing demand for social mobile entertainment, I discovered that many people in smaller towns of India are not comfortable sharing their real life on social networks. But, they all enjoy connecting with new people and feeling special in their own way, by maintaining a virtual identity. They are more mobile savvy than we think they are, and they spend money. They are people in their late twenties as well (not just high school kids). They all use mobile internet to have fun. Period!
Social media in these regions is mobile, virtual and real-time conversations. I am sharing few more observations about these people and why social mobile entertainment clicks with them.
Mobile Savvy
Mobile phones are their best friends – during the day and even while sleeping. I know of several people who have told me that to avoid their parent’s attention they cover themselves with the blanket pretending to sleep and chat with their friends on mig33. The ‘twenty-somethings’ crowd, of tier II towns, is very comfortable with the device, they download and install apps and are willing to experiment, dig deeper and engage even further.
Social Taboos and Virtual World
Youth in cities these like to enjoy socialising in a virtual world. They are not so comfortable sharing their real lives on Facebook or twitter – many have inferiority complex, some have social inhibitions (especially girls) and for others it’s a social taboo. A quintessential tendency, they seek entertainment in the virtual world with a virtual life, getting away from the pressures and hardships of real life. Therefore, a mobile social network, gives them the avenue to express themselves, from a device that they have handy, all the time.
They like to create virtual identities, login to chat rooms, make new friends, exchange virtual gifts, play social real-time games etc. Youngsters today have a free mind and want to share, communicate with people across the globe. They like discussing cricket, bollywood and the opposite sex. They seek real time engagement, with people beyond their families, friends and relatives, with people of similar interests and it gives them a feeling of instant connectivity.
Status Hungry
As I said, they want to feel special in their own way. To gain or retain status among their friends online, people go to the extent of paying for virtual gifts like a hug, a teddy bear on Valentine’s day to jewellery on Diwali, Kohinoor diamonds, an expensive modern dress (which they will never even dream to wear otherwise) for their avatar or a Shah Rukh Khan hair-style, among other things. Their definition of status is different. Even a photograph with a mig33 employee is a big deal for them.
Viral Factor
In tier II towns, the communities are usually close knit. If they like a service, word spreads easily. They have enough time to kill and chat among their friends. Even today more than half of the thousands of registrations on mig33 are via referrals, a testimony to the network effects in tier II towns. Therefore their usage of mobile chat, mobile social games and participation in mobile communities is far higher as compared to metros.
Lack of Social Entertainment Options
In metros, we have several activities that we could pursue – In India, in small town cities there are fewer options for entertainment and people have lot of spare time. Mobile, being a personal device gets an advantage there. Mobile is therefore treated as a gaming device, browsing device, socialising device and much more.
My personal interaction with these people has excited me to actually relocate to Asia to grow mig33’s penetration in these markets. This audience is easy to please and viral. They can spread your services to several others. One needs to understand their feelings and introduce services or marketing campaigns accordingly.
If marketers have to reach to this audience, Facebook and Twitter can’t be the only medium!
Note: Views of authors are personal, and do not represent views of IndiaSocial or its partners.