NextBigWhat

One of the successful startups in India (Flipkart - An Amazon clone), a couple of days back shut down it's digital music store Flyte [0]. Here's the statement by the Head of Digital Media Payments “We have realized that the music downloads business in India will not reach scale unless several problem areas such as music piracy and easy micro-payments etc are solved in great depth. Which is why, we feel that at present, it makes sense to take a step back from Flyte MP3s and revisit the digital music market opportunity at a later stage.” It gives some insight on the issues with digital music market in India. Some of it may be even applicable (or already included in this article) for other startups too. The keywords being "piracy" (free loaders) and payment technology constraints (micro payments etc.). [0] http://www.nextbigwhat.com/flyte-mp3-shutdown-297/

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I don't see what's wrong with copying, to be honest. People copy successful business models and best practices all the time-- some even write books about it. And a belief that's long held in tech circles is that ideas are worth nothing, and that execution is what matters. To give credit to Xiaomi, they're setting up themselves a very high bar when they set out to imitate Apple. Google tried it with its initial launch of Android, and if it weren't for M Duarte joining Google in the wake of Palm falling apart, who knows how Android would have looked today. In developing countries, to be able to own a phone that looks ever so similar to iPhone but costs a fraction of the cost is an instant hit. It results in a very good business [0]. I'd give you another example: Flipkart, in its early days, had a website that looked very much like Amazon's. They've since carved out their own identity and were among top 20 well designed apps on iOS Appstore last year (one of the many India-based apps to make the list) [1]. UX is another prime example of how often companies copy each other. Steve Jobs once famously quoted Picasso "Good artists copy, great artists steal" [2] Copying is rampant in the software side of the industry... websites look alike, marketing emails look alike, business models look alike, approaches to solve problems are alike... I am not trying to argue that Xiaomi is anywhere near Google or Apple, what I am saying is that they…

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I've added a few more to that list: * https://news.ycombinator.com/news (Show HN) * http://www.reddit.com/r/startups * http://www.reddit.com/r/sideproject * http://thenextweb.com/market/ * http://momb.socio-kybernetics.net/ * http://headlinr.com/ * https://www.favsync.com/common/publicTab/v274z25464-3312a1d297ed261ecb… * http://www.crunchbase.com/ * https://www.angel.co/ * http://www.betali.st/ * http://www.romanianstartups.com/ * http://www.startupli.st/ * http://www.kickoffboost.com/ * http://www.geekopedia.me/startupsubmit/ * http://www.killerstartups.com/ * http://www.startupbird.com/ * http://www.ratemystartup.com/ * http://www.new-startups.com/ * http://www.nextbigwhat.com/ * http://www.leanstack.io/ * http://www.launchingnext.com/ * http://www.startupproject.org/ * http://www.erlibird.com/ * http://www.thestartuppitch.com/ * http://www.startuplift.com/ * http://www.feedmyapp.com/submit/ * http://www.siliconallee.com/contact * http://www.f6s.com/ * http://www.paggu.com/ * http://www.aboutyourstartup.com/ * http://www.eu-startups.com/directory/ * http://www.go2web20.net/ * http://www.101bestwebsites.com/ * http://www.vator.tv/ * http://www.springwise.com/ * http://www.techpluto.com * http://www.cee-startups.com/ * http://www.appuseful.com/ * http://www.startupwizz.com/ * http://www.startuptunes.com/ * http://www.venturebeatprofiles.com/ * http://www.techhunger.com/ *…

We're launching Blogvio (http://www.blogvio.com) tomorrow, after 10 months of work. We submitted the project to the following websites: 1. CrunchBase http://www.crunchbase.com/company/blogvio 2. Angel List https://www.angel.co/blogvio 3. http://www.betali.st/ 39$ - http://betali.st/startups/blogvio 4. http://www.romanianstartups.com/ 5. http://www.startupli.st/ 6. http://www.kickoffboost.com/ 7. http://www.geekopedia.me/startupsubmit/ 8. http://www.killerstartups.com/ 9. http://www.startupbird.com/ 10. http://www.ratemystartup.com/ 11. http://www.new-startups.com/ 12. http://www.nextbigwhat.com/ 13. http://www.leanstack.io/ 14. http://www.launchingnext.com/ 15. http://www.startupproject.org/ 16. http://www.erlibird.com/ - they ask 199$. 17. http://www.thestartuppitch.com/ 18. http://www.startuplift.com/ 19. http://www.feedmyapp.com/submit/ (http://feedmyapp.com/p/a/blogvio/28928) 20. http://www.siliconallee.com/contact 21. http://www.f6s.com/ 22. http://www.paggu.com/ 23. http://www.aboutyourstartup.com/ (http://aboutyourstartup.com/?s=blogvio) 24. http://www.eu-startups.com/directory/ 25. http://www.go2web20.net/ 26. http://www.101bestwebsites.com/ 27. http://www.vator.tv/ 28. http://www.springwise.com/ 29. http://www.techpluto.com 30. http://www.cee-startups.com/ 31. http://www.appuseful.com/ 32. http://www.startupwizz.com/ 33. http://www.startuptunes.com/ - http://directory.startuptunes.com/b/Blogvio 34.…

They exist to point out that there isn't only one way to define someone as staff engineer. If you don't write them out, then companies degrade into only allowing one type of archetype to get promoted, which discounts other ways of doing things, leading to a less efficient company. You see it at google in 2018: https://mtlynch.io/why-i-quit-google/ and today with the LPA (Launch, Promote, Abandon) cycle : https://nextbigwhat.com/the-lpa-cycle-at-google-launch-promo-abandon/ What do people complain about at FB that they can't seem to get done there that seems really obvious that you should? You'll find similar issues. Maybe not like google, but unique to FB.

> blog or a book. Never heard of any in popular culture, you question prompted me to search. I found a good article about of the communities I mentioned above. https://nextbigwhat.com/marwari-business-principles/

All: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/take-one-big-story-of-the-day/whit… is a bit older and has more background. There was also a smaller thread about it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24867212 (Submitted URL was https://nextbigwhat.com/whitehatjr-files-20-cr-defamation-case-against… but it contains no extra info. More explanation at bottom of this page: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25176990.)

Dang has mentioned at the bottom regarding the change in title & original URL which was the reviewers tweet sharing case doc. u/dang Url changed from https://nextbigwhat.com/whitehatjr-files-20-cr-defamation-ca..., which points to this.

The story reminded me of this: http://www.nextbigwhat.com/2-5-lakh-panchayats-india-internet-enabled-…

Driven by what? If it is driven by title then you have something like this http://www.nextbigwhat.com/indian-developers-accused-of-cheating-in-go…

many sellers are happy, one article from nextbigwhat http://www.nextbigwhat.com/flipkart-seller-feedback-marketplace-297/

How about tax on Angel investment ? yea it happens in India - http://www.nextbigwhat.com/funding-startups-could-be-classified-as-inc…

They plan to manage delivery too: http://www.nextbigwhat.com/amazon-india-courier-service-297/

Here is another obituary to the legendary hero by the co-founder of HasGeek and one who knew Atul Chitnis for a very long time http://www.nextbigwhat.com/atul-chitnis-obituary-297/

It is http://www.nextbigwhat.com/intuit-launches-txtweb-sms-platform-for-mob… PS: I wrote an app on the ecosystem to manage your email http://suhastech.com/mail

Currently doesn't load for me, but the http (as opposed to https) version does: http://www.nextbigwhat.com/indian-developers-accused-of-cheating-in-go…

Alternatives: http://www.nextbigwhat.com/alternatives-to-google-reader-297/

Apple's product design philosophy is getting diluted: http://nextbigwhat.com/forum/discussion/1677/apple039s-product-design-…

http://www.nextbigwhat.com/google-apps-free-for-new-domains-using-exis… : This is a nice workaround. Try it out. You can still use it for free using the existing account.

i will try to explain my stand. 2005-12. a small "user" from india HAD 0 means to purchase online content. local content in the stores was the same expensive "imported" stuff and TV was the only main means of consuming content. then with internet, i could suddenly go to piratebay and watch any movie or read any book or download any game. talking about "buying using paypal and stuff", INDIANS STILL CANNOT EASILY BUY FROM INTERNATIONAL SELLERS, you need a "credit card, then you need to call your bank to allow international transaction and then it fails most of the time". this problem exists in 2022, forget about 10 years ago. to put that into perspective, https://nextbigwhat.com/indias-credit-card-industry-key-stats-and-oppo… says "A thread While at 925mn debit cards are highly penetrated, credit cards is still a nascent industry ~ 50mn card base (3.5% per capita, unique cards ~60% of this" so only 2.1 mil card holders in india who can potentially buy from foreign markets online. that said, if i consume content here in india, "HOW AM I CAUSING SALES LOSS TO POOR RIAA and americaan authors and all the content creators?". this is same for 15 years ago and today. a lot of stuff doesnt exist in india in the official market so yeah. this goes for MOST OF THE WORLD, pricing has helped because for a long time, amazon prime is being sold in india for inr 1500/year or US $17. while in the US the same costs $14.99/month (plus tax). same for netflix and stuff.…

Groupon: http://www.nextbigwhat.com/groupon-story-297/

I'm from India. And we are 450 million people into (by next year that will be 600 million, and a few years later, 1.2 billion) a mammoth ID project that makes it mandatory to submit your biometric data (all fingers plus iris) to get the 'Aadhar' card. Of course, technically the card itself isn't mandatory, but because it's linked with various govt services ranging from subsidies (educational scholarships, cooking gas), pensions, property sales/rentals and even marriage registrations, it is as good as mandatory for most people. Various countries and multilateral aid agencies/donors are studying the Indian model to see if it can be replicated in other countries. I agree it is not directly connected to Apple, or the US, but there is a progressive and gradual creep into the acceptance and use of biometric data. Links: - U.S. inquires about India’s UID project (http://secureidnews.com/news-item/u-s-inquires-about-indias-uid-projec… The Evolution of India’s UID Program Lessons Learned and Implications for Other Developing Countries (http://www.cgdev.org/files/1426371_file_Zelazny_India_Case_Study_FINAL… Section 3: Implications for other countries) - Biometric Sensors in new iPhone Can be a Game Changer in India (http://www.nextbigwhat.com/biometric-sensors-new-iphone-in-india-297/) [Clueless piece, but highlights potential connections b/w iPhone biometrics and other ID projects] - Opposition to the world’s biggest biometric identity scheme is growing…

Since August 2011 "Entrepreneurs H1B" is available. I had posted this commented just last week and I am adding this comment again. Here is my story: I've started on this path just recently and believe me I am facing difficulties at every step, even the the ones I thought were most obvious. But again who said life was easy. In case you are interested there are ways you can do business in the US on H-1B visa. Is it easy? Hell no! But in case you are still interested keep reading, feel free to reach out to me as I am going through this process right now. Articles about Entrepreneur H1B: - http://www.murthy.com/2012/12/17/entrepreneur-h1b-petitions-a-new-opti… - http://www.uscis.gov/news/public-releases-topic/business-immigration/q… -http://blog.uscis.gov/2011/08/encouraging-entrepreneurs-and-high.html - http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/entrepreneur-visa-guide Further reading: - http://blog.fosterquan.com/2012/12/09/the-sweet-smell-of-success-h-1b-… Success story of Vishal Shah from Traffio: - http://www.nextbigwhat.com/how-to-startup-in-silicon-valley-297/ Business Entity: - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12qxuo_how-to-open-a-business-in-us-…