So where does Laadli fit in?
It’s a girl child campaign initiated by Population First which fights against sex selection and falling sex ratio. The NGO conducts varied campaigns and programs under the Laadli banner. But the ‘Laadli 1 Million Signature Campaign’ is the first of its kind by Population First.

The 360 degree campaign will incorporate social media initiatives backed by an SMS campaign. You have a look at the TVC right here…

Well, I remember executing an award winning campaign for Laadli with my design partner Prasanna Devadiga in my good-old days at Grey Worldwide. Take at a look at the banner campaign that won us a bronze at Goafest 2007 …

The views for the YouTube video are low considering the campaign was launched last month. Plus signature campaigns seem passé in a world where Web 2.0 engages users in nonsensical virals, undying Facebook games and miro-blogging through Twitter which literally translates as a magnanimous chatbot. After Jaagore.com making a rage in the online industry there have been many brands trying to ape the same. Idea Cellular’s ByThePeople.in urged users to embrace “participative decision making” through the microsite.

But the Laadli 1 Million Signature Campaign surely fights for a righteous cause and has my complete support. But I would really like to see how it ends.

‘Sach Ka Samana’ is the Indian version of the game show hosted by Rajeev Kahndelwal. But the interesting part is the microsite created by Mindshare Interaction which has an online lie detector which puts users in the hot seat. You could log on to the website, complete the formalities and setup your friend (or maybe foe) for a test.

Users under the scanner are asked to place their left hand on the screen as the “hand-scanner” picks up the electrical signals translating those into interpretations. The user will face 4 personal questions which he/she should assert or negate. The Mindshare team ingeniously extends the core proposition of the game show.

When quizzed about the client brief Kaustubh Bhatte, the brain behind the campaign, explained, “It was to create awareness about the show. Also the viral should have a strong connect with the show”. And the Mindshare team has managed it successfully.

Mindhsare Interaction has been creating some phemonal online properties for brands to interact with their users. The mobile campaign for the famed TV series ‘Heroes’ had one of the characters interacting directly with the users. The character from the series has the power to read human minds, and users experienced the same on their mobiles.

Well for now check out the world’s first online lie detector.

Till the news surfaced Bharati Airtel was banking on its cash reserves and short-term investments of Rs 6,300 crore towards the merger. The delay of the third generation (3G) spectrum auctions till next year enables Airtel to use reserves for the MTN deal. Though the talks were scheduled to end on July 31 it looks there is going to be an extension to the same due to the new hurdle.

On the other hand Vodafone India reported revenues of Rs 6,000 crore. In the three-year period the largest phone company roped in 7.7 million subscribers.

The company earned Rs 5,011 crore from voice services and Rs 175 crore from messaging services. While data services had 30% higher revenue of Rs 350 crore other services added the Rs 560 crore to the kitty. The latter figure includes revenues from Indus Towers (a JV with Bharati Airtel and Idea Cellular).

But the Idea steals the spotlight this quarter. The fifth largest telecom entity in India surprised industry experts with a 13% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 297 crore. The merger with Spice and rapid rollout in new circles has boosted the business. Plus it added a staggering 4.1 million users.

The reduction in termination call charges from 30 paise to 20 paise has effected the revenues of all Indian telecos. So the final standings are …

Yes, you read it right! Yahoo Inc. is sprucing up the websites home page with a massive makeover in a bid to start afresh. The makeover was long-awaited and will debut in the United States, United Kingdom, India and France. The rest of the world will be acquainted with the new look by next year.

So what is the “New” Look all about?
Revamped ‘My Favorites’ Section- From eBay to Facebook, you can access third-party sites and services. Plus you can access Yahoo Mail, Messenger, and other service. This has been an important change in the entire homepage.

Application Maker – Now you can lace more than 65 widgets on the new homepage. But the highlight is the fact that you could even create your own apps.

The Trend Setter – If you are acquainted with Twitter’s Trending Topics this should be easy for you. The Trend Setter box located on the top left features top ten favorite searches.

Local News Dispenser – The section is powered by local news and has been moved down. You simply need U.S. City or Zip to access local news.

Apparently the Yahoo mobile page will be in sync with the edits made on the user’s desktop version.

But Why the Sudden Change Now?
With over 600 million visiting the website every month Yahoo still remains one of the busiest domains on the net. It looks like Yahoo is banking on its new look to lift its image and profits plus counter competition from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. In the end the ulterior motive is to increase traffic and in turn sell more ads (their prime revenue generator). It looks like Yahoo spent a lot of time in redesigning instead of concentrating on steadfast services or apps.

Recently DigiMouth reported about Rediff.com’s minimal new look. It looks like makeovers are the flavour of the season.

Though the site administrator suspended the account on July 12 it surely raises eyebrows about the ever-growing threat of pretenders and imposters on the Internet. None of the tweets were originally written by the chief of government’s universal ID program. In fact the web address mentioned on the page redirects users to Indian Prime Minister’s site.

Ironically the posts directed users to real news reports, info pages and video interviews. But if you acrefully browse through the information on Nandan Nilekani you would make out the difference.

The Internet giant has announced its plans to launch its own OS –Google Chrome. Well the OS shares the moniker of its famed browser and will be launched in the second half of 2010. The Google Chrome OS is being designed for low-cost computers, notebooks and varied web applications. The OS will work in sync with existent Google products like Gmail, Google Maps and Google Calendar, to name a few. Based on the open-source Linux code in turn enabling third-party developers to create and design compatible apps. Competitor Microsoft is busy with the forthcoming Windows 7 OS which supposedly is designed for a web environment. The Windows 7 OS is followed by the underwhelming response to the three-year old Vista OS.

Other than adding spice to the OS battle the launch of Google Chrome OS would lead to price cuts and innovation. Plus the gradual shift to 3G and 4G capable mobile internet devices (MIDs) would give the Google Chrome OS a wider audience. This will even lead to competitively priced Chrome OS devices. All of the factors mentioned above are beneficial for consumers.

We eagerly await to test and review the Google Chrome OS. But till then, keep coming back for more news.

The plan is to raise credit from export-credit agencies in China, Sweden and Finland. Idea has an advantage as export-credit agencies offer loans at lower rate to companies placing bulk orders with vendors in their respective countries. Idea has been buying from Chinese majors ZTE and Huwaei (the latter being a major supplier in Idea’s 5-circle rollout); plus they have been buying equipment from Swedish Ericsson and Finnish Nokia Siemens Network.

In fact the fifth-largest mobile service provider is negotiating for rupee-borrowings with bankers.

On the other hand the Essar Group has transferred a 10.97% stake from Essar Teleholdings (its telecom arm) to ETHL Communications Holdings (a new entity). The Group had to rejig its share holdings with Vodafone Essar to raise $1.2 billion which would be diverted to expansion plans.

But Google India claims it has no control over the blog as Google Inc. USA has all the authority leaving Dr. Mehta in doldrums. Google India even claims it has no connection or relationship with the US entity, and both work as separate units.

The startling fact is that Dr. Mehta was informed about the blogs by a person who received an SMS with defamatory statements. Apparently the SMS was sent to several people by an individual who even wrote over 20 blogs demeaning the cities top cardiologist.

Blogs and emalis are choicest weapons to defame and demean individuals or brands. The Mayawati case is the best example where Orkut users had posted several profiles of the Chief Minister with defamatory personal details.

This surely is a growing menace that needs immediate action. Especially from our snail-paced cyber crime units.

The website is high on aesthetic value and less on content. In an attempt to recreate ‘the axe effect’ Fuel fails to create any interaction with its users.  A few sections included are:

Fuel School
This section has not much to offer. It is a regular quiz with varied levels. The end result is some smart line that gauges your tact with the fairer sex.

WWW
The website redefines the famed acronym WWW as ‘What Women Want’. This section has articles with titles like “Wooing a Woman in 7 Steps”, “Tips to Make a Girl Blush”. They surely can push this section by incorporating interactive tools.

The section titled ‘Night Club’ is yet to be updated while the ‘Download’ section does not have much to offer other than wallpapers of the products. In all the website is eye pleasing but needs more nitros.

They have many interactive features backed by unique applications for the new age woman. I was really impressed with the menstrual cycle tracker and online tarot reader iDiva.com has to offer.

I believe the skyrocketing success could be due to the extensive advertising campaign encompassing print, TV commercials, hoardings and online banners, mailers etc. Plus they have a print version of iDiva that reaches out to Times of India readers across the four metros.

iDiva.com puts to play the SunsilkGangofGirls.com strategy  wherein the brand is promulgated by synchronising offline and online activities.