Orkut (from Google) is one of the largest social networks in India and in many other countries of the world. Recently Google launched OpenSocial platform enabling developers like us to create applications that can run on Orkut and many other networks that are adopting OpenSocial standards.

Our first application called SuperScrap has been a runaway success. Using fun notes like this, people can now post personal messages on each other’s scrap book. The content library is refreshed with hundreds of new stickers everyday.

Update: July 1, 2008. SuperScrap application serves over 1M pageviews per day and has an active user base of approximately 200,000.

Communication is a basic human need, that has fuelled the development of innovative mediums throughout the ages. From the days of Cicero when scribes wrote on parchments and ferried epistles across countries on horseback, we have come quite a distance. A long way indeed, for a generation weaned on emails, messengers and skype. As we poke (facebook) or scrap (orkut), text, twitter and ping, we stand to forget when we last sent a postcard to that ’someone special’. Yet, the power of this amazing visual medium refuses to take second place.

“POSTALZ brings back the magic of the hand-written picture postcard, online”

A postcard evokes raw emotion. As you scribble your thoughts alongside your art, photos and videos, you engage with a medium that is dynamic. Interacting on postcards is a lot of fun. Your friends can put ’spot comments’ on your card; kiss you, punch you, hug you, shed a tear -each expressing their emotions exactly where they want. They can even REPLY on your postcard, by adding/deleting text, pictures or video.

POSTALZ delivers the real postcard images to you. Embed the cards you send/receive on your blog (like above). Experience Postalz here.

Signing up users to try a new web service or application is a huge challenge today. Users have burnt-out trying dozens of new services, ending up with clogged mail boxes filled with useless notification messages and spam. Viral invites from friends are also viewed with suspicion, as application designers trick unsuspecting new users into spamming their friends, as soon as they instal and try a new application.

Trying to sign-up and filling yet another long form and a profile page is a sure turn-off. What works now is the art of seduction. If you are staring at 50% + bounce rates on your home page, try engaging users to start using your application and use persuasive communication to acquire the minimal sign-up information. Once in through the gates, the user is likely to be more engaged and just may give your application some serious consideration.

Application Ideators need to test clarity of purpose before casting their product requirements to engineering. An application is best designed to either cater to a single user or to a group, delivering fun OR serving some utility. Try a mix of purposes and your application will most often fall in the clouded middle (of the grid shown below) and fail to get adopted.

At EC we always design Apps for the extremeties.

EC offers the end-to-end process of ideation, design, engineering and delivery of a digital marketing solution on the web and mobile platforms. We also work with leading advertising agencies around the world (as partners) and complement their skills by delivering a potent combination of social media expertise, slick technology and innovative ideas to the table.

Our no-nonsense honest approach to designing a social media solution is focussed on delivering results. You measure our success by the number of total unique users our application generates, repeat usage (stickiness), viral growth and attention span of users.

Consumer Brand engage with EC to design and develop new innovative engagement applications on social networks or stand-alone properties. Staring from a single-page creative brief specially designed for social media applications, we develop innovative ideas that serve to deliver some utlility or just pure fun. Applications are designed either for single users to spur individual creation, flaunt and share, or engage multiple users to collaborate and fullfill a goal.

If you are looking to do the following with your target audience online i.e.

Entertain – let users have fun while engaging with brand idea.
Deliver Experience – let users learn about your products in a fun and interactive way
Converse – lets users talk around the “idea” of your brand or products

Then a socialized consumer application, is what you need. Experience an application designed by EC.

Google Gadget Ad benefits both users and advertisers.

• The ads are rich,interactive,intelligent,live and lightweight.
• Different targeting options - contextual, site, geographic, and demographic
• Built on an open platform - open to anyone
• They can be placed on any web page, including iGoogle
• Detailed interaction reports - track dozens of actions within each ad unit
• The advertisers are charged only for a single click , even when user interacts multiple time in an ad.

As a proof of concept we have built few Google Gadget Ads. Following ad is for demo purpose only.

Search Engine Optimization is a well known concept that has a fanatic fan following amongst all B2C and B2B companies. While success in ranking on Page 1 of google eludes many, businesses try and make up the loss of visibility by paying premium dollars in listing high-up on Google (and other) pay-per-click Ads.

EC offers a unique approach to SEO and PPC advertisement management, by closing the loop on customer experience and engagement within the customers site. We pay more emphasis on latter than former. There is minimal ROI if prospect clicks on expensive PPC and fails to converge as a prospect or buyer, and we have observed a growing trend prompting many advertisers to cut back on their PPC budgets

All our SEO projects focus on the end-to-end loop

• enhancing page rank and visibility (natural search)
• careful design of PPC AD content (clickability) and
• creation of sticky landing pages to help convert visitor to a registered prospect.

Search advertisement delivers results only when you put singular focus on engaging a visitor, identifying the opportunity and converting them to a genuine prospect.

Volume of leads does not matter – quality does!

In an age and time, when everyone on the web has gone social, can you Mr. Chief Marketing Officer really afford to disregard this medium? Sit back and enjoy!

B2B companies are often led to believe that social media is still too early for their consideration, but nothing can be further from the truth. Leading software and technology companies have already leveraged social media solutions to build communities that engage in conversations around their products and services, sharing ideas that help the business stay engaged with users and prospects alike.

B2B companies that aspire to take leadership positions in marketing should leverage social media solutions by delivering better customer experience on their website (we call it the ‘socialized corporate web’) and providing platform for users to share and exchange ideas.

EC is helping power wisefella a ‘business social network’ empowering niche communities of professionals with business applications, that run withing the walls of the largest networking community. Launching soon.