Twitter has always been available in India, but the company — which holds its IPO tomorrow — has stepped up a gear by launching an India-specific blog today, as spotted by TechCrunch.
Given that Twitter has more users outside of the US than in the US, as revealed in its IPO filings, the company has an impetus to step up engagement overseas. India, a huge market with a large English-speaking population, seems to be a natural progression for Twitter.
To mark its very first blog entry, Twitter honored Indian cricketer Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, widely known as the best batsman in his generation — and who retired this month. Of course, Tendulkar is also a Twitter user.
“In recognition of the limitless joy that @sachin_rt has brought to our lives for nearly a quarter of a century, we couldn’t think of a more apt message with which to launch our India blog than #ThankYouSachin,” Twitter says in its blog post.
Users can also tweet a message for Sachin to Indian cricket board @BCCI with the hashtag #ThankYouSachin to get a picture of the cricketer with a personalized note and digital autograph.
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It remains to be seen what else Twitter will do to expand its presence in India — and whether these efforts can eventually translate into advertising dollars, as well as increased user numbers. The company seems to hope that with its India blog, it can at least drive more engagement and lead to more initiatives in the future.
Other international blogs run by Twitter include ones for Japan, South Korea and the UK.
Headline image via Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images
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