We are often asked this question and we thought it would be appropriate to share the one pager that we often share with investors or other partners here in our blog.
"Making real world neighbourhoods accessible online" is the core idea behind Onemyle.
Let us talk a bit about the problem statement and the solution behind this neighbourhood platform.
It is our view that neighbourhoods encompass local businesses & consumers and the act of creating any representation of a neighbourhood on the internet would involve bringing both people and businesses online together.
So, there is no Koramangala on the Internet.. Why do I care?
People: Local Communities need consistent access to reliable information on Civic Issues, Local Events, any unfortunate Acts of Crime nearby and Updates from local Businesses. Today this information is fragmented across Social Media, local editions of mainstream media and WhatsApp groups. Can some locality experts come together to curate this information on a daily basis for increased awareness and better community engagement?
Businesses: Based on our experience of JustBooks – a neighbourhood library chain, one of the key problems faced by neighbourhood businesses is 'neighbourhood promotions'. How does one reach people in a small geographic stretch (approx 2km radius in Indian Metro cities) effectively? Is there a “Local Community” in the Digital World that can be accessed by local businesses for effective promotions? What are the current options and their effectiveness?
How are we doing fine now without a neighbourhood access on the internet?
People: WhatsApp groups fill the gap on locality information to a large extent. But frequency of updates depends on some well intentioned individuals taking on the responsibility of sharing information periodically. For apartments & gated communities RWA (Resident Association or Society) Apps help to some extent.
Businesses: Ads on Newspaper or Radio – very expensive with wasted reach beyond a neighbourhood, Offline promotions (or Activations) – tiresome to execute, Digital Promotions – limited impact within one locality. So, manage with limited promotions and word-of-mouth exchanges and rely on high street visibility for recall.
How do we propose to make Koramangala accessible online?
A Neighbourhood Platform (we are calling it Onemyle) for:
Locality Experts: A marketplace for locality experts who signup to curate & expand on already available public domain information on neighbourhoods
Businesses: Ride on Locality Experts as ‘Influencers’ to carry the messages of the business into the community
Users: A simple daily link (that can be shared across any existing WhatsApp group) covering a bunch of “Neighbourhood Stories” everyday for the user - things like Civic Issues, Acts of Crime, Local Events and any updates from local businesses for a specific neighbourhood
Business Model
The Revenue and unit economics have to be tracked per Neighbourhood (in the Indian context, let us say per pincode). Local Businesses would pay and the Locality experts & influencers would get paid.
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