Tag Archives: Twitter

LinkedIn, Evernote Low-Key In China Internet Approach

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LinkedIn takes low-key approach to China

Since everyone is buzzing with excitement today over the successful IPO for social networking (SNS) pioneer Twitter (NYSE: TWTR), I thought I would end the week with a look at 2 other up-and-coming US Internet firms and their decidedly low-key approach to China. I’m talking about LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD), the professional networking site, and Evernote, a cloud-based note-taking service. Neither of these 2 up-and-comers has made any high-profile announcements about their entries to China, even though both are active in the market. That could be a smart approach, following high-profile missteps by earlier arrivals that may have ultimately hurt their prospects in the large but also challenging market. Read Full Post…

Alibaba Sees Sudden Urgency In SNS

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Alibaba in major Laiwang push

I’ve been watching with interest this week as e-commerce leader Alibaba has discovered a sudden urgency to grow its business in the social networking (SNS) space, with founder Jack Ma leading the charge. In the last few days, media have reported that Alibaba has made a major new acquisition in the sector, and Ma is also trumpeting the importance of the company’s recently launched Laiwang instant messaging service that will compete with Tencent’s (HKEx: 700) hugely popular WeChat service. All this comes after Alibaba earlier this year signed a landmark agreement to buy a major stake in Sina’s (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo service, often called the Twitter of China. Read Full Post…

Twitter Blinks At China, As IPO Draws Sina’s Gaze

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Twitter blinks at China

Much is being written about Twitter’s upcoming IPO, including what the mega-offering by one of the world’s top social networking services (SNS) might mean for China. The early consensus seems to be that Twitter won’t find much business in China, where its site is currently blocked due to sensitive content. At the same time, leading Chinese web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) is most likely following the IPO very cosely, as it could help to boost the valuation of its own Weibo service, often called the Twitter of China. Read Full Post…

Tencent WeChat Looks Globally 腾讯微信全球化

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A social networking (SNS) application called WeChat has boomed on China’s Internet over the last two years, challenging Twitter-like industry leader Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo and even cellular titan China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) with its innovative and cleverly designed features. Now the popular instant messaging program for smartphones is showing early signs of stepping onto the world stage, with the potential to become China’s first true contribution to a vibrant global Internet culture. Such a development would mark a significant milestone for China, whose most successful high-tech firms have thrived so far by largely copying existing global technologies.

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Critique Lands Lee Kai-Fu In Trouble 李开复因评论惹麻烦

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Chinese Internet icon Lee Kai-Fu’s penchant for controversy is once again splashing into the headlines, this time with word that the former Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) China executive has gotten himself in trouble for criticizing the foundering online search engine of a major state-owned newspaper. This latest brouhaha highlights the risk that people who do business in China face when they speak too candidly in public forums about major official organizations like the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party.

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Sina Gets Serious on Weibo 新浪开始严肃对待微博

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After months of frustration for investors, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) has finally laid out a detailed plan for how it will earn money from Weibo, with company executives forecasting the highly popular but unprofitable microblogging service will produce “meaningful” money by the second half of this year. Investors clearly liked what they heard, bidding up Sina’s shares by 12 percent in New York trading the day after CEO Charles Chao made his comments on a conference call to discuss Sina’s otherwise unimpressive fourth-quarter results. (English article; results announcement) I’ve had a glance at the plan, and it looks like a mixed bag of some things that are likely to work and some that probably won’t. In the first category, the most promising part is Sina’s plan to sign up enterprise customers and launch an ad display system on Weibo, which now boasts more than 250 million users. (English article) These 2 approaches look smart because they both target business customers, who are probably quite happy to pay big bucks for a chance to reach Weibo’s millions of users. Less interesting are Sina’s plans to roll out a growing number of paid services for Weibo users, including paid gaming services. In one of its few previously announced Weibo monetization initiatives, Sina said in January it would offer a premium version of Weibo for users who wanted to pay for extras like getting SMS mobile phone notifications when they received new posts to their accounts. (previous post) That announcement was greeted with mostly yawns, as everyone, myself included, knows it’s very difficult to get people to start paying for services that they’ve previous gotten for free — especially the big majority of Weibo users who are under 30 and don’t necessarily have lots of cash to spend. Of course, execution will be key in all of this, as it’s easy to say you’re going to target enterprise customers but not necessarily as easy to create products that those customers will want. Facebook has been quite successful at making this transition, though the road has been less smooth for Twitter, the global microblogging giant. In China the story is the same, with Baidu (Nasaq: BIDU) a clear leader at monetizing the huge traffic that flows through its search engine while local Facebook equivalent Renren (NYSE: RENN) has had more difficulty. Given Sina’s long history and relatively strong record at executing this kind of strategy, I would say its chances of making some significant money from Weibo by the end of this year are good. If that happens, I would look for an IPO of this high-profile unit as soon as mid-2013.

Bottom line: Sina’s plans to target corporate customers to monetize its Weibo service looks like a smart move, though plans to get money from ordinary users look more problematic.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Sina Tests Weibo Demand With Paid Offering 新浪试水微博增值收费服务

◙ Twitter Eyeing China? Twitter想进中国？

◙ Sina’s Weibo Suffers New Setback With Lawsuit 吉林市驻京办可能起诉新浪微博

Twitter Eyeing China? Twitter想进中国？

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The world was buzzing over the weekend with news from the world’s 2 biggest social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter, with implications not only for themselves but also the China market in different ways. Twitter’s move was the more interesting in that regard, as it announced a new policy that could let posts on its site be seen in some markets but not others — a move that could clearly make it more viable in places like China where many sensitive topics are officially banned for online discussion. (Chinese article) Meantime, the markets were also buzzing with word that Facebook could file for its highly anticipated IPO this week, news that got investors excited about China SNS sites, with shares of both Renren (NYSE: RENN) and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), operator of the wildly popular Weibo service, both posting nice gains on Friday. But let’s return for a moment to Twitter, as that’s the news that has the biggest potential to shake-up China’s microblogging sphere now dominated by Weibo. Anyone who lives in China knows that both Twitter and Facebook have been blocked in the market since the spring of 2009, presumably because they operate offshore and thus aren’t subject to China’s strict self-censorship laws for all of its websites. Facebook has signaled a number of times it still intends to make a play for China (previous post), with founder Mark Zuckerberg visiting China about a year ago and saying he wants to visit again as clearly the market is a critical piece of any global Internet strategy. Twitter has been much quieter on the subject, without ever really saying what its future plans are for the market now dominated by Weibo, which has around 250 million users. This latest adjustment at Twitter looks clearly aimed at the China market, as it would ease Chinese regulators’ concerns about the service’s ability to keep unwanted posts from outside markets off the site. Still, I’m not totally convinced Twitter has its eye on China just yet, mostly because Weibo itself has struggled to make any money in the market, despite its incredible popularity. Furthermore, anyone who plays in China SNS will now have to deal with Beijing’s recently announced real-name registration system, which will not only put a big burden on the SNS services themselves but is likely to deter many web surfers who like to remain anonymous. On the whole, I suspect this move by Twitter may be designed to test the China waters and will be followed by a visit to Beijing to see what regulators think. If the reaction is positive, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Twitter taking some kind of modest initiative in China by the end of this year, though it will face a difficult road catching up to Weibo.

Bottom line: Twitter’s latest policy shift allowing market-specific content controls could signal it is considering a move into China, which could come by the end of this year.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Despite China Rebuff, Facebook Going Back for More Facebook明知山有虎，偏向虎山行

◙ Cleanup Resumes, Facebook Sniffs Out China Investors 在美上市的中国企业将继续面临“大清洗”

◙ Weibo Gets Confidence Vote From Digital Sky DST投资消息或提振新浪短期前景

Govt’s Microblog Shift Looks Good for Weibo 政府口风转变或有利於新浪微博

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It seems like barely a day goes by lately without state media singing the latest praises of microblogging, a development which could bode well for dominant player Weibo but which could also hold risks if Beijing decides this popular form of social networking is too important to leave to organic development in the hands of private developers. Followers of Weibo, often called the Twitter of China, will recall that the platform was the source of criticism by state media for much of the first half of the year, which blamed it for spreading rumors from users who could hide behind cloaks of anonymity. One official even came out as recently as last month and suggested that all microblog users might have to register with their real names, a development that would have sent a huge chill through networks like Weibo and other services operated by names like NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES). (previous post) Fast forward to now, when the tone in the debate has changed quite a bit, following Beijing’s latest  decision that microblogging was a great tool for the government to communicate with the people. Following that shift, major state media gush almost daily about the latest government agencies that have opened accounts on Weibo, and have also taken to reporting the other positive effects of microblogging sites. The lead story on page 1 of today’s China Daily is headlined “Micro blogs open a world of communication”, and a search on the subject on its web page reveals positive stories praising everything from microblogging’s role in fighting organized crime to helping people to find love. No mention seems to be made anymore of rumor mongering and the medium’s ability to create social unrest. Of course all that should be good for Weibo and its struggling parent, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), whose shares have lost about half their value since June as many of its investments outside its core web portal business have stumbled. All this latest praise from Beijing seems to indicate Weibo won’t be shut down or reined in anytime soon, which should be a relief to Sina. Now it just has to find a way to make money off the platform, and also take care to keep Beijing happy by convincing it of Weibo’s important role in developing a harmonious society.

Bottom line: Beijing’s recent shift in tone marks a positive development for microblogging services like Weibo, which are now being called important communicators rather than rumor mongers.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Sina Results: Not So Diversified After All 新浪仍依赖广告,突围遇阻

◙ Weibo Still Faces Crackdown Despite Govt Tie-Up 新浪微博难改“被监管”命运

◙ Sina’s Weibo: Growth Engine or Growing Burden? 新浪微博：动力or负担？

Renren Discovers Microblogging Too Late

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Leading Chinese social networking site Renren (NYSE: RENN) has finally discovered microblogging, with the launch of a new service, called Xiaozhan, designed to emulate Twitter to complement its traditional SNS site that looks and feels more like Facebook. (company announcement) The only problem is, China already has a company called Weibo, a unit of leading Web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA), which looks unstoppable as it signs up millions of new users each month and whose name has become interchangeable with microblogging in China. Rival microblogging sites operated by such big names as NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) have struggled to compete with Weibo, and Chinese search leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) even shuttered its own microblogging site earlier this year, acknowledging it was unable to play in the space. (previous post) In fact, Weibo, whose Chinese name actually means “microblog” in Chinese, launched its own traditional SNS site, called Qing, last month, in a bid to leverage its huge popularity to steal business from Renren and other traditional SNS sites like Kaixin. (previous post) Some  might argue that Renren needs to fight back with its own microblogging service to offer a more complete social networking experience, and that it can leverage its traditional SNS platform to lure many of its subscribers to this new Xiaozhan service. I agree to some extent that Renren needs to find related services to leverage its user base to grow. But unless it can offer something revolutionary in microblogging, which I seriously doubt, I would advise the company to look for other new opportunities and leave this space for Weibo. Barring anything unusual, I would expect this new Xiaozhan service to struggle for its entire existence, and could see Renren quietly shuttering the service in the next 1 to 2 years.

Bottom line: Renren’s newly launched microblogging service is destined for failure in the face of  insurmountable competition from Sina’s Weibo.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Renren Results: A Mixed Bag for Everyone 人人网业绩：苦乐参半

◙ Sina Gets Serious on SNS With New “Blogging Light” 新浪推出轻博客 大力进军社交网络业务

◙ New Weibo Makes First M&A Move 新浪微博并购忙

Sina, Tencent Pose Threat in SNS, E-Commerce 新浪腾讯攻城掠地

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Despite their late arrival to the game, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) and Tencent (HKEx: 700) could soon become potent forces in their newly chosen fields of SNS and e-commerce, respectively. Sina looks the sharpest in this latecomer strategy, reporting that its Boke Qing social networking site, which held its beta launch last month (previous post) has already registered its 1 millionth user. (English article) Sina has achieved the breakneck growth by packaging Qing as a more substantial complement to its wildly popular Weibo microblogging service, considered the Twitter of China. Qing, which links seamlessly with Weibo, is likely to grow exponentially over the next few months, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it reach 10 million users by year end. If it achieves that kind of growth, it could easily challenge industry leader Renren (NYSE: RENN), which reported 31 million users in the first quarter of this year. If Qing really achieves such fast take-up and Weibo starts generating some profits, I could see Sina packaging these two units together and making a US public listing for the pair as soon as the end of 2012. Meantime, Tencent has detailed plans to develop a mega-platform for both B2C and C2C called Paipai, and will put 500 million yuan, or about $80 million, behind the effort. Like Sina, Tencent has proved to be very adept at leveraging a huge user base for its wildly popular QQ instant messaging service into other areas, overtaking Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) and NetEase (Nasdaq: NTES) in just a few years to become China’s biggest online game operator. Of course, it will face stiffer competition in e-commerce, going up against sector giant Taobao, along with other names like Dang Dang (NYSE: DANG), 360Buy and Wal-Mart-invested (NYSE: WMT) Yihaodian. Despite that, I’d still give Tencent’s e-commerce initiative a fair shot at success due to its unique position as China’s Internet leader, while Qing’s success looks almost 100 percent guaranteed due to its links to Sina and Weibo.

Bottom line: Sina’s new Qing SNS service could become a major player by year-end, while Tencent’s new e-commerce initiative also stands a good chance of success.

新浪(SINA.O)在社交网络服务领域、腾讯(0700.HK: 行情)在电子商务领域，都算是後来者，但可能迅速崛起。新浪势头凌厉，上月启动轻博客公测版後，其注册用户已突破100万。新浪以轻博客作为微博的补充，两款产品实现相互联通，实现用户数量迅猛增长。新浪轻博客在未来几个月可能呈飞速成长，若到今年底用户达到1,000万，我一点都不会惊讶。若这成为现实，则可挑战该领域领头羊–人人网(RENN.N)，今年第一季人人网注册用户已达到了3,100万人。如果轻博客果真发展神速，微博也开始盈利，我认为，最快到明年底，新浪就可能将轻博客与微博整合到一起，在美国上市。与此同时，腾讯也制定详细计划，打造B2C和C2C商务平台拍拍网，将为此投入5亿元资源。与新浪相似，腾讯也善于利用其庞大的QQ用户群，将服务拓展至新领域，短短几年时间就取代盛大(SNDA.O)和网易(NTES.O)，成为中国最大的网络游戏运营商。当然，腾讯在电子商务领域面临的竞争会更激烈一些，需要面对当当网(DANG.N)、京东商城、和沃尔玛(WMT.N)投资的1号店等强劲对手。但鉴于腾讯在中国互联网领域的地位，我还是对其在电子商务领域的尝试寄予厚望。至于新浪的轻博客，其成功几乎没有悬念。

一句话：新浪轻博客到今年底将成为社交网络服务领域重要力量，而腾讯在电子商务领域新尝试也很有希望取得成功。

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Sina Gets Serious on SNS With New “Blogging Light” 新浪推出轻博客 大力进军社交网络业务

◙ Wal-Mart Buys Into China E-Commerce 沃尔玛进军中国电子商务

◙ Belle, Baidu See Beauty in Online Shoe Store 百度和百丽投资优购网或为明智之举

Dajie, China’s Linked In, Breaks Out With New Funds

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While names like Renren (NYSE: RENN), Kaixin and Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) battle it out for supremacy in the mainstream social networking space, another less-known name, Dajie, has quietly popped onto the scene with a new round of funding in its drive to become China’s version of professional networking site Linked In. Chinese media are reporting that Dajie.com, founded just three years ago, has received a round of venture funding in the neighborhood of $10 million from a respectable field of investors that includes Fidelity Growth Partners Asia and leading education services provider New Oriental (NYSE: EDU). (English article) Industry watchers will note that Linked In (NYSE: LNKD), which raised $350 million in a May IPO, isn’t blocked in China, but also that it hasn’t made an especially strong effort to cultivate the China market. Frankly speaking, I think the market for a more professional-type service like Linked In in China is probably relatively small, as most people who use SNS in China tend to be quite young and like to mostly chatter on these sites. But as these same young people grow up and move into white collar jobs, sites like Dajie could easily become a hot ticket in the China Internet market, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Linked In takes a serious look at China in the next 2 to 3 years as that happens, assuming that China doesn’t lock it out the way it has with other social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. (previous post) Considering that Dajie is probably at least 2-3 years away from an IPO at the earliest, I’d say this is definitely a company to watch and one that could offer investors a good way to tap into the growing legions of young white-collar Chinese with increasing amounts of money to spend.

Bottom line: Dajie looks like a good player to watch in the underdeveloped field of SNS for professionals, and could become the country’s next Linked In following a new round of funding.

Related postings 相关文章:

◙ Linked In Braces for Lock Out, But Does It Really Matter?

◙ Sina Gets Serious on SNS With New “Blogging Light” 新浪推出轻博客 大力进军社交网络业务

◙ Facebook’s China Tie Up: No Big Deal Facebook能否入华？