Dotcom or 'dot-gone', the show goes on

By Anand Parthasarathy

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 26. There was no shortage of grim jokes and stiff upper lips at Pragati Maidan here on Wednesday. Speakers made light-hearted references to dotcom becoming "dot-gone"; to e-com emerging as an "e-con". And "B to B"? No, not "Business to Business" any more, but "Back to Bangalore"!

The much awaited India Internet World exhibition and conference got under way in a mood of sobriety: in its fourth year now the event is down to 70 participating agencies from last year's peak of 150-plus. The number of registered delegates is also roughly down to half. But more striking is a fundamental change in the ambience of the show: it is not any more a "computer mela" with slick stalls selling cheap Internet connections and touting popular websites. Rather, B-to-C (Business to Customer), stands subtly transformed into a B-to-B (Business to Business) show.

This is by design, says the event's impresario, Microland's Mr Pradip Kar: "It shows the industry is growing up." He points to this year's motto: "Where the industry means business."

So you had large numbers of corporations -- 20 from the US alone -- showcasing solutions for other corporations: hardware and software for Internet backbones, net security tools, e-commerce enablers. They might as well have put up a banner: "Only those with Rs 10 lakhs or more to spend need come."

For Delhi's computer exhibition regulars -- students and teenagers -- this year's IIW has not much to offer: no freebies, fancy tee-shirts or bargain Net connections. A small row of six stalls, all from South Korea, displayed some of tomorrow's gizmos: MP3 music players, touchscreen hand-held computers, TV set-top boxes -- but none of these on sale in India yet.

The unspoken message here to Delhi's veteran computer mela-goers is: "Not this year, guys, we're busy trying to cope."

The exhibition ends this coming Friday.

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