When our class at the B-School was asked, what we’ll choose between a ‘Jack of all’ and a ‘Master of one’, the Master was what most of us picked. “That would make us the authority in our field. We’ll always have the last word”, the intellectuals of the class said. And that was how the professor started the IT class. Following is how I related the same with my understanding. I generally refrain from writing so but such a fete occurs rarely. i couldn't miss an opportunity to advertise my business brains..Being true to the above example, among the Generalists and the Niche portals, the latter become the Master of One. It is becoming increasingly difficult on the internet to reach the right audience, acquire the right visitors, convert them into your customers and retain those customers. That niche portal can effectively build lasting relationships through what we have studied in marketing- consumers’ lifecycles. The majority of Internet users with spending power look beyond the major internet portals in search of more dedicated content from specialist niche sites.
'Vertical', or 'Niche', Web Portals as they are called focus on specialized audiences and topics, and provide features like search engines, discussions, and directories. The key reason for this preference for niche websites appears to lie in a desire for quality content. The niche portal approach capitalises on specialised interactivity. It also defines the theme that attracts potential users and customers: the portal provides access to a wide range of resources, information links thus focusing on smaller domains. While horizontal portals try to provide a user with information on dozens of topics, vertical niche portals provide great depth in a tiny area. There are three strategic practices that the niche portals use to enhance customer retention. These are community building, customisation and streamlined browsing.
- Community building creates an environment of information exchange among experts in a niche arena.
- Customisation works for personalisation and user-friendliness of the portal.
- Streamlined browsing helps minimise unproductive time spent searching the whole web for information.
Kudos to the professor to have explained the topic so well…. Even to the NPAs as he often jokingly rebukes them by.. :-)
Not so long ago, there were a few maverick boys. They were quite an intelligent bunch and had learnt the lessons of hard work very early in life. There were things in common among them, they wanted to make it big, had the zeal of the entrepreneurs and they were all Foodies!! That is why the universe conspired and brought them all to the study at the kingdom’s premier education Institute.
As they burnt the midnight oil and fuel in the day, they ended up with extreme hunger pangs. The food at the mess was not what they would settle for. Food wasn’t what these quality seekers would compromise with, they were Foodies after all.
There was once a time when they had a huge collection of menus in their drawers. The idea to file them together wasn’t quite fruitful either. Now since they were a perfectionists by nature, they came up with the most efficient deal. And this was when Foodiebay.com was born! A unique and a promising website with a database of over 1500 restaurants and food joints from all over the
The foodieboys have been a blessing to people working in the service industry in all metros are increasingly becoming net savvy and look up to the internet to provide them with information concerning all their foody needs. The efforts of these Foodieboys have kicked off back-end operations in Mumbai and Pune.
Foodiebay.com’s focusing on one city at a time and trying to achieve penetration within that zone rather than being spread too thinly in too many cities. This gives its customers a choice of restaurants which no other portal can currently provide. It also provide quantitative ratings to all restaurants which are listed on foodiebay.
The biggest USP is that they have menus for each restaurant that is listed on the site. Each listing under the feature tab also includes, whether the restaurant does home delivery, what the average cost for a meal for two would be, whether credit cards are accepted or not, whether liquor is served or not etc. A user can write reviews, rate restaurants & restaurant owners can even upload their menus sitting at home.
The database of foodiebay.com is updated frequently, adding up nearly 20 new restaurants per day and checking up already added restaurants once in every four months. The student team of foodiebay.com does all the execution on the technology and the content front while the mentor team helps establish relationships with investors, restaurants and also pitches in with marketing.
The product which we see online today is a result of a very extensive study and intelligence on what will potentially work in the Indian market. The revenue model is mostly advertising based. Foodiebay.com being a niche website with a targeted set of ‘hungry’ customers is a perfect platform for restaurants to promote their offerings. Our boys have proved themselves that they aren’t just any other foodies, they are the ones who fulfill both the, ‘eat to live’ and ‘live to eat’ school of thoughts.
IF
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
-R. Kipling
Lines from Kipling's 'If' appear over the player's entrance to Wimbledon's Centre Court. reflection of the poem's timeless and inspiring quality. I was introduced to it by my brother. It 's his favourite. It is now mine as well. The poem was inspired by Dr Leander Starr Jameson, who in 1895 led a raid by British forces against the Boers in South Africa, subsequently called the Jameson Raid. This defeat increased the tensions that ultimately led to the Second Boer War. The British press, however, portrayed Jameson as a hero in the middle of the disaster, and the actual defeat as a British victory.
Throughout the poem, situations are described that all relate to the theme of self-belief and perseverance. The first line of the first stanza reads, “If you can keep your head when all about you/Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” This line fundamentally sums up the entire message of the poem. Believe in yourself and never surrender to those around you. Second, the message also is not just standing firm and never budging, but doing so while all odds are against you and all circumstances point to stoppage and letdown, as well as having self-confidence and belief in one’s abilities. The first two lines of the second stanza read, “If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; /If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,” imply a nimbleness in one’s resolve and fortitude; that is to say, standing firm whilst keeping a goal in mind, and not allowing one’s self to get distracted.
The first four lines of the third stanza read, “If you can make one heap of all your winnings/And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss/And lose, and start again at your beginnings/And never breath a word about your loss,” suggesting that willpower and determination are a stipulation even after fiasco or a loss. Even when all is lost, never cede, but build back up with what you have. Lastly, the first two lines of the final stanza read, “If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue/Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,” stating that one can keep their origins in mind and never get too big. They keep integrity and never put themselves above others.
“IF” acts as a panacea for me. I have always driven inspiration from this poem. I read it each time I sin, I lose, quit or withdraw or feel low. It gives me the thrust, the courage to stand alone against all odds. And each time I do rise like the phoenix full of spirit, zeal, confidence and determination.
