MyToday: India's #1 SMS SuperStore http://blog.mytoday.com Fri, 06 May 2011 10:18:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Always tinker http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/05/06/always-tinker/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/05/06/always-tinker/#comments Fri, 06 May 2011 10:17:13 +0000 Rahul http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1250 We learnt recently that even when all indications are that your business (or life. or city. or whatever) is running fine, something could be wrong – in plain view – that those indicators can’t tell you.

The only way to discover these problems is to tinker around with data. Ask questions of it.

Here’s what happened.

Ours is a prepaid subscriptions business. You sign up, put money into your account and pick your subscriptions.

Our signups, payments and new subscriptions – the three primary indicators of our health [1] – were growing at expected rates relative to each other. Nothing seemed to be wrong.

Until one day, I discovered that many new signups didn’t have any subscriptions. That was unexpected. It meant that most of our new subscriptions were via older subscribers.

That meant – and this was quickly confirmed – that most of our payments were also made by older subscribers. This is a problem, and we commissioned a quick survey to find out what was wrong with our new signups.

But then we tinkered further. We plotted a histogram of (normalized) new subscriptions started (all of this is excluding renewals) versus how long ago the subscribers had signed up, and we found this:

 

Click for a full sized image

 

Astonishing. The older the subscriber, the more the number of new subscriptions they started recently [2]. We had a larger problem than we expected; our older subscribers were so active, they’d hidden how un-engaged our newer subscribers were for several months.

While we took immediate steps to fix this, we also realized that it’s hard to build a dashboard for stuff like this. You can – and should – track primary measures of success, results of specific campaigns, and suchlike. But under-the-surface stuff like this – we’d never have figured it out if we hadn’t tinkered with data.

–
[1] There’s also ARPU and churn, but they aren’t material to this discussion.

[2] The data for months 8 and 9 is skewed by a small set of people with a lot of subscriptions each, but they’re still much higher than any other month, and the trend is the same

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/05/06/always-tinker/feed/ 0 Introducing the OneIndia iPhone app http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/05/05/introducing-the-oneindia-iphone-app/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/05/05/introducing-the-oneindia-iphone-app/#comments Thu, 05 May 2011 10:24:20 +0000 Rahul http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1244 OneIndia, one of MyToday’s largest content partners, has just released its app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The app brings OneIndia.in content to your iOS device for on-the-go reading. All of OneIndia’s content is available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. News spans across politics, business, sports, entertainment and technology. Feature sections include lifestyle, astrology, a stock summary page and a photo gallery.

The app is free and runs on iPhones and iPods touch running iOS 4.0 and newer.

And while you’re at it, check out OneIndia’s catalog of premium SMS alerts, all at Rs. 10 per month.

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/05/05/introducing-the-oneindia-iphone-app/feed/ 0 Swami Vivekanand’s Teachings! http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/20/swami-vivekanands-teachings/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/20/swami-vivekanands-teachings/#comments Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:22:30 +0000 bijal http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1237 Swami Vivekananda was an atheist turned believer who later became a spiritual genius of commanding intellect and power. He was the first Hindu Sage to come to the West, where he introduced Eastern thought at the World’s Parliament of Religions.

Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech beginning with “Sisters and Brothers of America”, through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World’s Religions at Chicago in 1893.

To receive Inspirational Quotes by Swami Vivekanand daily on SMS visit: http://bit.ly/vivekanand

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/20/swami-vivekanands-teachings/feed/ 0 Summer Special! http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/19/summer-special/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/19/summer-special/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:49:53 +0000 bijal http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1233 With the mercury levels shooting the sky, MyToday comes to your rescue with the best collection of useful tricks to beat the heat, interesting ideas and advice on how to look your best in the ‘sunny days’, dietary tips to stay healthy and fit, and more!

Get it now with our newly-launched Summer special channel!

http://bit.ly/SUMMERSPL

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/19/summer-special/feed/ 0 Expert Make-up Tips! http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/16/expert-make-up-tips/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/16/expert-make-up-tips/#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2011 05:13:25 +0000 bijal http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1231 Wonder how to get those picture-perfect looks? Envy that scarless skin tone the tinsel town divas flaunt? Want to learn make-up quick-fixes to look happening at your next party?

Subscribe to make-up tips from CareWorld TV, and know how to cover up imperfections, the latest make-up trends, simple tricks, and much sought-after advice from celebrity make-up artists.

Identify the right makeup shades, formulas and application techniques, which can make or break your close-ups.

http://bit.ly/MAKEUPTIPS

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/16/expert-make-up-tips/feed/ 0 Simple Slimming Secrets! http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/15/simple-slimming-secrets/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/15/simple-slimming-secrets/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 03:45:52 +0000 bijal http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1228 Sigh! Your favourite pair of jeans just refuses to fit you? Really wish to get those bulging kilos off you?

How about getting a daily dose of weight loss tips, which not only promise to help you say bye-bye to extra fat, but also make you fit by each new day. Oh, such a help, isn’t it?

CareWorld TV channel is pleased to offer it’s valuable expert weight loss tips and tricks, do’s and don’t of weight loss, common myths, and more.

http://bit.ly/CAREWORLD
]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/15/simple-slimming-secrets/feed/ 0 HE KICKS, AND HE SCORES!!!! http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/12/sbuz-sports/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/12/sbuz-sports/#comments Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:23:15 +0000 bijal http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1222 Missing out on the latest Football action?!

Football Central feeds the latest news, rumors, trivia and scores from global football scenes. Enjoy the most popular sport every day while out and about!

Visit: http://bit.ly/SBUZ-SPORTS

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/12/sbuz-sports/feed/ 0 Disruption in MyToday services to Mumbai subscribers until Saturday April 2nd http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/01/disruption-in-mytoday-services-to-mumbai-subscribers-until-saturday-april-2nd/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/01/disruption-in-mytoday-services-to-mumbai-subscribers-until-saturday-april-2nd/#comments Fri, 01 Apr 2011 02:00:42 +0000 Rahul http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1216 The Additional Commissioner of the Mumbai Police (Crime) has instituted a ban on bulk SMS services in Mumbai from midnight, 31 March to midnight 2nd April.

This is because of the perceived “likelihood of creation of discontent in the minds of general public prior to the final (World Cup) match and after the final match is over, which may create a law and order problem”.

Therefore, all MyToday services to subscribers in Mumbai are likely to be disrupted for this time period. MyToday apologizes for this inconvenience and will make sure that subscribers are compensated for the loss in their subscription period.

The MyToday Support team.

Here is the order from the Addn’l Commissioner of Police.

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/04/01/disruption-in-mytoday-services-to-mumbai-subscribers-until-saturday-april-2nd/feed/ 0 The 2-minute MyToday mobile market survey – we want to hear from you http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/03/30/the-2-minute-mytoday-mobile-market-survey-we-want-to-hear-from-you/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/03/30/the-2-minute-mytoday-mobile-market-survey-we-want-to-hear-from-you/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:08:15 +0000 Rahul http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1212 At MyToday, we strive to offer you the best mobile VAS services possible. From SMS subscriptions to anything beyond.

To do that, we seek your opinion periodically. This is one such time.

Please help us take this survey for the Indian mobile market: bit.ly/fTzBEw

We will publish the results of this survey on this blog, very soon.

Thank you for your time!

]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/03/30/the-2-minute-mytoday-mobile-market-survey-we-want-to-hear-from-you/feed/ 0 Predicto Leader Board & The Winner!! http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/02/25/predicto-leader-board/ http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/02/25/predicto-leader-board/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:14:51 +0000 admin http://blog.mytoday.com/?p=1191 We have a Winner!! Yes, the first week winner for Predicto is Mr. Ganesh (99xxxx0301).

He has won himself a voucher of Rs. 500 from Cafe Coffee Day!

24th Feb 2011
West Indies vs. South Africa

  • Gurpreet (99xxxx0080)
  • Shailesh Kumar (98xxxx0909)
  • Chintan (98xxxx7940)

26th Feb 2011
Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka

  • Sahil Dedhia (98xxxx9507)
  • Ganesh (99xxxx0301)
  • Mohammed Zubeir (81xxxx7662)

27th Feb 2011
India vs. England

  • Ganesh (99xxxx0301)
  • Chandrabhan (99xxxx2127)
  • Abdul Lateef (81xxxx8591)

28th Feb 2011
Canada vs. Zimbabwe

  • Mohd Zubeir (81xxxx7662)
  • Nilesh Shinde (90xxxx2229)
  • Chintan (98xxxx7940)

28th Feb 2011
West Indies vs. Netherlands

  • Nilesh Shinde (90xxxx2229)
  • Chintan (98xxxx7940)
  • Sahil (98xxxx4926)

1st March 2011
Sri Lanka vs. Kenya

  • Yadbir Singh (98xxxx9806)
  • Mohd Zubeir (81xxxx7662)
  • Chintan (98xxxx7940)


England vs. Ireland – 2nd Mar 2011

  • Ganesh (99xxxx0301)
  • Mohd Zubeir (81xxxx7662)
  • Chintan (98xxxx7940)
]]> http://blog.mytoday.com/2011/02/25/predicto-leader-board/feed/ 0