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The Hinduja family has acquired a stake in UACTIV.com, a social networking and discovery platform for sports and fitness enthusiasts.

Hindujas took the stake in December as the lead investor in the startup's first seed round funding, UACTIV co-founder Atish Chhabria told ET. While they do not intervene in management-related matters, they do provide the startup with their mentorship, Chhabria said.

UACTIV declined to reveal the money that the Hindujas invested and the stake they picked up. Of the money raised, Chhabria said, half would go into strengthening technology at UACTIV , while 30% would be spent in marketing and the rest towards operational expenses.

UACTIV , launched in September 2016 by Chhabria and Bhavik Mehta, is a mobile app that facilitates meet-ups between users for games, events, classes, and other fitness activities organised by professionals, studios and communities.

It has partnered with health and wellness brands like RAW Pressery, AZANI, LiveYourSport and Dr Vaidya's and organises three to four open-to-all sport and fitness events every month. The startup had bootstrapped itself with funds of Rs 20 lakh till December before the Hindujas made the investment. It is looking hold the next round of funding in the next three months.

The app is currently active in Mumbai and has around 3,000 users. UACTIV is looking at expanding to places like New Delhi, Gurugram and Pune, and will consider testing the response in Hyderabad and Chennai.

The Hinduja group, that owns companies like Ashok Leyland and IndusInd Bank, is known to be a family group rooted in Indian tradition, but lately, it has been actively investing in new-age business ideas. Last year, the family was the lead investor in Swiss virtual reality startup Mindmaze.

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Hinduja family becomes the lead investor in social network UACTIV - ETtech.com

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Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, have altered the world in a myriad of ways, both positive and negative.Adoption is one area where social networking can have a huge affect, by making it much easier for adopted children and birth family to make contact, sometimes bypassing all safeguarding processes.

The impact of social networking on adoption is considered in a guide for Community Care Inform, first written by Eileen Fursland and recently updated by Julia Feast and Elaine Dibben from CoramBAAF. The guide covers key legislation and research, issues to be aware of and practical advice for adoption social workers. These are some brief tips from the guide; Inform subscribers can read the full guide and access the adoption knowledge and practice hub.

In many adoptions, its seen to be in the best interests of the child to have occasional direct or in direct contact with birth relatives, such as through an annual letterbox letter with a birth parent. This is agreed with adopters before the adoption order.

Contact agreements are voluntary, but social workers should think explicitly about addressing the issue of social networking in the agreement. This ensures that birth parents understand there could be consequences to them making an approach to their child. It also helps them to be aware of the need to seek support if they receive an approach from the child or young person directly.

It is natural for adopted children and young people to be curious about their birth families, and this curiousity often deepens when they reach adolescence. If an adopted young person expresses a wish to find out more information or to meet their birth parents, the adoptive parents need to talk this through with them, showing that they understand and accept the young persons need to know. They can say they will support them in finding out more through the proper channels.

The support of an experienced adoption social worker can be enormously helpful in this situation. They can explain the best way of re-establishing contact, and try and ensure the child or young person has a good understanding of the complexities of making contact and where it can lead. They can also help the young person understand the risks and drawbacks of using the internet to make a direct approach.

When adoptive parents find out about secret contact between the young person and their birth family, they are usually shocked, and may feel hurt, angry and betrayed. They are often anxious about the effect on their childs wellbeing.

Adoption social workers depending on their role and their agencys role many need to talk to adopted young people, their birth relatives and adoptive parents to try and support the various parties involved, help them agree a way forward and manage some very complex and painful situations.

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Social media and adoption - what social workers need to know - Communitycare.co.uk

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Citing the decline of country and golf clubs, which no longer attract a large youthful presence, the Verge listed the top digital equivalents of 2017.

Best of All Worlds, which is described as an invite-only Yelp-Facebook hybrid, allows users to travel the world with a consistent level of familiarity and luxury.

Think of it as a Yelp-Facebook hybrid for the elite, where a group of wealthy, famous, or successful users can meet people of similar stature, as well as find events, hotels, and restaurants that promise a familiar kind of curated luxury no matter where they are in the world, wrote the Verge in their report. Founder and CEO Erik Wachtmeister has launched similar apps before he says once, while on a wild boar hunt in Germany, the idea of an online meeting place for global nomads struck him. Wachtmeister says that unlike other social networks, Best of All Worlds delivers privacy, intimacy, and relevance to its users.

UK-based online directory The Marque, which costs 1,000 per year and is also invite-only, allows high-profile individuals to meet with one another without the risk that a social climber or networker might join.

The website is a jumping-off point for IRL connections: members usually organize events where they can talk freely among people of a similar social tier without interruption from outsiders looking to elevator pitch their way to success, The Verge explained. Like Best of All Worlds, The Marque operates under an invite-only membership process, but an invite isnt enough to get you in the door. After someone is recommended by an existing member, they must meet with Wessels or another Marque executive to determine their fit.

Its not a networking club, said the platforms founder, Andrew Wessels. Basically our members spent their lives being sold to by people who want something from them. At our events, everyone feels so relaxed because theyre surrounded by peers.

Theres also the secret celebrity dating app Raya, which reportedly has a Fight Club-style never speak about Raya rule, and has been alleged to containusers such as producer Avicii, model Cara Delevingne, and Friends star Matthew Perry.

Others market themselves to the less rich and famous, like the Instagram alternative Rich Kids, but you still have to pay over $1,000 a month to use the platform.

Anyone can become a Rich Kids user for free, but if you want to share photos of your yachting holiday to Montenegro, youve got to cough up more than $1,000 each month, declared the Verge. Its a steep fee for the honor of posting your photos where anyone can see them. Given the wide availability of photo-sharing apps, the business model doesnt make a lot of sense. But Rich Kids co-founder Juraj Ivan claims the apps exclusivity means users wont have to compete with other influencers for the chance to, well, influence.

You can read the full report at the Verge.

Charlie Nash is a reporterforBreitbart Tech. You can follow himon Twitter@MrNashingtonorlike his page at Facebook.

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Report: The Invite-Only Social Networks Where the Elite Hang Out - Breitbart News

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FINRA Publishes New Guidance on Social Networking Websites and the Application of Rule 2210 - JD Supra (press release)

According to new report by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the number of mobile internet users in India is estimated to reach around 420 million by June 2017, with the rural India growing at a much higher rate than urban India and as on December 2016, it was estimated that there were 389 million mobile internet users.

The report says that urban India, with 51 percent penetration is fast reaching saturation point while rural India with 16 percent is the future market for growth. Adding that It added that a number of internet users have registered a jump of 15 percent year on year between October 2015 to October 2016. While urban India grew at 9 percent, growth in rural India was almost three times at 26 percent.

It also notes that average monthly Bill estimates for Urban India reveal that the usage of mobile data as proportion of total monthly mobile bill has increased considerably to surpass component of voice services. In just over 5 years, data component has risen from being 45 percent of the total bill to being 65 percent of total bill.

It must also be noted that total monthly average mobile bill has decreased over time, which is a reflection of the greater affordability of mobile services in India. This augurs well for mobile penetration in the coming days and can pave the path for greater penetration in rural India as long as affordable handsets are available for the lower income section of the population.

SEE ALSO:TRAI issues consultation paper on network testing before commercial launch

In Urban India, Communication, Social Networking and Entertainment (videos, songs etc) are the top usages of mobile Internet, while in Rural India, Entertainment rules the roost with Social Networking and Communication being the other services in order of preference.

The report further added that the average monthly bill is highest for the age group of 45 years and above, and interestingly, both mobile data and voice expenditures for this age group are highest for this age group. Thus, while in terms of uptake, the younger generation is driving the growth of telecom services in Urban India, more senior generations provide higher ARPU for telcos.

Originally posted here:
Social networking sites are the top usages of mobile Internet: IAMAI - Gizbot