“We have seen a clear evolution in demands from our customers. They are better informed and far more sophisticated in their expectations and requirements.”- Mark Redgrave of Hapax.

True!! With the advent of social media they now have their own platform to express their views and opinions. The main intention behind social media monitoring is to track these conversations as I have mentioned earlier. Determining if these conversations are positive or negative is called Sentiment Analysis.

Listening to the sentiments behind a customer’s voice is very important for any company that wishes to act upon these opinions. According to me, sentiment analysis is very important to any social media monitoring initiative. It is vital to analyze whether good or bad conversations are driving your brand in the social media space. In fact, tracking sentiments is one of the real reasons why businesses enter social media. At iridium, we use several tools to do this.

Automated sentimental analysis tools are generally used to give numbers to these customer sentiments. It is good if you dig deeper than the statistics to get a clearer picture. Also you will need to compare sentiments across several brands over a time period.

If the consumers have positive sentiments with a brand, its all good, but when there is negative sentiment it makes the analysis interesting when you have to uncover the reasons behind this particular sentiment. Sentiment analysis coupled with social monitoring tools make this study even more interesting. It is more like stepping into your consumer’s mind and understanding what drives their thinking about your company.

I would not like to confuse you further, so I conclude by stating that sentiment analysis is nothing but social media monitoring with a qualitative twist.

Here are some free Social media monitoring tools that you can use to assess all social media metrics.

1. How Sociable: it is a free tool that defines simplicity. Just punch in the brand you want to measure metrics for and you will get the visibility score for it across 32 social networks. http://www.howsociable.com/

2. Addict-o-matic: This tool provides you with a comprehensive view of discussions on a topic across the most popular social networks. In just one view you can see all the discussions on all popular social networks and blogs. http://addictomatic.com/

3. Technorati- This tool is used to find top blogs and posts on any searched item. http://technorati.com/

4. Google Blogsearch- This is also a blog oriented tool that generates top discussions happening in blogs on a topic you want to search for. http://blogsearch.google.com/

5. Googletrends- Shows the worldwide traffic/searches of this particular keyword. http://google.com/trends

6. Twitterstats-  This is one tool that serves all my twitter purposes. It shows all the relevant twitter stats for the Iridium account and allows comparisons with other accounts too. One stop for all twitter analytics is what this tool is all about. Check it out on http://www.twitterstats.com/

7. Quantcast- This tool is apt for tracking traffic to a particular website and gives Graphical display and demographics wise data segregation. http://www.quantcast.com/

There are numerous free tools available but its your requirements that defines your choice. After my stint in social media monitoring, these are the top 7 tools I frequently use.

Follow us on @iridiuminter or my personal twitter @sbharatam.

T20- the latest cricket rave that has not missed any Indian’s glare. So much for cricket, where every Indian’s heart lies in, Indian Cinema is the next big thing that is closer or maybe even bigger than the cricket fever in India. Be it Bollywood, Tollywood or Kollywood ,Indian cinema has captivated Indians, and non Indians all over the world. How those dancing around the trees, and the song-dance sequences have caught the fancy of many international audiences and cinema lovers.

EGS- Entertainment Society of Goa wanted to felicitate 20 landmark Indian movies that have deeply impacted Indians over its 96 years of inception. Caught with the mammoth task of short listing many thousand movies made over these years, they decided to have a contest that takes every Indian’s opinion into account.T20 Indian Cinema (T20 abbreviated for top 20) was the website that was decided to be created to aid this contest.

This is when EGS approached iridium Interactive to make an online portal for their contest that must go live within a day. As hard as it sounds iridium pulled it off brilliantly within 14 hours, much to ESG’s delight. Comprehensive and ease is what defines this website. This contest was run on that portal from November 10th to 29th.
With an over whelming response from all over the world, ESG and its esteemed panel of judges were able to bring down the long list to the top 20 movies, loved and appreciated by Indians worldwide. On November 30th EGS awarded these movies at the International Film Festival of India also known as IFFI in Goa

Living up to the famous jargon “keep it simple and swift” iridium thus makes another website in record time for another satisfied client.

Circa 1972
Bollywood has given us many scientific discoveries and hypotheses.
Good old fiery villain, Ajit, arguably had some amazing patent pending TORTURE TECHNIQUES up his villainous sleeve:

“JAAAANI – Voltage Badaaao-Currrrent Badaaao..Uska Resistance Kum Ho Jaayega”….
Even better technique:
“Usko Liquid Oxygen mein bundh kardo…..Liquid usko Jeeene Naheen Dega; Oxygen Usko marne Naheen Dega”

Circa 2008
In the light of this amazing history , the embracing of the new wave technologies by Bollywood is not surprising.
The active blogging by Big B and Small A are known to all.
The current activities being executed before the launch of a Bollywood film “PHOONK” by RGV is another fantastic case in point…..
This can be a case study of how to build the curiosity and community cascading effect for a brand.
Small but sure steps taken by RGV:

• Writing in his own blog for the rationale to make such a film – ( a scary spooky film)
• The Film Website ( www.phoonk.in) – designed and ready on the websphere well before the launch of the film
• The Website has teasers, picture galleries, videos of the film in the making.
• Smartly, the website also has features for trade enquiries like distribution, music rights etc
• Groups have been set up on Facebook and Orkut.. Highly active members are already building the buzz thru these groups.
• The website also has links to the Groups prominently placed on the homepage too. Fantastic idea to drive membership and awareness for the new groups.

RGV has even posted a challenge – asking anyone to watch the film alone in an empty theatre. Even before the launch of the film, a buzz has been created for the challenge- with many among the bold and beautiful coming forward to watch the film alone !!

I am no diehard fan of RGV – but would surely doff my hat to him for the smart manner of embracing the web medium to reach the audiences smartly.

Notwithstanding what FRIDAY has instore at the box office, RGV sure does pack a few spooky punches.

Objective
Visit Bengal during the 10-day Puja period and the sheer vibrancy, fervour and joie de vivre in the environment will stun you. And such an experience begs to be broadcast to a larger number of people who can enjoy it from their armchairs. The motive behind launching such a website was to portray online the daily rituals, color, excitement and vibrancy of the Durga Puja festival; to provide a platform which would enable visitors from all around the world to relate to the events happening somewhere in West Bengal; and to allow for contributions from and interactions between visitors worldwide. ABP also wanted to keep the site ‘alive’ and updated on a minute-by-minute basis. It sought to eventually convert a time-bound micro-site into a revenue generator.

Solution
Extensive use of Flash allowed iridium Interactive (ii) to generate clips of actual activities and daily rituals during the Puja period. Visitors from anywhere in the world could post pictures of Puja pandals on the site. Various images of the rituals were updated on a daily basis for the entire period of the puja.
The site did not stop at just visuals. In a bid to be interactive and creative, it also innovatively incorporated Puja-inspired games, greeting cards, Puja songs, and recipes by the chefs of some of Kolkata’s famous hotels and restaurants. To reinforce the Bengali feel and aura, even the screen savers and wallpapers have been designed and created by Bengal’s finest artists, all downloadable onto a mobile phone.
A complete section has been devoted to the legend of Durga. It talks about the Goddess’s triumph in a unique and non-conventional way that would appeal to the young.

Results
iridium has created a forceful platform for the worldwide online broadcast of the Durga Puja celebrations. The site initially started out as a short-term one that would run for 3 months. However, because of strong demand and interest in the site, it is now live around the year. The sheer liveliness, color and up-to-date persona of the site attracted over 10 million hits in a 15-day period! These high volumes have transformed the site into a value-added and cost-effective advertising channel. Consequently, there is now a high demand and competition for advertising space and marketing messages on the site.
ii designed and created this site that transcends geographical boundaries, to bring the cultural phenomenon of Kolkata to the world, and to unite the worldwide Bengali Diaspora. Ananda Utsav is now a global brand allowing ABP to reach a wider audience.
“Perhaps anandautsav.com helped the global Bengali community to get the truest feel of the Pujas. The fact that this true-blue essence of the Puja could be accessible from the comfort of their homes must have added to the site’s popularity,” an ABP source remarked.

About ii
iridium Interactive Limited (ii) specializes in providing online business solutions. With a presence across three continents, it has been at the forefront in integrating strategy, design and technology to build unique and robust user-centric e-business solutions. At ii, a holistic approach is adopted towards complex business problems to arrive at a complete solution. ii’s talented team has worked on a variety of disciplines for a multitude of clients drawn from various industries, and has a number of award-winning works to its credit. ii offers it services in the areas of interactive marketing, web marketing, e-learning, enterprise consulting and web accessibility initiatives.

Inman Stories is a California-based digital media company specializing in the creation, production and distribution of original video content via the internet and other emerging technologies. They boast a global network of highly-skilled producers, editors, and videographers who produce, shoot, and edit 3 to 5 minute video stories built around luxury homes, people, companies, destinations, and more.

Objective Inman was seeking an online video magazine solution which could maximize value from ads and give greater reach to branding efforts. They wanted to reach and captivate that elusive click- through visitor. Inman also wanted a solution offering tighter and more pin-point measurement metrics.Inman chose iridium Interactive (ii) to build and tell its story online.

Solution ii’s research resulted in several insights on satisfying clients’ needs. High speed internet and broadband services have created an intense vein of demand for rich web content, and ii created a site with the ability to place 5 to 7 minute films that tell unique stories of places, spaces and faces. The look and feel of the online medium simulates a print magazine, with the added magic of moving images and voice-over. We ensured that the embedded technology offered speedy downloads and converted ‘traditional’ web content into digital video. The creative team of iridium came up with some very simple yet innovative techniques to put together this site, using simple on-demand video modules, technology that enables easy syndication of content, And Video Content Management for creation and publishing. The convenient advertising placement rivals that of television. To make viewing hassle-free for the user, we used Flash and did away with the need for any special plug-ins. From a purely business side, we built in capabilities for advertising management, syndication management, reporting metrics and precise viewer targeting. Additionally, ii also hosts the site and offers website maintenance.

Results ii has the distinction of having created the world’s first digital video magazine, giving web viewers a far more thrilling and interactive online experience. We optimised the technology used to ensure that there was very little buffering during downloads, leading to a superior and more satisfactory user experience.In a way, online real estate information [KS1] dissemination has been revolutionised, and ii tied up syndication alliances with the world’s leading portals like Yahoo, MSN, etc. which are now generating very satisfying revenues for Inman. By hosting and maintaining the website we are able to ensure that the site is problem and glitch-free.

About ii
iridium Interactive Limited (ii) specializes in providing online business solutions. With a presence across three continents, it has been at the forefront in integrating strategy, design and technology to build unique and robust user-centric e-business solutions. At ii, a holistic approach is adopted towards complex business problems to arrive at a complete solution. ii’s talented team has worked on a variety of disciplines for a multitude of clients drawn from various industries, and has a number of award-winning works to its credit. ii offers it services in the areas of interactive marketing, web marketing, e-learning, enterprise consulting and web accessibility initiatives.

Wow! Hyderabad is an established and popular print magazine with a wide circulation. After the huge success of the Wow! Hyderabad magazine, an online version seemed the logical next step.

Objective

The publishers wanted to replicate the brand and the experience Wow! Hyderabad generated through a web version. The website would reach out to the Hyderabadi diaspora, replicating and reflecting the same experience and vibrancy as its cousin on paper.The objective behind this move was to reach out to a wider audience, one not limited geographically, and ensure that expatriate Hyderabadis were informed of the happenings in their city. The imperative in such an initiative was the need to ensure that the web version was ready simultaneously with the print issue, which meant a monthly deadline. Additionally, to keep the subscriptions rolling and revenue flowing in, the whole subscription process and access procedure was to be made a simplified one. In short, the online version would have to function as a revenue generator is its own right.

Solution Proposed

The team at iridium Interactive (ii) worked hard to co-ordinate the offline and online avatars of the brand. A special team worked to simply ensure that content and images were uploaded in sync with the launch of the print issues. The site was designed to accommodate high-density transition images, scrolling flash banner headlines and announcements. The ii team made it a point to keep the site colorful and create a strong visual impact, reflecting in essence, the spirit of Hyderabad itself. The overall look of the site mirrored the print issue and several visual tools were used to keep the site ‘alive’ and eye catching.Additional features like photo sharing, communities, etc. were included to make it an interactive experience for the users. The community section, for instance, informs readers of the social developments in the city. The subscription process was conceived of as a simple form which made it easy for overseas readers and subscribers to register for, pay and access the site.

Results

Wow! Hyderabad online is very well received by the target segment as it links them with their city from wherever they are seated. Features on the website like photo sharing, community-based articles and news, keeps expatriates informed of the happenings in their home town, and allows them to share views and thoughts with their community. Wow! Hyderabad captures social events, cultural reviews and the latest parties, which brings the reader closer and in touch with his beloved city. The website has captured the interest of its readers as it is rich in content, which is informative and entertaining at the same time. The simple subscription and access procedure eliminates any hassles in paying for or accessing the site; this has increased the revenue streams through subscriptions. Advertisers in the print issue also get visibility on the website. This has raised their awareness to new avenues for advertising, resulting in increased and new advertising for WOW! Hyderabad.

About ii
iridium Interactive Limited (ii) specializes in providing online business solutions. With a presence across three continents, it has been at the forefront in integrating strategy, design and technology to build unique and robust user-centric e-business solutions. At ii, a holistic approach is adopted towards complex business problems to arrive at a complete solution. ii’s talented team has worked on a variety of disciplines for a multitude of clients drawn from various industries, and has a number of award-winning works to its credit. ii offers it services in the areas of interactive marketing, web marketing, e-learning, enterprise consulting and web accessibility initiatives.

Key highlights of this event included sessions, special tracks, round tables and panel discussions covering all the aspects of the IT and ITES industry. The Global CSR Conclave track covered broad spectrum of issues related to the new CSR model the companies need to incorporate, that could play an instrumental role in not just developing the country’s social space, but also extending India’s edge in the global markets. Some of the prominent speakers covering Track-sessions:

• Prof. Amartya Sen, Noted Economist & Nobel Laureate
• Larry Irving, Former Assistant Secretary, U.S Department of Commerce; Former principal advisor to U.S President, Vice President and Secretary of Commerce on Information & Communication policy issues
• Dr.Paul Ackerman, Advisor, Accessibility Practice – iridium Interactive Limited
• Nandan Nilenkani, CEO & Managing Director, Infosys
• Kiran Karnik, President, NASSCOM
• Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman NASSCOM Foundation; President TiE Delhi; Founder, Xansa India
• Harish Mehta, Chairman & Managing Director, Onward Technologies Ltd; Vice Chairman, NASSCOM Foundation
• Dr. Lavanian, Former Co- Convener Sub committee on Standards, Govt. Task Force for Telemedicine
• Dr. Ganapathy, Head, Apollo Telemedicine Foundation; President, Neurological Society of India; Secretary, Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgery
• Dr. Hegde, Deputy Director-A, ISRO
• Dr. Kim, Arvind Eye Hospital
• Dr. Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya

Dr.Paul Ackerman spoke on “Tapping the invisible workforce”.

Dr. Paul R Ackerman, International consultant – Disability & Leadership and Advisor Accessibility Practice – iridium Interactive Limited earlier held the position of Associate Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a unit of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the US Department of Education. In that position he directed all program planning, budgeting and evaluation for NIDRR, funded at 120 million dollars with over 400 grantees and ten different research, development, and technical assistance categories of funding. Prior to this, he was the Director of International and Interagency Activities for NIDRR, where he was responsible for international program of research, exchange and intergovernmental relations, and a coalition of Federal representatives of programs which fund research in the rehabilitation of Americans with disabilities and their families.

He has served Federal agencies dealing with domestic and international rehabilitation and special education for over thirty years. He taught special education and rehabilitation courses at Columbia University and the University of Maryland; he directed special education programs at the State government level in Kansas, and he was Assistant Executive Secretary of the Council for Exceptional Children. He has also done clinical and research work for the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, Highland Psychiatric Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina and the Center for Urban Education in New York City.

Dr. Ackerman has a Baccalaureate and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Willamette University, Salem Oregon, and the University of Kansas respectively. His Ph.D. is in special education and child psychology from Columbia University, New York City.

He is the co-author of three books on parenting. “Between Parent and School” was written for families of children at risk for disability. “Signals” was on the Book-of-the-Month Club lists for four years. “Parents After Thirty” was translated into four languages. He was also the single author of a treatment research book in special education and is the author of many chapters and articles in journals and collections.

About iridium Interactive (ii)

ii is a full service internet consultancy firm, integrating strategy, design technology & online marketing to build user centric e-business & e-learning solutions. With a track record of 7+ years of experience and more than 200+ engagements across the globe with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Hamburg, Singapore, New Delhi & Hyderabad. ii is committed to the cause of making the web accessible to the visually impaired and differently-abled.

iridium Interactive recognises that jobs and careers are the amongst the top researched and browsed information on the Internet with the youth (aged 18 to 30) the

heaviest users. We have turned this knowledge into a proactive and path-breaking website. The site with the potential to become a portal focuses on this audience and their unique concerns regarding employment and their careers.

The website capitalises on the enormous research that went into the TV programmes; increases the shelf life of each episode while drawing in visitors and thereby creating a motivated, articulate and highly savvy networking community.

Other major objectives is to evolve the website into a standalone portal for job placements and developing business and commercial possibilities. The website also allows the visitor/user an opportunity influence the

content TV programmes via the

comments and suggestions section in the website and even contribute to the content.

The potential for the website is immense. It

stands on its own merit, supports the TV programmes, has the genuine potential to generate revenue and through the medium of message boards and discussion threads become a very real, thriving and dynamic community, said Mr. Sriram Bharatram, CEO iridium Interactive.