Google India has launched an Internet Bus project in order to spread awareness about Internet. The project has been launched in TN state and will cover 15 towns over a period of 1.5 months.
The Internet Bus Project is an attempt educate people about what the Internet is, and how it may be beneficial to their lives, by taking the Internet experience to them through a customised Internet-enabled bus, which will travel to several towns and cities across India.
Internet Bus
Inside the Internet Bus
As per Google, more than 19% of Tamilians prefer Google Tamil for accessing the Internet and that is also one of the reasons to launch the bus project from Tamil Nadu – more details here
Watch this introductory video:
What’s your opinion? Isnt’ this a great brand building exercise?
Related: Majority of Indian Internet users aren’t sure of Internet’s utility?
Google by educating these people about internet, will also turn them all into it’s users automatically. During highschool I happened to attend an “Internet” class… and the first thing they had told was to open google.com in IE.
Great strategy on part of Google.
@Theen Musketeers, That is there but I think you are missing the primary fact Google is trying to enrich them with internet experience , IMO they are doing what HRD ministry should have done. Moreover just getting the user started is not enough, they will change to competing product/services if you are not good enough.
-prashant
@Prashant,
HRD Ministry cannot innovate similarly simply because they don’t have an incentive to do so, but Google can. Of course people also get benefited by it. No question about that.
I don’t think it’s that easy to switch services. Especially with not-so-tech-savvy people, it happens rarely.
@Musketeers why can’t HRD ministry innovate? Besides its their job to spread the word, innovation and technical skill. It is immaterial whether they get an incentive or not. And HRD ministry guys are getting paid a handsome salary from the tax payers account for this job too.
Yes google has a business interest and social responsibility is a means to achieving that. I think Google is doing a great job for internet, the same way as it was done by Tata’s in rural India for education in mining and metallurgy.
Dude! Its not meant to fly.
@Aaravind, you got the pun wrong.
A welcome change from the constant stream of un-researched and trashy stories about dangers on the Internet in the english and vernacular press. Once traveling in a bus a man told me he forbid his son to go to a cyber cafe because he thought Internet is not good for our culture.
I launched into an hour long discourse on what Internet means for the progress of our country for his and other passengers benefit. Hopefully more Internet biggies would follow suit.