Reliance forays into networking site, targets user base of 10 mln

New Delhi, Aug 13 (UNI) Anil Ambani's Reliance ADA Group today launched a networking site enabling the users to create, upload and share videos and photos.

Bigadda.com includes features like blogs and scribbles, which are aimed at helping users express, comment and connect to Addas (communities) and forums.

''The site expects to garner a user base of 10 million customers by 2010 and have already acquired over a 1,00,000 customers in the last six weeks,'' said Reliance Entertainment President Rajesh Sawhney in a statement.

The company also plans to introduce a Music vertical for uploading, streaming and sharing of user playlists, added the statement.

Web Instant Messenger (IM) and wireless interface would also be introduced shortly, it added.

The number of Internet users has witnessed an upswing, and so has the number of networking sites.

BigAdda will associate with five youth icons to drive their communities online. Renowned photographer Atul Kasbekar will spearhead a Mobile Photo Contest where users would be encouraged to shoot and upload photos from their mobiles providing them a chance to work on an assignment with him.

Shankar Mahadevan would handle Music Adda one short-listed user will get a chance to release an album through Big Music Label.

Irina Brar, leading golfer, will create a Sports Adda, Madhur Bhandarkar would steer the Video Category and Dia Mirza the Movies category.

With the Indian net users touching the 100 million mark up from the current 40 million by 2010 and the access of internet on mobile becoming cheaper, there will be a trigger of revolution in the Indian social networking arena.

Statistics show that about 56.6 per cent of net users log into their communities' everyday and about 70.4 per cent sometimes or always interact with other members of their communities.

The Indian Web Industry will see a tremendous growth with the increasing penetration of broadband, PC, Internet, Mobile.

The mobile penetration alone is likely to be 450 million by 2010.

India is also witnessing the advent of niche networking sites on movies, music, IT and even business networking. The potential of the sector can be gauged from the fact that many startup-networking sites are optimist of generating revenues in six to seven months of operations.

UNI