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Karachi
in the World Wide Web
Karachi
in the World Wide Web In recent years, Karachi has witnessed a stream of local websites that have sprouted with the people of Karachi in mind. Although most of them operate keeping a national audience in perspective, these websites have sizable local, city-based content, which exclusively caters to the people of Karachi as their prime audience. According to statistics, these websites are extremely popular among Karachiites, so much so that they have become a part of people’s everyday lives in the city. Websites like Rozee.pk, OLX.com.pk, hamariweb.com and Karachisnob.com are among some of the most visited by Karachi-based users according to Alexa.com, the globally recognised web-traffic ranking company. Ranked among one of the most bustling cosmopolitan cities in the world, it is no wonder that the urban population of Karachi, which is also one of the most Internet savvy in the index of developing countries, has experienced such a paradigm shift in ways to seek information about their surroundings, compared to, say, a decade ago, when the Internet was still limited to a certain class, and required ‘technical expertise’ to handle. Ikram Yousaf, an IT expert
who runs his own social media consultancy firm in Karachi, believes the
sudden spread of local websites is a natural reaction to the exponential
increase in the local user base. “It’s a whole new world of opportunities that countries like the US experienced in the mid-90s, when websites like Amazon and eBay were born.” But Yousaf insists that we cannot compare the mad rush that happened in the US in the mid ‘90s to the current situation in the city, or the country for that matter. “It’s not even a tip of the iceberg of what happened in the US during those days,” he added. Nevertheless, improvement is in the air. Adnan Ahmed, a web-consultant who claims to have launched what is today one of the most poplar local websites, told Kolachi that the people of Karachi have a come a long way. “The competition among Internet providers has decreased the usage cost, which has made the Internet cheap and available, which was not the case, say eight years ago.” Adnan said that back in those days, they used to launch websites for fun and to experiment. When courses like web-developing and web-hosting were being offered privately in Karachi in the late ‘90s, people didn’t know what they are. “I remember me and my friends were among the first ones to take such exotic courses and test our skills by designing and launching websites and talking about them. Most of the local public websites in early 2000s where a result of such boosting,” he added. But things have changed remarkably. Today, the city’s user-base is a potential market that businesses are seriously eyeing to tap. “We mainly have two types of local based websites that are functional today,” shared Yousaf, “one that is user based the other maintained and updated by webmasters”. The user-based websites like Olx.com.pk deal in classified ads. Where people post ads for their accessories e.g. a cell phone they want to sell. “These kinds of websites naturally attract huge traffic given their nature. You want to sell your car, laptop or anything you post it there and you find buyers and vice versa.” On the other hand, there are websites like Karachisnob.com that actually target a segment within the Karachi market, so they operate differently from the user-generated websites like Olx.com.pk. “Websites like Karachisnob.com are managed well. They are updated regularly and users find it very relevant in their everyday life. For instance, you feel like ordering something or want to find out where a restaurant is, Karachsnob.com can give you the right information. Such websites look for target traffic as opposed to random traffic that excites Olx.com.pk,” Yousaf confirmed Kolachi. Experts are of the view that the virtual world of the city is becoming more and more competitive, which is good for Karachi’s Internet community. But there is a long way to go. “It is encouraging to see that businesses are talking the cyber space seriously, but given the potential, the number of people using the Internet in the city, the market is practically untapped,” said Adnan. They believe that the factors that directly affect the virtual world are sometimes outside the control of people who are developing these websites or want to work for them. “We are at transitional phase, where people still don’t use the Internet as a market to buy stuff. We need a change in the buying habits of people. Once there is money flowing from the consumer’s end, we will have no dearth of websites catering to Karachiites for every aspect of life imaginable. That’s how things work,” added Adnan Websites
handy in use? The online media is a genie in a bottle. Once the glass bottle is uncorked, the genie comes out, and there is no way you can put it back inside again. The new generation of Karachiites, the ones who come with various strings attached, in the form headphones, mobile chargers, and USB Internet services, can not dream of living without ‘staying connected’. The males of this particular specie, like to spike up their hair, wear wide rimmed glasses and hold their pants which are struggling to fall down with funky colourful belts. The females hide their foreheads, with a canopy of hair which ends just before their heavily kohled eyes, and often wear kurtas two sizes too big for them, paired with tights or skinny jeans. Both, frequently splatter their conversation with words like ‘dude’ and ‘boi’. It is this particular group hip youngsters, tech savvy, urban, with easy access to the Internet, who use websites like Karachisnob.com, apniisp.com and apnakarachi.com for everything, from entertainment, eat-outs to finding bus routes to get around the city. Ema Anis, who works and studies at a university simultaneously, says that she finds Karachisnob very useful. “When I get to work in the afternoon, and feel like splurging with a good meal, I look up deals at the website”. The website is like an online directory for Karachiites, and it holds names and locations of places from bookstores to eat out joints to even beauty salons and spas. Many consider it the perfect place to look for ways to spend ‘the few extra bucks you have saved over the month’. The website offers an online subscription form, which charges an annual fee of around 2,000 rupees. Members get a social calendar, which offers discounts on certain outlets on certain days. “Sometimes there are special discounts at certain outlets for snob members, and if you’re lucky enough to win a lucky draw, you get free tickets for theatre plays in the city,” says another snob user. Atiya Abbas, another young student, says she ‘loves Karachisnob’. Previously she used to use it to lookup eat outs, but now she uses it to check out the latest spas. However, there are some users who share bad experiences. “I was at Rukaiya’s Salon and Spa, I asked them about the 50 per cent discount on Valima make-up they offer snob members, and they seemed to be clueless about it,” writes one user on its Facebook page. There are other websites like apnisp.com, the local touch the name has gives it a ‘desi audience’ which is looking for free music downloads. Saad Hussain visits it often, because he likes to carry ‘a dictionary of songs’ in his mobile phone. “You never know with my mood swings, the sort of music I would like to listen to at a particular time,” he smirks. The website also provides user videos from famous shows, and celebrity gossips which can be shared through social media. “Kareena is going to wear !30 costumes in the movie worth 1.3 crore and these costumes are being designed by her designer Manish Malhotra,” informs the blog at the website. There is yet another website which has grown popular mainly because of social media websites called KarachiTips, which, for many, adds smiles to their faces. As myth goes in the blogosphere, it was launched by three youngsters, who never knew their catchy lines will actually become an instant hit. Also its Facebook page shares witty yet comical tips such as, “KarachiTips - Trying to be the next SRK? You might end up a Sahir Lodhi. - Zara Dekh kar dost” or “KarachiTips Branded clothes for half the real price? - Zainab Market FTW”. Such statements, which only the youngsters who live in Karachi can relate to are all over the social media sites. People read, laugh and share it. The message spreads, and a new form of expression takes form. It captures the lingo, idioms and slang that is part of popular culture today. It is not in public libraries, but it is out there, in the virtual world.
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