Conceptualized and founded in May 1999 by Nirali Sanghi,Indiaparenting.com is an excellent destination for parents. Amrita Ghosh of IT@TT learns Nirali's insights about parenting online.
IT@TT: Did you have any special reason for a parenting site? Especially with your corporate background.
NS: Yes, with an MBA in Finance and Marketing. And work experience in investment banking and management consulting, you could call it a hardcore corporate background. But I'd always wanted to start something of my own. The arrival of a baby was the perfect time for switching tracks.
I needed some intellectually stimulating work with flexible hours. And the Internet fulfilled both the requirements. The first site that I thought of was on parenting. Because I found that an Indian parent's needs were very different from those of a Western parent. And there were no sites dedicated to Indian parents. That is how Indiaparenting.com came about.
Apart from health and parenting, we also have things that one would never find on a western site. For instance, baby names, one of our most popular sections. In addition to searching by alphabet, you can also undertake an advanced search to select a baby's name following a Hindu 'rashi', that is based on mythology, and is also pronounceable by foreigners. IndiaParenting helps inculcate culture and religion in children: you can teach your child Indian nursery rhymes, offered in seven different languages. Plus, teach children prayers, bhajans and artis with audio-help.
IT@TT: What do you offer that help parents trust and value your suggestions?
NS: IndiaParenting's goal is to make parenting an informed, fun and rewarding experience. To this end, we have close to 5,000 pages of content ranging from issues before conception, pregnancy, newborn care, toddler times, school-going issues and raising teens. Lively and active discussions boards allow parents to interact with other parents on sensitive issues like coping with infertility to fun topics like summer camps.
Our e-shop hosts over 3,000 products including clothes, books, fun toys, intellectual games and puzzles, party wear, educational and story books for all ages, interactive CD games, baby equipment like cradles and car seat, and much more. It also has a special section dedicated to gifts. An entire section helps parents introduce their kids to the Internet. Some of the sections include colour the picture, spot the difference, a bit about science, history and geography, and great leaders of India.
Our credibility and authenticity are further enhanced by our large panel of doctors, who review our content on a periodic basis, write articles for us and also answer questions raised by our readers. These panelists are leading health care specialists in their fields and include gynaecologists, pediatricians, child psychologists, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, speech and language pathologists, etc.
IT@TT: Why were you awarded the sixth Britannica Internet Guide award?
NS: The criteria for judging was based on quality of content, site utility, design and navigation. Looks like we've fared well on all these parameters.
IT@TT: Your site stresses content. Do you out source it or is it all done in-house?
NS: Most of our content is developed in-house. Some comes from doctors. And some from free-lancers.
IT@TT: What types of parents and children does your content address?
NS: Although we talk to expecting parents, parents of babies, toddlers, and school-going kids, the site is useful even for parents of teenage children.
IT@TT: How do you decide on the content?
NS: Since the site has been live for close to 2 years, we've a good pulse on what readers want. We've also conducted focus groups of fathers and mothers to further understand their requirements. And, of course, being a parent definitely helps. (smiles)
IT@TT: Considering the ratio between male and female users, do you think parenting is moving towards an androgynous model or is it still considered the female's responsibility?
NS: Yes, most definitely. We get plenty of questions from sometimes concerned, sometimes curious fathers on various issues ranging from pregnancy to behavioural problems. Some of our Indian competitors only talk to mothers. But, we talk to both parents because, we believe, modern day fathers play an equally important role in parenting.
IT@TT: Apart from being a content producer, are you undertaking any offline initiatives?
NS: Yes, besides being a media company, we are also looking at other parenting and family services. This will not only expand our product offering, but also provide us with a captive audience of parents and children. Currently, we're working on crèche services because unlike the US, there are currently no large or professionally-run crèche service companies in India that cater to corporate needs.
IT@TT: Has the US slowdown affected your company's progress?
NS: Not really. We're in the media business that continues to gain popularity.
IT@TT: What's your vision?
NS: We, at Indiaparenting, visualize ourselves as the #1 media and services player in the family space. And that's where we hope to be.
IT@TT: Finally, could you share with our readers some of your favorite Web sites and why you like them?
NS: I visit some sites just to be updated with the industry. I like www.redherring.com for its focus and its currentness. I also visit other parenting sites like www.babycenter.com and www.parenthoodweb.com, because they're in the same area as us. Besides these, my 2 kids and Indiaparenting keep me more than busy!
Interviewed
By Amrita
Ghosh
[email protected]
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