CHIP India has shut down!

[theterminator]

can work out only to newspapers not mags.

New York Times/The Washington Post now allow you only specific number of articles to be read for free.

 

[gopi_vbboy]

I don't think that has long term feasibility for the company as Raabo mentioned. Why would you want to give away your hard work for free?

The broadband penetration surely is increasing every year.Why wont readers for open content?

1.3-5 years ago i use to use Winzip or Winrar.But with rising popularity of
open source 7Zip, i never download non free soft.

2.Look at Mozilla and android story.

3.Just look at some indian news sites which allows its active/knowledgeable readers to write articles on website.
The delivery model of media is surely changing.

4.Today news channels take opinions of social media users?Why ?
The even have program for twitter trends everyday on TV.

Openness always has always given path to creativity and innovation.If not digit, some other player will catchup.

 

[theterminator]

The broadband penetration surely is increasing every year.Why wont readers for open content?

1.3-5 years ago i use to use Winzip or Winrar.But with rising popularity of
open source 7Zip, i never download non free soft.

2.Look at Mozilla and android story.

3.Just look at some indian news sites which allows its active/knowledgeable readers to write articles on website.
The delivery model of media is surely changing.

4.Today news channels take opinions of social media users?Why ?
The even have program for twitter trends everyday on TV.

1 & 2 are open-source projects. They are results of some exceptional humans' voluntary works like Jimmy Wales, Linus Torvalds,etc . You may never download non-free soft but not everyone can. It depends on what you want.

3 & 4. Yes, news channels take opinions of social media users. But they're only a sort of quick feedback. That doesn't give salaries to the employees. They take up Twitter trends because its just another medium of communication. What is different is that , its a really fast one . Btw news channels are a different context since their revenues come from TRPs n all that.

 

[Raaabo]

The broadband penetration surely is increasing every year.Why wont readers for open content?

1.3-5 years ago i use to use Winzip or Winrar.But with rising popularity of
open source 7Zip, i never download non free soft.

2.Look at Mozilla and android story.

3.Just look at some indian news sites which allows its active/knowledgeable readers to write articles on website.
The delivery model of media is surely changing.

4.Today news channels take opinions of social media users?Why ?
The even have program for twitter trends everyday on TV.

Openness always has always given path to creativity and innovation.If not digit, some other player will catchup.

Open content? What do you mean by that? Opinions? Everyone has one, so why bother with any site? Jjust sit on Facebook and like what's popular, just click on links that are shared, and go the popular opinion is the right one way, like good little sheep. It's what the powers that be really, really want us all to be.

If all content creators just go the advertiser way, what happens to the independent voice? Sure you are independent, and yes you have a voice, but it's lost in the cacophony of everyone else also shouting their opinions as loudly as they can. I have no doubt that each and every one of you will be able to write articles as well researched and informative as we are able to, and some of you perhaps even better - some may take a year to research, some may take only a week, but eventually every single person on this planet can get across information in an unbiased manner without prejudice, that's helpful to a mass of other people.

However, why doesn't it happen? You can spot the fanboys a mile away, as with the paid mouthpieces. Sure there are quite a few blogs who are not biased and do a good job, but why aren't there so many that all forms of structured content generators are already dead? God knows how many times I've had to stop arguments on this forum between people with opposing views, and even more of you throw in even more facts that the two people fighting probably never even considered. There's a simple answer to all of that - it's not your job. You don't live and breathe to do that. Period.

Many bloggers have tried that, and realised that when it becomes a job, it gets serious. You need money. You need an investment. You need seeding to be able to get popular and famous, and you need to earn your respect. Is it impossible? Of course not and some have done it, but those blogs usually go on to become a group of people anyway, and start resembling a media company. Depending on how quickly they want to turn profitable, and how much traffic they get, yes they can be successful, and also be completely unbiased. However, you then get certain tactics being used against you. A simple one is company x deciding to send their latest model of phone, first, to those known to give positive reviews to them. So that the cacophony of voices seem to love their new products. Later when all the hype has died down, maybe your unbiased blogger will get his hands on the device, and maybe not. Eventually, his site suffers and traffic falls, because Google is a fickle friend.

The difference with us, organised media, is that we generally are considered more influential in the long run, and cannot be ignored as easily. Plus companies are required to send us products for review, and if they don't, we can say company X refused to send us so-and-so products despite us trying, and our readers know what that usually means... Company X is probably afraid of what we'll say about their all-new, greatest-thing-since-denim product. Also, since our readers pay us, we can also afford to go out and spend to buy some such products and thumb our noses at company X and review it anyway. If a blogger complains about the same thing, he comes across as a whiner, or as someone unimportant. Plus Company X has a valid enough argument to say, "hey we can't ship a million pieces to a million bloggers..." And all of us would say, "makes sense".

Regardless of where it is, even if it's foreign content or Indian, haven't you noticed that all the best articles, the stories that make you think, the content that you discuss with friends when serious, articles that really taught you something, are overwhelmingly from media groups that have a subscription model, and charge at least some users for content, in the form of a print magazine, a digital subscription, or something. This model just inspires research and thinking, as people are paid to do exactly that. The day the paid / subscription model dies out totally, it becomes a simple fight of being first, being the most visible, and just plugging away stories as fast as you can. I'll get out of this business the day that happens, personally, because in order to make money, and thus survive, the strict code of morality will increasingly become flexible. Such is the nature of business. If you owned a site that was popular, and all you could count on to make money was ads and the hope that people would click on them, you'd try to attract those kinds of people, you'd try and attract people who will click on the ads, and not care about the few who wouldn't. When being unbiased sees your business decline, and you start to worry about making payments on your EMIs, you'll have two choices - toe the line or get out of the business.

It's why we don't bother trying to force ads on people on this forum, after a certain number of posts are made. Because the forum is meant for our community. The visitors who don't care and come here via google will read and leave, and they should see ads. The readers that support us by buying our content (sadly only via a print magazine at the moment), just shouldn't need to see anymore than the print ads, and they don't. However, I'm looking at finding new ways to be of service in a way that you would pay for. I think services is one way to do this, but I'm wide open to suggestions. What would you like digit to do for you that you wouldn't mind paying a nominal fee for? There has to be something more than just going down the banner ad way for websites in order to be useful to a community, I'm sure.

Look forward to your suggestions.

 

[theterminator]

Suggestions:
1. Digit Magazine can introduce an Android/iOS/WindowsPhone app at a price.

2. Digit can enter new market space using Internet like starting a Podcast accessible through Internet Radio which can be accessed through apps like TuneIn. This is a market where there is no Indian player I guess but it has immense potential especially as we have a bunch of nerds & geeks in India .

3. An e-magazine with attractive pricing of full versions of softwares is desirable.

 

[The Sorcerer]

And about the 'million pieces to million bloggers' part, media samples are always circulated, at-least in India. No1 gives samples to those who are not known at all, unless one is very desperate for product exposure (like $ingh, few unknown youtubers and certain others who have their own forums) to show it to their clients.

Those who do send samples to those who don't know what they're doing, this is what happens:

So, no1 gives samples to bloggers/forum reviewers/you-tubers just like that unless its taken care by a PR who either don't know how to do things, or desperate for exposure. Eventually, it does more harm than good. ROI plays an important role. Those who are credible build readership slowly and steadily, eventually companies send them review samples, you build more testing method relevant for the end users, gain more credibility, therefore ROI...all this builds up. But if you compromise, credibility goes down, and you're done. That's why testing method is very important.

 

[theterminator]

Suggestions:
1. Digit Magazine can introduce an Android/iOS/WindowsPhone app at a price.

Just to add to that: Digit Magazine can also launch their apps free for download but allowing only a limited number of articles to read. For more, users can buy a subscription. This is on the lines of New York Times.

 

[amjath]

Just to add to that: Digit Magazine can also launch their apps free for download but allowing only a limited number of articles to read. For more, users can buy a subscription. This is on the lines of New York Times.

Instead of limited articles, ad support will do.
Premium review/article should be with paid app

 

[theterminator]

Instead of limited articles, ad support will do.
Premium review/article should be with paid app

Infact, that's the model that is very common. Though I rarely buy paid apps when I use free version, that may be not be the case with everyone.

 

[amjath]

Infact, that's the model that is very common. Though I rarely buy paid apps when I use free version, that may be not be the case with everyone.

First of all, Forgot to say Good Suggestion in #65
BTW if u take free app, ad gives digit revenue
if u take paid app, u get premium content

 

[theterminator]

First of all, Forgot to say Good Suggestion in #65
BTW if u take free app, ad gives digit revenue
if u take paid app, u get premium content

that depends on how much the management can survive with that.

 

[amjath]

that depends on how much the management can survive with that.

if u r completely dependent on google ad revenue then u r doomed. U can find QR codes and website links in physical magazine, you need to negotiate with companies like you do for physical magazine and have ur specific ads.

 

[theterminator]

if u r completely dependent on google ad revenue then u r doomed. U can find QR codes and website links in physical magazine, you need to negotiate with companies like you do for physical magazine and have ur specific ads.

apart from getting revenue for magazine purchased by user

 

[warfreak]

I was wondering if I could get the really old magazines in PDF format, just for the sake of nostalgia you know.

I had some old issues of chip lying around with reviews of Pentium 4 and Geforce 3 (chief components of my first gaming rig BTW )

 

[suyash_123]

I also have good suggestion for thinkdigit .

Right now there is BIG craze of review , unboxing and comparison of hardware and software on YouTube and that to much amateur.

Public are hitting more Videos searches then then Read content after Google search , as it is easy to grasp and look more interactive.

but some are really nice and Trying to grab attention like : Geekyranjeet and iGyaan etc But they do not review other mobiles and laptops and tables.

There are more things like TV , music player and many more . which i tried to search and gets no valid videos to check out ...

If digit start a You tube or Youtube like Video sites for technology gadgets review / unboxing etc ... they may can come back


-- BUT Imp note : You have to maintain the number of videos uploaded every day to flood you-tube with lots and lots of gadget videos and then move them to check magazine ,

most People subscribe and Daily check any video uploaded by that User and check out new videos : this is way to get popularity



to increase there Magazine popularity .. they can hit as " for more in-depth info , please try out our magazine" - Only once your Video site / you tube channel is hit

Earlier for public attraction i think you must share free


Some Videos are still there from gadget guru , tech guru etc which comes on TV But those are So BAD quality like 320p 240p .. it almost feels like check any other video then that one

also they show the TV show where in we have to check out complete video to check where is our interested product being revived in 20 mins video


Adding some magazine contents (in brief) as Videos and asking to check magazine might also do

 

[harshilsharma63]

I was wondering if I could get the really old magazines in PDF format, just for the sake of nostalgia you know.

I had some old issues of chip lying around with reviews of Pentium 4 and Geforce 3 (chief components of my first gaming rig BTW )

Digit included last 12 years of digit in PDF format in the 12th ann. issue.

 

[theterminator]

A YouTube channel is for public attraction which I don't think Digit needs since they already have a fanbase. Though it can be added to that through a channel. But I don't think that's a long term playing field.
Tech Journalism is less than niche here in India whereas it has really taken off in developed countries like USA/UK. Just see the number of big players we are talking here:
CNET (owned by CBS)
allthingsd.com (owned by Wall Street Journal)
Engadget
TechRadar
TheVerge
etc.
Journalists have become brandnames there. Here , its non-existent.
Almost every one of them has a Podcast network where people listen to their shows in their smartphones/Tablets. I listen to them whenever I am free. They have literally negated a thing called "Music" from my schedule .

 

[suyash_123]

A YouTube channel is for public attraction which I don't think Digit needs since they already have a fanbase. Though it can be added to that through a channel. But I don't think that's a long term playing field.
Tech Journalism is less than niche here in India whereas it has really taken off in developed countries like USA/UK. Just see the number of big players we are talking here:
CNET (owned by CBS)
allthingsd.com (owned by Wall Street Journal)
Engadget
TechRadar
TheVerge
etc.
Journalists have become brandnames there. Here , its non-existent.
Almost every one of them has a Podcast network where people listen to their shows in their smartphones/Tablets. I listen to them whenever I am free. They have literally negated a thing called "Music" from my schedule .

Point no 1 :
Yes that is why I m suggesting : as Tech Journalism is niche in INDIA Thinkdigit Can Put the 1st step and Make it happen . though it is very tough But not impossible .. at least a Starter !!

Earlier we use to think that Smartphone might not be as famous as in European countries (in year 2000-05) as all Smart phones starts from 25 k up .but after 5-7 years whole thing turn upside down and now every 5th person in INDIA owns a Smart phone


Point No 2 :

For the Point of FAN base : think digit is not happy with current strength [as i think so] (like fan base of Cnet, TheVerge,engadget, igyan etc). so He needs to move new internet users to directly or indirectly come to there site with there interested topics moving them to come to site. [ directly - from Google searches , Indirectly by youtube, facebook,other forums etc]

then only new users come to know about thinkdigit. Right now if i m Correct , there is no Girl coming on thinkdigit or its forum. (ONLY tech freak or geeky people knows thinkdigit , other Guys and gals see thinkdigit is for Geek people only)


point 3 :
Example for indirect way : there is millions of people in india connected to facebook, youtube and other 24X7 , they are internet freaks but not Geeky ... they understand technology in a very lame and very low logic way If think digit can move that Facebookers and youtubers with simple articles which they can understand and read it . thinkdigit will get more hits

Example : Memes images/ sites attract lots of public as they make laugh (technological comic memes) , some daily interested news spreader, some are shopping related / discount related posts

think digit have to come out as just technological / geeky site then a Cnet like site where

its bad news for Tech freaks on TDF as think digit will be of full of lame topics but this will keep sustain thinkdigit although like CNET

point no 4

Direct way : -
Example : A girl sitting in office want to check out a new Phone but it should be girly looking phone and a smart feature like other phones . she googles as "Smartphone for Girls with android "

we have to pull this customer by adding some titles /link backs etc like above search query , rather then Titles as "Micromax A110 - budget phone for all" or "Sony launches Xperia P, Sola and U in India" ...

All Non techies/ NON Geeky are putting straightforward requirement in GOOGLE search rather then product related queries and Number of Non-Geeky perc is very more then Geeky right now in india

(that is my point of view)


Point no 5

Also, i want to say that , See normally any person knowing basic internet , use google to search the product he is buying.

He just enter Product name (copy from Flipkart/snapdeal etc) and search with adding Review , compare , ratings etc. HE also searches sometimes for images (large) for the product to have Glance of it ....

If in google search He gets Some videos for the same product , he click that 1st , rather then any reading contents .... (this is simple human tenancy)

If We try to capture that Customer base who google search for Products and try to move them to think digit with reviews, comparisons , unboxong etc then also it may do...

 

[theterminator]

come on man..how can you write igyaan in the same breadth as engadget , theverge.. they just started.

your whole argument is based on Reviewing products which form only "small" part of tech journalism man...

i also said that putting out a youtube channel will increase their fanbase... but its not a long term playing field. Though good for a start...

 

[suyash_123]

i did say it is My point of view ... it can differs person to person ...

if complete tech journalism ,as you say ,is not i talked about , but at-least as start of tech journalism , we can start with Review sections to increase customers ??

Then will move to full journalism sections one by one to attend all ???

Like you say you like to hear podcast and others stuff , in india it is right now less then 1 pct knowing and using that
if thinkdigit started it who will listen ? again same tech guys already present in Thinkdigit and 1-2 perct more coming from out


Right now Indians are just enjoying Internet shopping WAVE (which was in western country @ 1995- 2005) , if you grab that , much work can be done and can be moved ahaed !!

Just my Mkt logic ...

On internet : right now only one thing is working : SEO , making our sites pages 1st in google seach !!