First movers aren’t necessarily the most successful. Those who learn from the mistakes of the first movers can capitalise on their ideas more effectively. For instance, PhotoJagat began as an online photo printing website in 2004 (See ‘The Online Herd’, on page 31). It was soon followed by Picsquare, MeraSnap, PhotoMasti, iTasveer and SnapGalaxy. iTasveer leads the pack now because it introduced an innovation — a Flash-based tool called Doodlepad, which gives the user the ability to add captions, text, borders and colours to their photos. These remixed photos can then be used to create customised T-shirts, mugs and greeting cards. It also made a smart move of tying up with Microsoft to become the only Indian vendor for ordering photo prints directly from the technology giant’s Vista operating system.

Among other areas, in media, 2006 saw more than 50 news and entertainment channels launched, while 60 more are waiting for licences. More could follow as some large groups such as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries are still examining the business model. The rush for FM radio stations has now led to about 267 licences, while another 800 could be issued over the next one year. In automobiles, as soon as Ratan Tata announced his plans of making a Rs 1-lakh car, even international car makers such as Renault, Honda and Toyota cottoned on to the idea. Even two-wheeler makers such as Bajaj Auto and the Hero Group are working on their own prototypes of the small car. Special economic zones have attracted 550 applications, only 386 of which have been approved. Today, multiplexes, wind farms, BPOs and Web 2.0 have also witnessed a significant herd mentality.