Dragon Calvin

Advice on Investing in Game Development

2009-04-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

Billy Pidgeon, IDC
Recent interview via Gamasutra mentioned ...

I'd invest heavier in PC games, delivered to PC and online wherever possible, and at emerging models such as free-to-play and other micro-transaction-based business models in all regions including North America.

I also see big potential for game developers to make virtual worlds a success by transforming them into something much more game-like.

"This is where iLEMON is headed towards .... "

Jackie Chan MMORPG - DaBingXiaoJiang

2009-04-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

April 2nd
Jackie Chan latest movie - "DaBingXiaoJiang" or Big Soldier Press Conference

Recently I came up with a new idea to launch a series of MMORPG games based entirely on big movies titles. Ohhh you may say "hey ! this is nothing new at all. Lord of The Rings and many more blockbuster Hollywood movies had done so".

Yes ! Indeed so but none had launch before the movie *MMORPG Online Games so far. We probably be the first and also the first Jackie Chan title on an online game.

To me there's many advantage of doing so as it helps build momentum for the movie and lots of FREE publicities. What's more important is that it could value add to the movie itself ! FREE special virtual items or rare / limited edition virtual items could be available only for movie goers. Thus increasing the box office.

I shall update more about the game when we are in ALPHA.

Calvin.

Obama and 08 Year End Bonus

2009-01-31T04:10:00.001-08:00

Today Obama announce via the White House video that last year congress passed a plan to rescue the financial system and the package helped to avoid a financial collapse but many were frustrated with the results. No transparency and proper accountability for the used of tax payers money. This week everyone learns that Wall Street companies shamefully paid out nearly 20 billion in bonuses for 2008.

My company iLEMON closed funding in the middle of the crisis and were the 1st company in my industry to announce a funding in 2009 January. We should celebrate as everyone in the company was expecting and to give out a big bonus to everyone. Chinese new year dinner went as usual with no super fancy restaurant and lucky draw were the same 2 Sony PSP and 1 Apple MP4. No one got drunk but everyone stomach was filled certainly for both Shanghai and Beijing !

I did not announce a bonus as expected of me to do so !
I did not give the economic situation as an excuse to my team but instead I told everyone that there will be a bonus but this bonus will come when our 1st world goes LIVE either in the US or in China. Everyone in the company needs to help each other to achieve this GOAL as getting funded do not means SUCCESS. It simply means we are all given a chance to make a difference in the company to become truely SUCCESSFUL and BIG. I want us all to share this success together. Maybe some of the team members can not understand the reason or will never understand but I do not want to pass a bonus simply because we got funded. Bonus should be given for achieving something, this is the reward that everyone can share ! I do not hope to follow tradition in China but to create a new tradition for everyone in the company.

Success = Bonus !
Achievements = Bonus !

Do nothing and get nothing as it also apply to us the founders as well !

Tech Stocks Losers

2009-01-02T02:55:00.000-08:00

What a way to start 2009 with the list of some biggest stocks losers. But have you heard behind every storm there is a rainbow and beneath this rainbow there is a pot of gold waiting ...

Happy New Year 2009 !

Do getting Funded means Success ?

2008-12-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

The company that I founded together with 2 co-founders recently got funded in the midst of this economic crisis, therefore some news got out and this Christmas I had emails from friends and family members congratulating me on the success and richness achieved. It's funny why do people think that getting funded equals SUCCESS ? Therefore I decide to write in my blog so that everyone I know can know what getting funded means to me ...

In view of this economic crisis and climate, getting funded with a few millions USD simply means ...

1.) My company will surely be able to sail through this economic crisis and we will be here certainly when the crisis is over.

2.) Without funding we are a player in the virtual world space / with funding we are given a chance today to be a KEY player in the virtual space.

Our job do not ends here or will be easier from now onwards ... as SPIDER-MAN says "With Great Powers comes Great Responsibility" ... and so it goes "With more Money comes More Responsibility". For now we are not just answerable to ourselves but also to a board of investors and shareholders.

Me and my partners looks at it this way ... "With this chance and opportunity given, when this crisis is over and we dont come out of it a BIG WINNER, we only have ourselves to blame". We know the market / the product and we have the connections and ability to make it happen ... and by working even harder and smarter we believe the future is ours. Keep this blog post like a crystall ball ... and I shall bring this post up and again in 18 months from today when my company will be among the top 5 virtual world operators worldwide.

And this is a pledge and promise !

Merry Christmas everyone ...

Second Life Profitable *Rumours

2008-12-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

There is some rumours *whispers from Silicon Valley that SECOND LIFE is becoming profitable from their maneuver of price hike recently ... There is no official confirmation as yet from any official body but you hear it here first the whispers ! This is a good sign for the virtual world industry indeed.

But we also reckon some bad news will come in 2009 as many new worlds are still struggling to get funded. The key now is survival.

Sony PS3 'Home' Virtual Goods Booming

2008-12-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

December 22, 2008 6:10 PM

Virtual goods are selling like hotcakes in Sony's new PS3-based virtual world 'Home,' says Susan Panico, Sr. Director of the Playstation Network at Sony (SNE) in an exclusive interview with SAI.

When everyone has the same tools to create a virtual worlds avatar, buying something no else has -- or no one else can afford -- is the only way to stand out.

Susan didn't provide numbers, but she said in Home's first four days, virtual goods priced from 49 cents to $4.99 have generated more revenue for Sony than PS3 movies and video priced up to $14.99 generated in their first week. "It's a classic 80/20 model, where 20 percent of your customers create 80 percent of your income," she said.

The hot ticket item so far: Costumes, with Santa Claus outfits being a huge seller. "You can imagine the opportunity with costumes for partnering with other companies and their intellectual property," Susan said.

Other items from Susan's talk with SAI:

We were wrong in assuming the removal of speech from 'Home' had anything to do with widespread reports of female PS3 gamers being harassed. Speech was taken offline for a technical fix, and service was restored yesterday.
With regards to that harassment, Susan reiterated Sony's "zero tolerance" policy and siad "we're still in open beta." She said "abuse reporting," the ability to mute other avatars, and "rapidly scaling up our moderation team" should fix the problems.

Corporate sponsorships like Red Bull represent "a strong component of the ecosystem of Home." Expect more partnership announcements in Q1.
The long-term idea for the Playstation network: To make the PS3 a replacement for cable boxes, with Sony's Hollywood studios bringing exclusive content to PS3 owners. "We look aspirationally at HBO, the way they have 'Sex and the City' and other shows," Susan said.

Tangs first to get a Second Life

2008-12-22T05:11:00.001-08:00

YOU can soon tog your avatar — or your cyberspace alterego — with clothes from Tangs.
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The storied Singaporean department store operator yesterday announced it would be replicating its main store on Orchard Road in the virtual world of Second Life — the first major local retailer to set up shop there.
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Ms Lin Pei Hua, Tangs assistant vice-president (marketing and communications), said: “Virtual Tangs will set a new wave of marketing and promotional tools beyond traditional media.
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Besides widening the reach of Tangs to the worldwide virtual audience, Virtual Tangs demonstrates our commitment to continually respond to changing lifestyle needs and set trends by being innovative and creative.”
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To be launched in March, Virtual Tangs will be a faithful rendition of the iconic76-year-old store in Second Life, complete with its prominent green-tiled roofs, red pillars and its interior shopping layout. The virtual shop will sell clothes for avatars.
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The real Tangs store currently stocks apparel from the likes of French Connection, Diesel and Adidas. The retailer is in talks to bring these as well as virtual brands into its Second Life store.
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“Virtual brands without a real-life presence, and in line with our branding, will also have a chance to be housed under Virtual Tangs,” said Ms Lin.
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Second Life is a teeming three-dimensional online world where its virtual residents, dubbed avatars, can not only socialise, but also shop or set up businesses by recreating whole buildings or products in cyberspace.
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It currently has over 16 million residents and has amassed a gross domestic product of US$402 million. Those numbers have proven to be a big motivation for real-world businesses to move in.
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Fashion brands are not new in Second Life — Jean Paul Gaultier, Adidas, Calvin Klein and Lacoste have set up shop there, and businesses like IBM or Dell have offices and buildings in the virtual world.
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Singapore-based travel firm Abacus has a presence in Second Life. Even the Government is in on the action — the Infocomm Development Authority has bought virtual real estate to explore opportunities there.

*(The author grew up shopping at TANGS every year when he travels down south from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore his favorite shopping paradise when he was young)

Habbo Dual Currency - 2 years later

2008-12-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Last month Sulka Haro, Lead Concept Designer, Habbo, blogged that the virtual world would be testing out a new dual currency system. Users would still be able to purchase Credits and spend them on virtual goods, but now they could also earn Pixels through activities, memberships, and just time spent on the site, and use them to defray the cost of other purchase or unlock special features. Yesterday the company announced that it was rolling out the system worldwide from its UK test. We spoke to Haro about the decision.

FYI - This was initially proposed by both me and my team mate James Tan 2 years ago when we were preparing Habbo in China. And guess nest Habbo will be offering 'Users Experience Point" which was also kicked by us ! Key question - why 2 years later ?

NOTE : Habbo is still the world leader in virtual world till date and even with an old system running on Shockwave they still managed to grow is because they have the KNOW-HOW in operating a virtual world successfully and a KEY ingredient many people cant see - a GOOD BACKEND system. Bravo Habbo this I must give them key credits in the millions.

GARFIELD and Virtual Worlds

2008-12-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

Paws Inc.—global manager of the Garfield IP has announced a partnership deal to allow the use of Garfield properties in Studiocom's proprietary virtual community MiniEgo. The partnership is to allow MiniEgo users to interact with Garfield characters and configure their avatars with "Garfield-inspired characteristics." Additionally, users will have the opportunity to visit "virtual destination venues" from the comic strip.

Garfield's integration into MiniEgo is to be promoted on Garfield online properties to drive traffic to the site.

"Brand integration with an existing virtual world is a great value proposition for brands looking to capitalize on the popularity, engagement and brand immersion factors of online environments, without the full development costs."

We be seeing more brands jumping on to the virtual world band wagon which spells the future for kids online. Or we can say that the future of kids will be online.

Brands are moving into Virtual Goods

2008-12-17T17:47:00.001-08:00

JUICY COUTURE carrier with a pet ( *photo above ) is just one of the many examples we'll be seeing on how BRANDS will start to tap on to the virtual world and virtual goods space. Some brands will just use this space for pure brand promotions while some will go more in depth to make this a new up-coming revenues department.

A Lesson in Yahoo Story

2008-12-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

"When things on my laptop start freezing or performance drops, I reboot my machine. It typically needs to refresh itself and get back to the core of what needs to be run. Occasionally I clean house and delete some junk programs running in the background. By cleaning and rebooting, my machine runs smoothly and efficiently. It?s not perfect as the day I turned it on but it is faster and I am happier. Yahoo is in need of a reboot!"

When read this the management style that I had been using immediately jump into my mind - I like to replace certain old blood with new blood in the office. Some may say that this is being ruthless to people whom had followed me a long time by just letting them go. But to me it is necessary to give the company some FRESH AIR or NEW BLOOD to keep it young and energetic.

Dont get me wrong as I believe strongly in loyalty and having loyal people to follow me but a BIG team of just loyal people doesnt means or equals to growth. New Energy is needed from time to time to make a company grow. People tends to become confortable when working in an environment a long time and start to lose the ZEST to push the company forward. Even bosses do the same mistake after making money by not maximizing their company potentials.

So I do believe in doing a REBOOT in the company every 18 to 24 months to make it feel and be young.

Second Life Fling Causes Real Life Divorce

2008-12-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

It seems the honeymoon is over, so to speak for British couple, Amy Taylor and David Pollard. The Second Life digital love affair has collided with a reality bump in the divorce courts of the real world.
Fittingly, the couple actually met online through an Internet chatroom, then they met in the real world and moved in together in Cornwall, England. The couple also continued their relationship in cyberspace and role-played together using alter-egos as Laura Skye and Dave Barmy. They became lovers in cyberspace as well as in the real world, it was a match made in online digital heaven.

However, it seems that all was not well in digital paradise. One morning, 28-year old Amy, awoke to find her 40-year old husband Dave having sex with a prostitute, not a real one you understand, that would be more than just alarming, but his avatar character Dave Barmy was getting a little LS$ pay-to-play action on the side in cyberspace. This betrayal, understandably caused the breakup of the cyber relationship between Dave and Laura.

The couple, perhaps unsurprisingly given the history, eventually kissed and engaged in some make-up cybersex. Such was the rejuvenated Second Life bliss that the couple decided to get married in cyberspace and then they sealed the deal in the real world—one has to question their collective aptitude at this point—but then they as say Second Life love is blind.

Once a Cheater...
However, all was not well. It wasn't long before Dave Barmy was up to his old tricks and finally caught in another relationship, this time with an American woman and once again within Second Life. This time Ms Taylor felt it was more involved and not just the visceral act with a digital prostitute, this time it was more serious.

The Laura and Dave have split up, but that is not the end of it, Ms Taylor has subsequently also filed for a divorce, in the real world. The good news is that, thankfully for all concerened, there were no children involved, in either worlds. No word on if there will be Second Life and or real life alimony payments.

I suppose the lesson from all this avatar business is that if you're cheating, even in the digital confines of Second Life, it can have real world ramifications.

Despite the bust-up it seems the couple have moved on. Pollard aka Barmy is apparently eager to tie the digital knot with his new love and is virtually engaged, but also plans to marry in real life. It seems Ms. Taylor didn't waste much time either, as she is already with her new man in World of Warcraft, an entirely different part of cyberspace.

I find this alternative-reality crossing over into the real world malarkey a bit difficult to fathom still, as they say I guess it is better to have loved and lost (in Second Life) than never to have loved at all.

Google Ended Lively

2008-11-20T17:00:00.000-08:00

Google official announced that they will stop LIVELY from operations at the end of this year. Below is an extract from Google Blog. In the virtual world industry this would certainly give a deep impact as a company like Google would stop a virtual world service BUT it is expected of the industry that LIVELY would not be able to ram up sufficient numbers simply because it is a downloadable client based world. As with all other client based virtual world there is an ENTRY BARRIER.

Investment on virtual world is not taking a tow ... check-out : http://jussilaakkonen.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/virtual-worlds-social-games-investments-defy-downturn-in-october-2008-peak-in-july-2008/

Lively no more

11/19/2008 05:55:00 PM
In July we launched Lively in Google Labs because we wanted users to be able to interact with their friends and express themselves online in new ways. Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it's the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people's lives. But we've also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off.

That's why, despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we've decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year. It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business. Lively.com will be discontinued at the end of December, and everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams.

We'd encourage all Lively users to capture your hard work by taking videos and screenshots of your rooms.

Posted by The Lively Team

Virtual World and Recession 2

2008-11-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

Will Virtual Homes be Empty ?
Its clear that recession is upon us all today and how would it affect the virtual world industry ? In my last post it clear showed that games is probably more recession proof than any other industry but like any other industry there will be its own internal challenges to come in this hard time ... Here's how I see the market would move ...

1. Virtual World would provide a good form of escapism to many ! Social Networks will grow too in this time as it too provides a cheap form of entertainment (FREE)not just to teens but to adults as well. Hence virtual worlds can be the 'key interactive' element to the SNS. We can see that Hi5 had acquired a virtual world studio recently probably to enhance this element per se.

2. Advertising and sponsorship in virtual worlds will hit all time low and so it'll follow the online advertising market !

3. Corporate and Enterprise virtual worlds will slow down as a result of the current economy (budgets are better spend somewhere).

4. Kids and Tweens world would continue to grow at a steady paste as parents will probably budget some money for this area as its cost effective and is becoming more secured and safe.

5. New markets for virtual worlds will be opened - whether it be a new area or a niche' or even a new genre ! Certainly new markets will be explored by virtual worlds co. in the coming months.

6. Flash virtual worlds will still dominate the new entrance and new opportunity certainly. And soon a platform war will initiate slowly ...

7. Some virtual worlds will close down or face serious problems in 2009 unless they are well funded as getting funded today will be x times harder then yesterday. Its not because of the economy that some will fail but eventually some virtual worlds will need to be phased-out by the new entrance whom understands the market and needs better. Isn't this already happening ... Disney closed down 'Virtual Magic Kingdom' to better support and path way for a whole new range of virtual worlds today ! (*we saw that coming as SHOCKWAVE technology is truly outdated - didn't say we did not warn you HABBO 'Sulake' our former employer and still the world largest virtual world today).

8. White Label virtual worlds may slowed down (this could affect iLEMON) but we see it as a compliment where only the strongest will survive and start new virtual worlds in this climate which provides 'LESS COMPETITIONS' and very much less 'ME TOO' virtual worlds. Kids and Tweens brand / products will clearly see an advantage if they move into this space now and not later.

Oops ! I forgot to mention that we may face with new competition as virtual world co. struggle to get revenues - White Label will be a choice on their agenda. *BUT we are ready with new weapon of mass destruction ... BE WARNED !

9. Mirror Worlds - I have no comments on these virtual worlds at this point of time. Maybe a more innovative way to create and make these mirror cities more entertaining and fun will do more good than just copying the building and landscapes.

Virtual Worlds revenues is still strong
Despite the economy Habbo sales is up and IMVU is making good growth in digital items sales in September and October. Disney Pixie Hollow had more than 7.5 million virtual fairies created till date up from 2.5 million in August.

Lastly we believe there are many OPPORTUNITIES for virtual worlds to tap as both - an 'Interactive' element and as a new generation (new area) gaming tools to sail thru' this recession !

Virtual World and Recession

2008-11-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a great example of how gaming survived the recession ...

When the economy falls, the demand for escapist entertainment rises. History has proven this over and over again. During “The Great Depression” (1929 – 1939) 25% of American families had no income and 40% of factory workers were unemployed. In 1930 there were 200,000 evictions in New York City alone.

Despite this, movie box office receipts during the 1930s soared 22%. In many cases people elected to see a movie, rather than eat. That’s how desperately North Americans needed to escape (mentally) from the weight of their problems. And if you think things are different now, think again. In 2002, after the technology bubble burst, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 22%. Meanwhile video gaming revenues increased 43% to $7 billion. Yes, the “Escapism Industry” has fractured. Now there are many different (drug-free) ways you can purchase a ticket to a parallel universe.

Businesses are not the only ones watching their pennies. Consumers are also squeezing more value from their shrinking discretionary budget. When money is tight an average person will (consciously or unconsciously) make spending decisions based on “bang for the buck.” And there’s no bigger bang for your entertainment dollar than in video games or internet games.

A ticket to a three-hour NFL game is $65. That’s about $21 per entertainment hour for a three hour game if you pass on the foam finger, hot dogs, etc. If you go to a bar with no cover charge and nurse a local beer, you’ll be spending about $6 an hour. A two hour movie will cost you about $4.50 an hour. Watching a DVD: $2 an hour.

Of course these estimates assume that you live within walking distance of a football stadium, bar, movie theatre or local Blockbuster. If you have to drive to the venue, pay for gas and parking, it becomes significantly more expensive.

That’s where the video gaming industry gets its big advantage. Your average video games costs $60 and takes an expert about 100 hours to master. That works out to a mere 60 cents an hour. And you only have to leave your home once to make the original purchase. Todays online games especially the FREE to play model provides even more value for your bucks.

Is it any wonder 267 million video games were sold in 2007? That’s an average of 9 games per second, for total sales of $7 billion. Console sales, dominated by Nintendo’s (NTDOY.PK) Wii, Sony’s (SNE) Playstation 3, Microsoft’s (MSFT) X-Box 360 totaled $9.35 billion.

That’s a $16 billion dollar industry that enjoys a huge value advantage (measured in $/hour of entertainment) over competing forms of entertainment. An economic downturn creates cocooning and belt-tightening instincts which add further leverage to the gaming industry’s advantage.

May 2008 sales are up 43% from a year ago. Over-all 2008 sales are projected to grow 27% to $23 billion.

But the most impressive thing about the gaming industry is how they have expanded their demographic reach. Fifty-six percent of all games sold are rated “Everyone 10+” (equivalent of a “G” rating for movies). According to the Entertainment Software Association, there are now more adult women playing games than boys under 17. The fastest growing demographic is the 50+ crowd. Eighty percent of “gamer parents” play video games with their kids.

So games are not just for kids anymore. And deepening economic hardship will accelerate the growth in the gaming industry. As an investor, those fundamentals get me interested.

Here's an example of a Chinese game co.
Shanda Interactive (SNDA) develops online games for the Chinese market. It specializes in massively multi-player online role playing games [MMORPGs] like Latale, Dungeons and Dragons, and World Hegemony. Hundreds of thousands of players can go online to play with each other. This $2 billion market cap company has 2007 revenues of $395 million with an operating margin of 40% (double what it was in 2006). Shanda’s quarterly revenue growth is 46% and it has a very low P/E of 11.

There’s a lot of opportunity in the gaming sector. The ability of the industry to reach a wider audience proves there are ways to ride out an economic downturn. Some industries perform better in tough times. We believe that history is about to repeat itself, and the gaming industry will be a big benefactor.

Continued ... Virtual World and Recession 2

Real Estate Crashes In Second Life, Too: Linden Lab's Bailout Plan

2008-11-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Linden Lab's new-ish CEO Mark Kingdon has been fond of telling reporters "there's no credit crunch in Second Life." We'll see about that. Last night Linden announced it was jacking the prices on its "Openspaces" virtual land by two-thirds, from $75 to $125 a month (that's American dollars, not fantasy game-currency).

Linden Lab has an easy-to-understand business model. The company creates and sells "virtual land," which is essentially dedicated CPU time with which Second Life avatars can build space stations, elven villages, whatever. (Think 3D webhosting.) Linden collects a monthly fee on the land it sells, which is the company's revenue. Unlike many other Web 2.0 companies, Linden's fortunes aren't dependent on selling advertising and the company isn't at the mercy of declining ad rates.

But that doesn't mean Linden is doing well. The base of paying customers is declining, prices in the avatar-to-avatar aftermarket for land have bottomed out, and the company has been unable to introduce new land into Second Life for months amidst the glut. And if Linden isn't introducing new land, it isn't growing its bottom line. So the company came up with a new way to make money -- charging its existing customers more.

In the short term, this was probably a smart move by Linden. The company introduced "Openspaces" months ago as budget option with reduced performance, thinking most of its customers would still prefer the more robust experience of being on Second Life's mainland. Many more users went for the cheap low-performance virtual land than expected, so much so the company can't even sell its more expensive product anymore. (That would be the credit crunch. Or the end of a fad.) Second Life's avatars are already screaming and howling over the price spike, but even if a few customers are lost, the company will most likely score a net positive.

That being said, there's only so much blood that can be squeezed from a stone. For Linden Lab to survive, it can't keep raising usage fees, and it can't try to con business users into teleconferencing in Second Life when the product is so poorly suited to enterprise use. In the end, Linden needs to pull off an image overhaul and make Second Life once again a hip place to be, with a growing population and a steady influx of new land-owners (read: paying customers). If Linden can do that, it prospers. If it can't, it's doomed.

Thanks - Eric Krangel for the Second Life highlights from Silicon Valley

Google new G1 Mobile

2008-10-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

New York - Mobile network operator T-Mobile USA on Tuesday introduced the G1, the first mobile phone to feature Google's Android operating system, which will sell for $179 with a two-year voice and data agreement when it goes on sale first in the U.S. on Oct. 22. Viewed as a smartphone that will challenge Apple's iPhone, the G1 -- manufactured by Taiwan's HTC -- features both a touch-screen display and a full QWERTY hardware keyboard that slides out from underneath.

The 3G phone also features GPS, Wi-Fi, MMS, a 3-megapixel camera, full HTML browser, and a music player that links to the Amazon MP3 store.

Unlike the version of the iTunes Store available on the iPhone, G1 users will be able to preview and purchase songs from Amazon MP3 over a cellular connection; however, songs still must be downloaded to the phone over a Wi-Fi connection.

Google also announced the release of the Android 1.0 SDK, adding that over 1,700 applications for the platform were developed during its Android Developer Challenge.

Applications will be available for the G1 via the Android Market, similar in concept to Apple's App Store for the iPhone.

T-Mobile USA is currently accepting pre-orders for the G1 from its website; the G1 is also slated to launch in the U.K. next month, and in the rest of Europe early next year.

DragonFly Diary 3 : The World of Warcraft Formula

2008-10-07T02:20:00.000-07:00

The World of Warcraft Formula

In 2000 I came to Shanghai, China with a Singapore company ( Fast Track *whom later became an invested company of Singapore Technology ). My boss and partner then was Mr. Roland Ong whom I had partnered during the Malaysia cyber café venture days. We were totally “raw” in China as far as the internet and MMOG space is concern and we knew we had to learn the market fast and acquire every trick and twist there is if we want to be a player with the largest MMOG to be in China, the “World of Warcraft”.
The quickest way was to learn from existing players in the market and to also see for ourselves what’s happening at the internet cafes all over China. This is exactly what we did – had tons of discussions, dinners and drinks with people in the industry from manager level upwards and spend hours at the internet cafes just looking at what the Chinese users are doing and talk with them to gather some insights of their mind. To us nothing beats the personal touch as there was no holy bible nor reports we could purchase that could have taught us what we had learned.
And learned really quick did we that we called ourselves then to international publishers an expert in the Chinese MMO space. Now let’s look back at WHY - HOW and WHAT it takes for a foreigner or foreign company to be successful in China? Is there really no way to succeed?
Like Richard Raju had said it is how one set the scope and strategy of business to achieve success!
At the end of the day we exited the venture of World of Warcraft in the tens of millions. The formula we did was to get a strong local partner ( THE 9 ) whom is pending listing on NASDAQ and set a winning exit for the company. I learn the technique of structuring a deal from Roland Ong which is similar to the way Richard Raju did with refocusing a business to new trend.
Foreign companies must learn to see the potential of their Chinese business in a more open manner as there is always a way or strategy to succeed but do also remember that there is also many pits to fall on to, as I had noticed over the years.

DragonFly Diary 2 : Foreign Expertise vs. Local Know-How

2008-09-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Foreign Expertise vs. Local Know-How
( DragonFly Diary is about what I had encounter in Life in China and from the day I was trained to be a marketing professional in the various industry that I worked. Its also about my career and how I became what I m today )

By now we hear of how so many foreign big internet names have failed in the Chinese internet and games market and that foreign expertise is no match for the local know-how. Or for the facts that foreign companies do not fully understand the culture here and what it takes to get success going? Is this really true? And foreign companies do not have much chance of succeeding in China?
• EBay vs. TaoBao
• Yahoo vs. Sina
• NHN vs. QQ
• MSN vs. QQ
I had learned from a guru of marketing ( Mr. Richard Raju – Salem Power Station music chain in Malaysia ) when I was 17, he took me to a music store in a local mall where I grew up and ask me why do you think this music store after shifting into a bigger premise never took-off like before again? This was one mom-pop music store that I and my friends frequent a lot but since shifting to a bigger lot business went bad and we don’t frequent it that often anymore. My answer to Richard was – maybe it’s the bad “feng shui“ in this location. I had one of the most important lectures of my life that day!
“Marketing is about knowing your customers and their needs. In every business there is many ways to do the business and to get it to success whether it’s small or big success that you want.” Richard pointed out to me. He later acquired the store and change it brand to SALEM Power Station ( *Salem is the cigarette brand that sponsored Richard every cent from acquisition to complete renovations ). The store had a make-shift look and feel and it move from being a mom-pop music store to becoming a hip music joint with cafes both indoor and outdoor for young teens to hang-out in blasting music, celebrities visits to every chain and the main place to buy concert tickets sponsored by Salem. Business was so good Salem became the No. one music chain store in Malaysia.
Today like most music store it had fallen prey to the digital age! And Richard fail to move its brand online like it should have!
*NEXT Blog – The formula we used in China to create a success from World of Warcraft.

CEO Of Myspace China Resigns

2008-09-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

LUO Chuan, CEO of Myspace China, ex-CEO of MSN China - (rumors) out today is that Luo has resigned from Myspace China and will join a Beijing-based online video media company Netmovie. Rumors says that Myspace.com is not happy with Luo’s spending too much time on driving "his" Myspace.cn, and they think Luo should have contributed more to the localization of Myspace.com. Rumors had that Luo wants to run the Myspace on his own way (on Myspace.cn), but his boss believe Myspace China should be a Chinese version of Myspace.com and follow its global strategy. If this is true that will also means that Myspace China declaration of operating it as an independent and fully localized team in China and unlike other foreign Internet companies will be gone.

From my past experience in the Chinese market it is really hard for foreign companies to accept a totally independent operations in China that's 100% localized and this is also the reason why many had failed in China.

Cyworld Goes 3D with Mini Life ( Beta )

2008-09-11T03:10:00.000-07:00

I did a blog on Cyworld sometime last year.
This is one of the most successful 2D static GIF / Flash base virtual world from Korea owned by SK Telecom. Cyworld is very much like China QQ ( QZONE ), iPART and 51.com also have similar features on their social network game play which is generating revenues via virtual items sales.

Today Cyworld launched a 3D virtual world connecting to their already successful static 2D world. It comes as no surprize to me that Cyworld needs to move into the 3D virtual world space for this is where the future lies. The 2D version of Mini Homepages and Mini Rooms has attracted about 25 million users. In Seoul, many users and locals ( *restaurants ) proudly display their Cyworld URL on the store glass doors. The social network has recently seen some decline, though, and Cyworld are hoping that the 3D switch and other services might serve as a booster.

As 3D more interactive virtual worlds becomes more popular the growth of static 2D will start to feel the need to shift towards the trend. We shall see in China probably in the coming near future current leader of the 2D static worlds such as the mentioned QZONE, iPART and 51 moving this way as well. This year international wise, we saw WeeWorld and Meez evolve from avatar services with social networks into full virtual worlds.

You can watch their trailer on YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEup7KYcO5Y&eurl= and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_hF8RJ5mEo&feature=related

Eventually we all cant ignore virtual worlds as it will be a part of our everyday life just like email when internet started. We just havent noticed it as yet !

GARTNER - 80% of active internet users will be in virtual worlds

2008-09-11T01:57:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--By the end of 2011, 80 percent of active Internet users (and Fortune 500 enterprises) will have a “second life,” but not necessarily in Second Life, according to Gartner, Inc.

Gartner’s advice to enterprise clients is that this is a trend that they should investigate and experiment with, but limit substantial financial investments until the environments stabilize and mature.

“The collaborative and community-related aspects of these environments will dominate in the future, and significant transaction-based commercial opportunities will be limited to niche areas, which have yet to be clearly identified,” said Steve Prentice, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “However, the majority of active Internet users and major enterprises will find value in participating in this area in the coming years.”

Meaningful corporate use of public virtual worlds/platforms will lag considerably behind individual consumer use as enterprises struggle to develop appropriate and relevant business models. As enterprise try to define their role in the virtual world, Gartner has identified five laws for companies participating in the virtual world. They include:

First Law: Virtual worlds are not games, but neither are they a parallel universe (yet). The initial reaction of many business leaders when faced with virtual worlds is to dismiss them as a mere “game” of no benefit to the enterprise and something to be banned for wasting compute resources and time. Many of those that see beyond the gaming elements immediately veer toward questions such as “How do we exploit this as a sales channel?” This reaction is equally incorrect and potentially even more damaging to the enterprise. “Growth in virtual worlds is significant but lower than it appears; the overall population of non-game virtual worlds is still small compared to massively multi-user online games (MMOGs) and the totality of community-oriented and niche-targeted environments,” Mr. Prentice said.

Second Law: Behind every avatar is a real person. Gartner said people can’t be fooled by the fantasy elements in the virtual world. There are unwritten rules and expectations for behavior and culture are developing. Enterprise users must consider their corporate reputations.

Third Law: Be relevant and add value. Many commercial companies have established a virtual world presence, but none have converted it into an effective, profitable sales channel. There has been criticism of early corporate entries into the virtual world, Second Life, related to the showrooms usually being empty and lacking atmosphere. While there have been a limited number of individuals who have earned more than $5,000 per year from their virtual world businesses, most corporations will see minimal revenue gains in the market at this time. “Do not expect to undertake profitable commercial activities inside most virtual worlds in the next three years,” Mr. Prentice said.

Fourth Law: Understand and contain the downside. Enterprises face serious questions, such as “Could activities in the virtual world undermine or influence my organization/brand in the real world?” With significant portions of the virtual economy based on adult oriented activities, questions of appropriate behavior and ethics also arrive. In-world behavior can be a problem in public areas; annoying interruptions can range from unintentional arrivals and erratic behavior from new residents whose avatar control is still suspect to misdemeanors such as graffiti, to more-concerted protest activities designed to disrupt.

Fifth Law: This is a long haul. Today’s multiplicity of virtual environments has developed through the convergence of social networking, simulation and online gaming. There are many new entrants, whose stability and scalability are not yet established. There is significant probability that, over time, market pressures will lead to a merging of current virtual worlds into a smaller number of open-sourced environments that support the free transfer of assets and avatars from one to another with the use of a single, universal client.

Gartner recommends that enterprises should experiment with virtual worlds, but not plan massive projects, and look for community benefits rather than commerce. “Find enthusiasts within your enterprise and support them. Understand the implications for access to open virtual platforms from within the enterprise and the risks involved,” Mr. Prentice said. “Despite the concerns within companies, don’t ignore this trend. They will have a significant impact on your enterprise during the next five years.”

The business of Virtual Worlds

2008-09-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

What and where can we apply a virtual world to ? With so many companies and brands rushing into virtual worlds, what are the areas or segment we can define virtual worlds ? Basically from my observation in the market we can separate virtual worlds into several different area / segment or application.

Enterprise Virtual World
This is where most of the existing 3D worlds are heading, with INTEL supporting hard behind it heals. Companies are now using virtual worlds to strengthen their communication externally with customers and business partners and internally with employees. Virtual meetings will be a thing to come …

The Kids Virtual World
Kids are dominating the virtual world landscape with more than 60 youth-oriented worlds currently available and over 40 more coming online in short order. Club Penguin, NeoPets, Barbie Girls, Disney Fairies are all key brands at the moment. But new comer such as Potropica (*14 million registered users under the radar) is making waves too.

Teens and youth Virtual World
While the kids world is making headlines in 2008 everywhere, we should not forget the teens sector where GaiaOnline dominates today. In the coming months we will be looking more new entry players moving on to the teens segment incorporating casual games as a key element to engage the users.

Entertainment Virtual Worlds
From Hollywood to TV series and animations linking a virtual world can allow IP and brands to extend their base beyond just the 30 / 60 minutes show. Virtual Worlds have the ability to bring creators together with passionate fans in an environment that supports rich storytelling and engagement on a level impossible with other forms of entertainment media.

eLearning Virtual Worlds
Educational virtual world is no longer an idea or concept, several universities worldwide is already adopting virtual world on trial for eLearning. As the adoption of Web 2.0 and Web 3D technologies accelerates, they will be packaged and configured to provide increased utility and value. For instance, its already evident that the intersection of Virtual Social Worlds and User-Generated Media is transforming E-learning.

RobotGalaxy Gets $5M+ to Build Kids Virtual World

2008-09-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

Toys company is moving into the virtual world space very quickly. The potential to make your buyers a long term fan via virtual world will bring about significant value for the long term and probable new revenue streams.

RobotGalaxy announced today that it had raised over $5 million in private placement to fund expansion of its build-your-own robot brand into a kids virtual world. RobotGalaxy seems like a Build-a-Bear Workshop for robots targeted at boys, letting users build and program their own 'bots from an array of existing parts. It only has two stores now, in malls in the Northeast, but opened them with the simultaneous launch of a comic book and online store with casual games. The company plans to use the new money to develop its Online Galaxy virtual world.

The company is headed up by Oliver Mitchell and Ken Pilot, former President of Gap Brand, with a team made up of executives from Build-a-Bear, Mattel and Starz Entertainment.

Online Galaxy will connect with users' custom robots through a new new “Supersonic Fuel Cell” and USB cable, bringing users to the Space Station where they can go on missions and battle other users. The world is targeted for a launch this fall.

“Over the past two years we’ve established a model based on three pillars: retail, entertainment, and online. As we add technology to our product, we will continue to invest in our retail operations as we develop our online Galaxy and build upon our comic book series,” Ken Pilot, Chief Galaxy Officer, said in a statement.

One billion virtual worlds users by 2017

2008-09-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

Strategy Analytics predicts one billion virtual worlds users by 2017

Strategy Analytics has released a report claiming that by 2017, there will be nearly one billion virtual world registrants, with 22% of global broadband users having signed up for one or more virtual worlds. What's more, the company claims that 27% of these registrants will become active users (in other words, there'll actually be around 270 million active virtual worlds users by 2017, which is less headline-worthy than a billion, but still pretty impressive).

With an active addressable base of 270 million people by 2017 shows why brands and advertisers are getting so interested in virtual worlds, and why large media firms (particularly those with young customers) are piling investment into the sector. And it’s a good prediction to wave at venture capitalists if you’re a virtual world startup looking for funding, of course!

The report is available from Strategy Analytics now.

China Telecom to release Virtual Community

2008-09-10T08:40:00.001-07:00

Many industry experts say that it is very hard to launch virtual world in China for there isn’t a single truly success case as yet till date ! Today I would like to highlight yet another new virtual world that had jumped on to the Chinese market but this time in partnership with giant heavy weight China Telecom.

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA, 728.HK) has partnered with Beijing-based Shenzhou Hengji Network, a subsidiary of software technology provider EnReach Technology, to jointly release a 3D virtual community named "ChinaQ". Shenzhou Hengji Network has begun to issue 200 accounts via email for the community's closed beta testing, scheduled to begin on September 22, and plans to reward testers with free land in the community. China Telecom entered the partnership on August 28.

China mobile subscribers top 608 million

2008-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Official figures from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show 608 million users in China at the end of July. This makes 45.6% of the Chinese population now owns a mobile phone. This is an average growth rate of 8.7 million per month. Over 290 million mobile phone users are in the more developed Eastern region of China. In July, 57.76 billion text messages were sent in China, an average of 3.08 messages per phone number per day.

Investment in Virtual Worlds

2008-08-31T04:11:00.000-07:00

2007

Research by Virtual Worlds Management reveals 33 Companies Raise $196.8 Million,Two Companies Acquired for $810 Million. Making USD $1 billion dollars in 35 virtual worlds companies in the past 12 months, from October 2006 to October 2007.

2008

July 9, 2008 - Austin, Texas -- Virtual Worlds Management announced findings from a comprehensive study of accountable transactions showing that venture capital and media firms have invested more than $161 million dollars in 16 virtual worlds-related companies during the second quarter of 2008, not including two companies that were acquired for unknown amounts. This compares with $184 million dollars in 23 virtual worlds related companies during the first quarter of 2008. That puts the total amount invested in the first 6 months of 2008 at $345 million. The youth market is heating up, and the investments show the same theme: 8 investments were made in youth-oriented virtual worlds for a total of over $16 million. Mirror Worlds and mixed realities also saw a significant, though more concentrated, interest with three investments totaling over $15 million.

China 3G may goes China Unicom way

2008-08-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

China Mobile the country largest mobile operator of the GSM network is testing the local 3G TD-SCDMA, China Unicom is preparing to challenge China Mobile dominance position for the future new mobile users on the 3G space. Unicom announced the target after it said it would invest up to RMB100 billion ($16 billion) in the next two years to upgrade its network, with most of the money spent on the development of 3G and hope to win atleast a third of the future users.

Unicom is merging with fixed line operator China Netcom as part of Beijing’s state-orchestrated plan to reorganise the telecoms sector into three operators — each with wireless and fixed line services. As part of the shake-up, China Telecom, currently the country’s biggest fixed-line operator, is taking over Unicom’s CDMA mobile business. Meanwhile, Unicom will continue to operate a bigger and more profitable GSM network.

Unicom’s target to grab a third of the 3G market can be achievable because the company is expected to build its services on the widely-used and commercially-proven W-CDMA standard. Mobile users takes their mobile phones more than just a must have utility but also as a fashion statement of themselves, the readily availability of the constant ever increasing models for W-CDMA will be a winning factor. This case can be seen - GSM vs. CDMA in China where better technology or lower price is not the most final deciding factor.

China Mobile started commercial trials of TD-SCDMA in eight cities in April, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenyang. China Mobile have also received approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to the network for national coverage. However there were no time frame for when China Mobile would start the expansion.

Virtual worlds moving mainstream

2008-08-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

In my last post I reported about Nortel innovating their very own virtual world for enterprise communication and that virtual worlds is indeed moving mainstream very soon. Today I saw a report by - Technology Intellegence Group citing that virtual worlds is moving up mainstream within 2008-2009 in their Virtual World Industry Outlook 2008-2009 report.

I do agree that there is a trend towards virtual worlds becoming a feature, rather than something distinct from the rest of the internet: ‘Virtual worlds [ now ] assimilate other Internet functions such as social networking and voice communication, and are assimilated themselves into other platforms as a feature of a website or a browser convention, making the Internet more graphically intuitive, entertaining, and collaborative.’ It is this which is virtual worlds’ best hope for reaching the mainstream, by becoming something which augments the online experience rather than existing in parallel ( *Virtual Economic Forum ). As we can see it virtual worlds have many usage for its existence and this is just a trend coming.

In China and abroad iLEMON is moving towards this trend as well by providing of platform as a readily interactive feature and assets to enhance virtual communications to existing portals, games site, social networking sites and ...

In summary, the virtual world industry is emerging from primarily boutique and experimental uses to the mainstream. Over the next year we will see further vendor innovation in this space with new market entrants and much more innovative way of using the technology, 2008-2009 should see considerably greater growth in the industry than years past.

Nortel Enterprise Virtual World

2008-08-25T03:34:00.000-07:00

Telecoms technology company Nortel has announced that it is developing a 3D virtual world communication tool for enterprise. Named web.alive ( codenamed Project Chainsaw ), the tool is squarely aimed at the business market, and is being pitched as a way to fix the current staple of business communication, the conference call.

For more information you can view their video here on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiYi3iEBJNM

Virtual worlds usage is getting wider and will go mainstream very soon !

Marketing spending on Virtual Worlds increasing

2008-08-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

Marketing spending on Virtual Worlds increasing

KZERO Research have just released a data showing increase of brands and companies participation across a range of virtual worlds. There is a rise in companies allocating marketing budgets into the virtual worlds space primarily from brands who have been watching the space for a while and deciding now’s (or pretty soon) the time to engage. The research also gathered good insight info for every specific people in this industry citing – that brands are now even participating in the “coming soon” virtual worlds that had yet to be launched ( Brands signed up to be present at launch ). This is indeed interesting for new operators – which may have a slight upper hand if their proposition is tightly focused into a particular interest group/theme or demographic.

In the kids, tween and early teens space, there’s been 49 marketing campaigns in virtual worlds. Whyville, Habbo and Stardoll have seen the lions’ share of activity with 9, 8 and 8 campaigns respectively. The longer a world has been active the more likely they are to have had marketing campaigns take place in them. This is true to a degree but worlds like Frenzoo (not launched yet), WeeWorld (only recently a virtual world) and Vizwoz are bucking this trend by bringing brands in at early stages of their development.

For late teen and older virtual worlds, there been 31 marketing initiatives to date (including pending launch worlds such as Home and Football Superstars). Most successful to date in terms of bringing brands in is There with nine campaigns. vSide and vMTV are tied in second place with six campaigns.

As with the younger worlds, this space is hotting up and an increase in brand activity is anticipated over the next few months. We’re also starting to see brands deploy marketing into multiple worlds. Toyota has been the pioneer of this practice. Companies like Sears and Puma (emerging) are now adopting similar strategies. This is good if;

a) The company wants the widest reach possible within a targeted age range - a single message campaign across multiple worlds.

b) The company has target markets in different demographic groups- different campaigns in different worlds.

Dragonfly Diary 1 - China Big Promise

2008-08-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

1. China Big Promise

( DragonFly Diary is about what I had encounter in Life in China and from the day I was trained to be a marketing professional in the various industry that I worked. Its also about my career and how I became what I m today )

Like every other foreigner that first arrived in Shanghai for business or work we were splashed with wisdom and vision of the great success and riches that this land could provide to us foreigners whom had the extra knowledge and know-how that we had took along with us. Many began to spend more daily for every little thing to live that expat life of splendor! Nice restaurant, extra mugs of beers and lots more entertainment thinking that tomorrows or in the coming near future success is just around the very corner awaiting us.

I have learned like almost every expats in China the same road in my first year taking the same road on sesame lane. I think I m lucky to see the light of China in my second year as looking back today I see many of my friends and co-partners only saw light after 3 or 6 years being in China. Their failures were blamed on many other issues rather than knowing what’s really wrong?

8 and a half years in China and only less than a month I had spend back home in Malaysia. I see that there is a need for us foreigners to fully understand how the Chinese mind works and the mechanics of how to make it ticks? There is no books or reports that you can buy today to tell you this but to really experiment and experience it yourself here in China to really understand the Chinese.

My industry lies in the online games and internet market, after achieving success masterminding the control of more than 85% of Malaysia cyber cafes and imparting my know-how to assist Asia Media Development Group in Philippines to control more than 55% of the cyber cafes in Manila it doesn’t make me the pc games expert at all in China. It’s an entirely new market and battle grounds here! I had to learn everything from ground zero all over again.

Next Wave of Outsource Digital Studio's in China

2008-05-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

Next Wave of Outsource Digital Studio's in China

Google CEO - Eric Schmidt said "We will invest more talent pool in Beijing over the next few years as some of our best engineers come from China".

Hulu.com the $100 million video-streaming venture from News Corp. and NBC, has its headquarters in Hollywood and engineers in Beijing.

Disney acquire Enorbus for $38 million, a wireless and mobile games development studio in Beijing.

Disney ( April 8th 2008 ) - Chinese video game developer Gamestar is being acquired by Disney Interactive Studios in a deal whose terms have not been disclosed but in the rumoured to be in the range of between $100 to 150 million.

So what really do the above caption tell us all in China ? I was just talking with my ex-partner and good friend whom operates one of Shanghai most prominent casual games studio for the last 4 years. He just got funded 5 million recently (series B or was it series A as his initial 1st round was from angels) after trying for 2 years. Times is changing he mentioned to me, things is getting better and prices of work is rising as internationally studios and publishers is recognizing China as the main and core producers of quality games and no longer as just cheap labour.

"My price per job had just increase 35% and I m now making a good profit finally". My friend struggle for many years doing all types of OEM games work ranging from graphics to games for many big brands. It was not until he specialized in casual games did he make his huge debut today. He runs the studio with more than 380 people today producing casual games for many of the big names in Silicon Valley and Europe. And a new venture developing mobile games for the local market.

Eventually as we see it, many huge games studio and publishers will be seeking local cooperation and partnership in China ... if not it's already happening now itself ! I know that *ABC (large US publisher) is currently in China looking for development partner to convert their games into MMOGs. The trend is also happening in Korea but China have its advantage not just from cost perspective but also when the companies want a piece of the China lucrative games industry.

China is now home to world largest internet users and the largest in numbers of MMOG players. A modest success in China would also mean a huge success in any part of the world today !

Digital Companies Coming to China

2008-05-10T02:38:00.000-07:00

Digital Companies Coming to China

I remember the first time I set foot in Guangzhou, China in 1994. Back then I was in the specility advertising business and being in China or sourcing directly in China was itself a business strategy. I was successful as I was able to source products and produce products cheaper than my competitors in Malaysia. The benefits was significant - cheaper manufacturing. Back then in China there was also a market for wealthy Chinese consumers whom is willing to pay more for high-end foreign products.

Times have certainly changed today.
To succeed in China you need more than just being in China. You need nothing short of world class execution and a deep understanding of China CHINA. Competition is huge today in China in every business and every industry but the potential for mammoth success still presents itself to the unique people and company whom understands the market.

The foreign digital companies that failed.
EBay vs Taobao and Google vs Baidu are just 2 examples of giant western companies coming to China without a deep understanding of the market. Todays games industry is not dominated by foreign games but local Chinese games is fast on the race track. 2008 presents Giant Interactive and Perfect World IPO, 2 local games developer and operator whom had followed the foot-steps of Netease ( 163 ).

Be BIG or be eaten.
Many companies in China set their sights too low or too conservative, astronomical growth rates and numbers are not only possible but very necessary sometimes to maintain market share and survive in the mid and long term. Many firms underestimates the opportunities China presents, while some overestimate the market. Foreign digital companies cant expect to simply "take an existing product from the West and expect it to compete and succeed" in China. The Chinese market is different and varied with almost no market data available for you to really study and grab. To be successful here, you'll need to thoroughly understand what is China and it's consumers ( netizens ). I had always believe in the combination of "global expertise and local understanding = success". That's why many successful local companies upon being successful employs better management and practise better expertise.

The Chinese Virtual Worlds

2008-05-10T02:33:00.000-07:00

The Chinese Virtual Worlds

The recent report by Business Times on 3 Chinese Second Life virtual world developer and operator - HiPiHi, NovoKing, and UOneNet citing them as almost empty worlds just as we had predicted to many before. Second Life itself is not doing that well either in getting users to roam the world. But we can see that in Second Life and today in HiPiHi is that big brands are willing to participates in trying and doing something in these virtual worlds for it brings about news and publicity as almost every brand today is looking at moving into the digital realm. Brands like Vidal Sassoon and Coke cant participate in-game into MMOG's simply because many of these MMOG's storyline doesnt fit the brands and/or the brands just doesnt fit the MMOG's.

These were the key important factors in the failure to lure users :

1. Entry Barrier - downloadable virtual worlds set an entry barrier to users.
*This is especially true in the Chinese market where cyber cafes play an important role in promoting any MMOG's where a client download is required. Many cafes refreshed their system and woola your world is gone too !

2. Events and Activities
All these 3D virtual worlds seems to not know that building events and activities is utmost important in creating a lively world. You dont build a complex and expect people to come and do things there, even in real life we need to create activities / events to lure the crowds in. Habbo had been the most successful virtual world company ever in this area *atleast for kids and teens.

3. 3D Graphics Challenges
Can everyone learn to use these 3D tools easily ? 3D graphics improved very fast and these worlds are immediately compared with existing MMOG's which have much better 3D graphics and etc.

Alternative Use of 3D Virtual Worlds
Many are seeking alternative use of these 3D worlds ranging from virtual training / meetings to B2B and B2C not just in China but worldwide. Forrester reports that 3D worlds will be as important to the internet is to our daily life in 5 to 10 years from today. This is true when higher technology is available, till then 3D worlds will find its niche' of survival while 2D and 2.5D web-base virtual worlds will dominate the virtual world scene for the next 3 to 5 years. Dont get me wrong tho' as there is good money in being niche' too !

The iLEMON Virtual World
We also believe in the true magic of branding for virtual worlds. In the beginning where there isnt any competition almost anyone can come up with a virtual and it just sells. Lets take Mobile Games as a good example - no one knows what games is good as there were no branding. But today branded games play an important role on the mobile. Pirates of the Caribbean virtual world by Disney and Barbie Girl virtual world by Barbie turns success almost overnight. Barbie Girl recorded almost 3 million register users in 3 months, this show the power of brands for virtual worlds to come.

iLEMON do not produces our own virtual world but we used a very unique strategy we call - Custom Made Virtual Worlds, in short we simply produces custom virtual worlds for clients and brands worldwide. Some of them are big brands and certainly 1 out of 10 will become a winner and we shall reap the ends days rewards.

iLEMON produces a simply yet effective 2D 2.5D and 3D web-base virtual world platform thats highly adapable.
We had always mention the caption "ZERO ENTRY BARRIER" to everyone. At iLEMON we give you - High Quality Virtual Worlds, Developed in Fastest Time and Cost The Cheapest Price. Like mom always say ... there is a "catch" ... we need an on running 'Revenue Share'. Again virtual worlds are more delicate then MMOG's as it requires constant upgrade of tech and establishing new areas and virtual items monthly, so our partnership are usually mid and long term with our clients.

Our business model ... A Cross between an OEM Game Developer and a Game Publisher. For we get both licensing / development fee + a revenue share !

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44 Million People in China Use Cell Phones to Access the Internet

2007-09-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

44 Million People in China Use Cell Phones to Access the Internet

According to the 20th Statistical Report on China's Internet Development published by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), there were 162 million netizens as at the end of June 2007, with 122 million of them using broadband. The number of people using cell phones to access the Internet soared to 44.3 million, up 260% from last year. In other words, one in every four cell phone users uses his or her mobile phone to go online.

China's netizen population has been growing at a rate of some 100 persons per minute on average in the past six months. The increase during this six-month period was approaching that for the whole of last year. The rate of Internet penetration also reached 12.3%. There were 9.18 million domestic domain names. The number of registered CN domain names increased substantially to 6.15 million, further enhancing the position of mainstream domain names in China.

The report also shows that there were 67.1 million Internet-enabled computers in the country, an increase of 7.7 million over the figure at the end of 2006. Thanks to the downward adjustment of cell phone Internet connection fees, using handheld devices to access the Internet is becoming increasingly common. So far, 27.3% of cell phone users use their phones to surf the net. According to the report, 55.64 million netizens use wireless device to access the Internet. Wireless access has been defined as the use of cell phones or notebooks as Internet connection terminals.

Cosmetics moving online to push product features

2007-09-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cosmetics moving online to push product features
Leading international brand L'Oréal has recently conducted a series of marketing campaigns including giving away free samples of its new skincare products and launching a website with the Chinese domain name "膚老化之謎.CN" (meaning "mystery of ageing skin"). The site allows Mainland consumers to log on and obtain detailed information on its products in the Chinese language.

In addition to L'Oréal, other cosmetics giants such as Unilever, Shiseido and Chanel have also lost no time in registering Chinese domain names for their local websites targeting Mainland customers.

According to industry experts, leading international cosmetics brands are exploring the best media channels for their local promotions. Online marketing is definitely going to make up a significant part.

As market competition gets steeper every day, cosmetics companies have found it increasingly difficult to communicate the unique features of their products in detail to consumers. Conventional advertising channels offer limited exposure, they believe.

The launch of the L'Oréal Chinese domain name website has triggered a new trend of online brand promotion that can effectively resolve the communication bottleneck under conventional marketing.

Studies have found that cosmetics giants have all introduced websites for their brands under Chinese domain names for some time. As well as those mentioned, companies include La Roche-Posay and Aupres.

Social Networking is the Next BIG Thing on the Net ( PART ONE )

2007-08-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

Social Networking is the Next BIG Thing on the Net ( PART ONE )

Watch the headlines weekly on FaceBook and the growth percentage of Social Networking sites worldwide and you will see the coming of the NEXT BIG Thing on the internet space. Every week we get invited to join an SNS society by friends or total strangers. SNS portals represents the New Age of yesterday's clubs / societies /associations and groups where people come together for a specific purpose / purposes and interest.

Look at the current Headlines ;
GOOGLE invest in China Social Networking site Tianya.cn
CLASSMATES filed to go public and to raise $125 million with a revenue of $42 million.
And a host of investment going to SNS companies in China and abroad.
The key answer ... It's Simply Addictive ... Yes ! Social Networking had proven to be extremely addictive. In Australia - if just 1 person / per company spends an hour a day on FaceBook instead of work, it would cost the Australian economy AUS$5 billion in lost productivity (*Australian Security Firm SurfControl).

After emails and IM comes ... Social Networking and Virtual Worlds as the next most time spend item by netizens these days. Its about me, you, my friends, our friends and people / new people we are associated with ... making a new unlimited digital society itself.

There is DANGER in investing in FAD cited by GRED CULLEN from Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Just like any 'Youth Trend' or FAD, the allure of FaceBook and MySpace will fade over time till the next HIP brand or name comes along. This has been proven countless times in history such as the case of Friendster replaced by MySpace. As quickly they flock to one trendy internet site, they can just as quickly move on to another, with no advance warning (*Wharton faculty and Internet analysts). Wharton professor David Bell - the long term success of these sites will depend on their ability to retain the interest of their members. These things can have
exponential growth, then, if another deemed cooler and more hip community shows up that have better functionality in some way, there can be mass migration. The danger is also in facts that none are making/racking in HUGE revenue streams apart from the top 2 or 3 players.

On 'Better Functionality' phrase we can note that FaceBook opens-up filled this strategy perfectly, where now there are hundreds of FaceBook Widgets to add and play. In China 51.com did the same by offering almost everything users wants/needs under one roof from videos to music and soon casual games are in the pipe-line.
All these to retain old users and get new ones along the way ...

Anyone can become Popular While BeBo, MySpace and Facebook currently rule the popular crowd on the Internet social scene, the forces that make a hot site are difficult to quantify; any site could become the next outcast. There is no reason to believe that these, or future ones that are emerging on the radar screen, will be any different. No one can come up with a genuine reason why they have become so popular ....

NICHE' Social Networking will be a Trend as according to many expert analysts. Success comes in many different variations certainly, including geographical dominance - IRC is the MySpace of Finland capturing almost the entire market share there and BeBo is the thing for UK and Ireland. QQ almost owns the IM market in China while 51.com has the most registered users for Chinese SNS sites. As we speak we are already seeing many new unique NICHE' SNS sites being created catering towards fulfilling end users / netizens needs. Just as if we are in the real world, we do have different clubs, associations and groups catering towards difference needs, cultures, wants, interest and objectives.The internet SNS will mimic exactly the same !

When FaceBook went mass ... it open an opportunity for Classmates immediately to be NICHE', another good example is IranianPersonals.com which have almost zero competition when it first started. Linkedin is a very good example of being NICHE' where their target audience and members is very specific and targeted. This is
true said many Social Networking experts at the recent SCNetwork conference "When you seek more professional or specific needs you will always wants to belongs to a more specific / specialized networks. You dont go to MySpace to ask for health related advice, you go to - DailyStrength.com".

NOTE of WARNING : Should you be seeking VC funding ... tho' being NICHE' is good, do remember that the NICHE' market you are aiming at must be BIG enough for the VC appetite otherwise you will need to wait till the arrival of a SOCIAL NETWORKING AGGREGATOR *someone or company whom will aggregate all the damn good NICHE' social networking sites under one roof (*it could be soon tho' ... MOP of China had been an active company in this area such as acquiring XiaoNei deemed as the FaceBook/Classmates of China).
Joe Chen MOP' founder is a veteran in China SNS industry when he started ChinaRen when Web 2.0 was not even a household name.

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QQ *China Twitter

2007-08-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

QQ *China Twitter - TaoTao Online

Many-many months ago me and my friend Alvin was talking about Twitter, how easy this technology is and how fast my tech guys could actually come up with a similar version for China. Within a month we see some people started to launch Twitter clone in China and then within the coming few months many more clones were launched as well !

Alvin main concerns were - "Where is the money ?" *same concerns as many Social Networking portals these days ... show me the money ?

Well we then said this is a damn and a hell of a good concept and idea BUT BUT BUT in China should one of the BIG BOYS suddenly takes this up and adopt it early enough then the window opportunity is gone for the small players. Time and money is needed to expand this concept in China.

Suddenly today we heard QQ 'Tencent' launch TaoTao their very own Twitter Clone. TaoTao have everything that's in Twitter so I m not going to go into details. With a massive user base like QQ *which is China No.1 communication tool, its hard not to believe TaoTao will be an instant success if ever this concept works in China.

Stay tune to see how will other Twitter clones competes with TaoTao ? What alternative strategy and methods they can use against a heavy weight ?

FaceBook : How to make REAL MONEY ?

2007-08-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

FaceBook : How to make REAL MONEY

Everyday we hear about FaceBook FaceBook FaceBook. Invitations comes in weekly some from people you know and some you dont even know inviting you to FaceBook. I had a friend whom called and sms me how great FaceBook was a month ago. FaceBook is great and it is a great Brand Name and a great product but is it making money ?

Advertising doesnt seems to be working for the Social Networks. Its also not working for YouTube as well as far as users generated contents is concern.

FaceBook started the super great idea of WIDGETS and had MySpace and Google chasing and jumping in from behind. Great Job MARK Z !

But if only you had not make it entirely FREE for developers ...
Imagine by just charging USD 100 / per widget to be on FaceBook = ten's of millions to be collected by FaceBook. And I dont see why each developer wont pay USD 100 / per widget to get onboard. Since FaceBook kick-off as FREE the rest had to follow.

Who know's probably one day FaceBook would come up with a means to charge its developers as this is a damn fine revenue stream.

Social Networking Friends & Partners

2007-08-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Social Networking Friends & Partners

Well its not because of the popularity of YouTube that makes VIDEO a must have for all social networking portals. I recall back in early 2006 when I was consulting Habbohotel in China, I told them that VIDEO is a must have feature in their Avatar Community. Get it in there now when no one is doing it ! Be the first avatar community to have a video feature. Well back then ... if we had apply it to social networking as well it will be great !!!

51 did it with video mixed with a robust social networking portal almost giving their users everything they need under 1 roof (*almost all except a strong revenue model but then with its current number of registered users passing 50 million ... its on its way to becoming BIG TIME and Prime Time). BeBo annouced the addition of Video and KateModern to their portal ... innovative idea of creating its own storyline, getting the users involved and IP Rights that is unique. No wonder BeBo is one of the strongest SN site in UK and Europe.
*Raymond Cheung and people at CITIC MEDIA / OPTISP COMM *DREAMZ division - isnt this part of our little project as well which did not take-off ?

Video gives a sense that there is real people behind those profiles and it enhances the Web 2.0 appeals certainly. Plus it helps your users to spend more time online at your website watching these videos ... thus increasing the stay time !!! Like TV nothing communicates much better than audio visual + user generated interactions in the Gen Y era !

Mobile Email

2007-07-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Mobile Email

The players of the mobile email branch have been consolidating during the past years. New business models and solutions have emerged.

Research agency Gartner estimates that about 20.5 per cent of telco revenues will come from data by 2008. The current industry estimates are 10 per cent thanks to the success of SMS, ringtones and music: With its proven popularity on the desktop, email can become the additional revenue earner, as already has happened in South Korea and Japan. Additionally, the mobile enterprise email can offer vast opportunities to the players on the market.

A survey conducted by AOL shows that checking email on the portable devices has doubled since 2004. Americans who carry a mobile email device have some really strange addictions:

59% are checking email in bed
53% in the bathroom
37% are checking email while they drive.
The survey reveals that 43% of email users check their email first thing in the morning, and 40% have checked their email in the middle of the night. An average email user checks mail about five times a day. Nearly 83% of Americans check email while on vacation. According to The Radicati Group, a consulting and research firm based in Palo Alto, Calif., globally the wireless E-mail Market, which is forecast to grow from $6 billion in 2007 to nearly $25 billion in 2011.

Entertainment tops China's Net users list

2007-07-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Entertainment tops China's Net users list *People's Daily

Here's some very interesting figures and facts for everyone looking towards China ;
China is quickly catching up with the US in terms of number of people accessing the Internet. According to a report released by China Internet Network Information (CNNIC) yesterday, China's Internet users totaled 162 million in the first six months of this year. The country reported 137 million users last year. The rapid growth could be translated into almost 100 new users per minute in the past six months.

The rapid growth could be translated into almost 100 new users per minute in the past six months. At this rate of increase, China is expected to overtake the United States, the world's leader, by the end of next year. The US had 211 million Internet users at the end of last month.

Most of the country's Internet users go online to chat or seek entertainment rather than look for jobs or conduct business. Although the number of China's Internet users has been on the rise since 1994, when first introduced to the country, the research showed most users were interested in chat rooms and entertainment, and not job searches, education, and e-banking.

About 75 percent read online news and used search engines for information.
More than 60 percent regarded online music and videos as an important source of entertainment.
Only 21 percent used e-banking services, and 3.9 percent booked tickets through the Internet.

Wang Enhai, an official with CNNIC, and an author of the report, said the phenomenon is due to China's Internet infancy and the fact most users were young people. "China's Internet market is just emerging and there are still a lot of things to be done before a mature online business environment can be established," Wang said.

According to CNNIC, the number of China's Internet users under 24 years old was 58 million, about 35.8 percent of the country's total Internet population. This segment of the population, comprising mostly students, spends a lot of time playing online games, listening to music and watching videos.

WEB 2.0 is Officially Mainstream

2007-07-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

WEB 2.0 is Officially Mainstream

The amount of user content available on the web is staggering. Wikipedia has surpassed five million entries. In 2006, YouTube announced that it had served over 100 million video clips per day. With such an explosion of user-generated entries, photos and videos proliferating on the web, it appears that Web 2.0 is officially mainstream.

The new trend websites encourage user participation through social networking and content generation.

Chinese Online Games will make it Worldwide

2007-07-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

Chinese Online Games will make it Worldwide

Its about time ... all the Chinese Games studio and publishers start thinking about exports certainly. One of the earliest companies that went this way was - NetDragon *the people behind 17173 before it was acquired by SoHu. The potential is unlimited given the lower cost of production and the highly skilled graphics people in China.

Dont forget Casual Games (*the Chinese style) which I certainly think will have a BIG IMPACT in US and Europe certainly. I had this discussion with a friend of mine whom owns a studio creating casual games for big brands like Real Networks 2 years back, I told him Chinese style casual gaming is very unique and have its special SUCCESS elements in it. True enough today ... if you look at how all the hype about IN-GAME ADVERTISING is growing ... Chinese Casual Games formula is best suited for these In-Game Ads to work. Google have a special division now dedicated towards studying how their AD-SENSE could work in Casual Games. Well GOOGLE have a look at how the Chinese Casual Games work and you would see the formula immediately.

Well many Chinese games companies is already making waves outside of China as the competition heat here is becoming more intense. Perfect World signed a record of USD 2 million deal and Kingsoft "Swordsman" is in Vietnam (*Top MMO there now actually), Malaysia and Singapore. We will see more Chinese companies making waves across the oceans certainly and Chinese Casual Games formula will one day become the dominant casual games genre worldwide.

Google's Revenues beats Microsoft Windows

2007-07-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Google's Revenues beats Microsoft Windows

For the first time, Google's revenue edged out Microsoft's sales of Windows for PCs in quarterly results last week, underscoring the rise of the Internet as a focal point of the modern computing world. Overall, Microsoft as a company still posts considerably higher revenue than Google.

Just goes to show how internet and the online market is becoming more more so important ...

No Hope for Stand-alone Chinese Twitter

2007-07-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Sohu and Tencent both quietly started to test a Twitter-like feature in their portal recently.
Both Sohu and QQ Twitter is very simply but have all the functions of the US Twitter like getting in-touch with friends and etc ...

I remember about 10 months ago a friend of mine introduce Twitter to me and I was so excited at this service as it is so easy to use and may have a huge viral impact on users. But after 3 months of doing some research on how to develop a similar system and deep market thinking .. the final conclution is that again ... there is no entry barrier to do this business and revenue model is again a big question mark !

True enough 3 months later China is swamp with Twitter "me too" all over town.
Who will WIN ? Well in the short run ... it will certainly be the BIG BOYS - Sohu and QQ ! In the long run probably still the big boys in the Chinese Twitter war ! Sorry guys ... Twitter is just the wrong product to take to make a break in China, it belongs to the big boys now !

Where is China Crackle.com ?

2007-07-16T19:27:00.001-07:00

China Videos Co. have been fighting hard to stay alive and occupy the top spot. As I can see it the battle will be for who / whom will be able to stay alive while still provide the best uninterrupted services and managed to pay the high bandwidth bills. Its like 7-8 years ago during the battle of B2B portals in China, where the final 2 companies - Global Sources and Alibaba (*famed Jack Ma) managed to stay alive and while the rest just slowly fades away ...

Where is China Crackle.com ?
The film market industry in China for new producers *Jr producers or beginner producers is a super hard market to penetrate, so maybe the concept of what SONY did for the US site Crackle.com is suitable for China ? Afterall every video portal is looking at exclusive contents they can use to distinguish themselves from the pack and lure more users.

Another idea would be to make a China Crackle.com a China Super Talent Online Show ... but then again there is no entry barrier for competitors to follow. No matter we will see a Chinese version of Crackle.com soon in China certainly.

About Crackle.com ?
The new site aims to discover the top online video talent for their parent company, Sony, by offering producers the chance at fame and fortune. All the old Grouper accounts will be transferred to Crackle.
The new property will be a destination video site, consisting of 12 branded channels for different show concepts such as comedy, music news, and animation. The site consists of a channel guide and high quality 16 x 9 embeddable video player. Advertisers will be able to place 5 to 15 second ads between the videos and banner units on the site.Crackle will seed the channels 1000 of their own professionally produced videos. They will add the top user generated content following the channel’s show concept (comedy, music, etc.) as selected by the community and their team of editors.
In return, Crackle will reward the producers in varying degrees, ranging from revenue shares to mid seven figure production deals. All winners will recieve distribution across Sony’s network of hardware and film properties. Sony’s distribution network and 60 person advertising team really pushes this open studio model beyond anything other video startups can currently offer.
The site is launching with 4 of the 12 user supported channels. Judgment Day is a channel where the hosts will “judge” other people in the public and then find out if their judgments are right. Scrambler is a video music magazine for indie rock. High Wire is a virtual stage for stand up comedy. Wet Paint is an animation channel. They also have a channel devoted to America’s Firehouses, whose content will be paired with Sony’s “Rescue Me” series. Finally, Moving Targets is a sketch variety channel coming soon.Crackle will allow users to climb the “fame pyramid” as pictured on the right. Anyone will be able to submit a video to the channels, which will be put into a general video library. Viewers will vote for the best videos and during contest periods for special deals, the two top user selected videos will join the editors picks to be chosen for production deals.
The possible rewards for producers will vary based on the channel. All the chosen content will be distributed across their network of embedded video players, along with Sony PSP, Bravia, and Sony Vaio. Crackle claims an audience of 25 million unique visitors per month.
Quarterly winners of their Shorts and Moving Targets channels will get a pitch meeting with Columbia Pictures about deals produce more videos. Winners on the comedy channels will get the chance to perform on stage at the IMPROV comedy clubs in LA, NY, or Chicago and pitch their shorts to IMPROV Comedy Lab. Animation winners will get a cash prize, the chance to pitch the studio on a theatrical release of their short, and tickets to Siggraph 2008.
Their first example is Mr. Deity, a comedy show produced by Brian Dalton, which Grouper lured from YouTube with the promise of greater distribution. Since March, the show’s 10 episodes have received over 5.7 million views. Sony has picked up the show for an additional 10 episodes to premiere on their Moving Targets channel.

DELL adapting to China

2007-07-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

I remember I bought my first DELL machine back in 1997 in Hong Kong.

When-ever someone saw my DELL machine they would ask me ... you really did ordered it via the internet ! Yes and it came with a Hell of a good after sales service via the telephone where I learn alot more than just installing a PC with Red / Blue / Green connectors.

DELL annouced that they will move into RETAILING in China up against the more established PC retailers like HP, Lenova, TCL and a host of others local Chinese brands as well. This is probably due to the fact that DELL is getting the sales they much needed in China and is trailing far far behind HP.

Many said that this is a good move but I think otherwise ... as there is just so much space available today for retailing and the good space is all gone. China online B2C sales is increasing daily, sites like TaoBao is doing a hell of a good business. DELL probably needs a good educational / publicity / PR campaign to educate people about what's DELL all about which no one knows ???

Virtual World vs FREE2Play MMOG in China

2007-07-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Virtual Worlds vs FREE2Play MMOG in China

I was at a tea discussion just a week ago and we were discussing on the topic - Whats stopping Virtual World from success in China ? Some came up with different theories and facts to support why cant Virtual World succeed in China.

My theory lies in the - Culture and Heavy Competition coming from FREE2Play MMOG and Casual Games in China which is also a form of "Social Networking". But first lets look at some important elements of success for Virtual Worlds that cant be mimicked in China ;

Virtual Sex
Gambling

These are some of the crucial success factor of Second Life or atleast what's promoted it yesterday before what's becomes of it today ! These are the facts that cant and will never happen in China. Its not that China dont have its "porns" but the risk is high ...

FREE2Play MMOG offers much more "Fantasy" to the Chinese netizens which is the 1st note of success. Online games is already a big hit among Chinese netizens ... making it FREE + fueling it as a social networking platform as well makes it more irresistible.

However there is one (1) advantage of Virtual World over traditional WuLing/Fantasy FREE2Play MMOG is the fact : In-Game Advertising is very hard to be incorporated into the fantasy world without destroying the ideal world concept. Coke or Pepsi logo or even appearance in the world of Orgs or an ancient Chinese Kung Fu temple would looks stupid and not logical ! But this will not be the case for FREE 2Play Casual Games like FREESTYLE *basketball and AUDITION *dance, where In-Game Ads could play a major role and millions of the 1st phase of Ads money had been rolling in already so to speak ... FiFa Online and NBA Street will be making a debut soon in China (*FiFa Online will be operated by THE9) will see how these Big Branded Sports FREE2Play Casual Games fair in the world of In-Game Ads.

“Will virtual worlds take off in China?”
The answer is a resounding “Yes”, according to Sam Flemming of Shanghai-based CIC Data. Sam is quoted in an article in Asia Times Online as saying that 3D worlds will have a healthy future in China. The writer of the Asia Times article, Daniel Allen, has provided some cogent argument backing up this view. Firstly, the Cyworld China community is growing at a rate of 15,000 subscribers a day and has reached 3 million since its launch in June 2005. This points to an acceptance in China for a business model that includes the sale of virtual items. Secondly, the QQ instant messaging service has reached half a billion registered users - an audience that is primed for forming deeper connections via immersive environments.

So perhaps what will happen when the BIG Giant like QQ move into this Virtual World business by linking their huge online IM world to their virtual world ? I dont doubt such an act will happen eventually certainly ... as the case of Sina moving into eMagazines / SoHu moving into Videos ... But luckily "Social Networking in Avatar Communities & Virtual Worlds" is all about groupings with a purpose *get what I mean here ?

How Important is Avatar designs ?

2007-07-08T18:16:00.001-07:00

Lets take a look at the market today for good avatars ...

On Messengers ... lead by QQ but both Yahoo and MSN had followed with a different twist.
Virtual Worlds ... probably the most important element here today or soon to come.
MMOG ... lead by FREE2Play model, accessories and avatars is becoming very very important these days to the FREE2Play economy.

Avatars designs these days is not just an important feature in virtual worlds but also super important in MMORPG-work and its economy, developers and operators puts in a lot of detail into the avatars: they’re very well-drawn, and highly customizable–important when you want players to pay money for nice virtual threads. Localizing these avatars to suit the local taste is very essential as it is proven that it is hard to set 1 single type of avatars that is suitable for everyone with heavy localizing.

Just some food for thoughts ...
A company operating an MMOG using the FREE2Play model in China could easily earn $10 to $ 12 million in revenues within a quarter with a nett profits of $4 to $5 million dependingly. Sales includes items, accessories, clothings and ... So design the avatars that is able to braise this economy online.

MySpace China merge with MSN LIVE Spaces China

2007-07-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

MySpace China to merge with MSN LIVE Spaces China.

Luo Chuan had launch his next weapon for MySpace China by merging with MSN LIVE Spaces China. There had been a report in SINA citing that Luo Chuan denied the rumour of a merge, however this is not important ... as in this industry it happens occasionally ! The key part here is whether this will be the ultimate winning strategy for MySpace China ?

Will this makes MySpace special ?
Is this the much needed Killer Application that we have been waiting for ?
Or is there more cards up Luo Chuan sleeve ? No matter what it will be ... the important point shown here is that MySpace China is totally independant and autonomous from MySpace US which is a very important 1st step towards success in China. China needs its own strategy, tactics and positioning here. There is no ONE single Global Branding or strategy that works every where in the world. To be truely successful you need to localize and fill the needs of the locals netizens.

Mobile 3rd Screen Now

2007-07-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Its time to start preparing for marketing on the 3rd screen today !
Start to initiate a focus on the 2 billion + mobiles phones that is out in the market today and next year. The most simply technique we could do today ;

Set your website to enable Mobile Web or WAP !
Why start later when you can start educating your users you are on the mobile too.
Start aligning your campaigns to includes off-line, online and mobile.
*It can be as simple as just getting results announce on the mobile.

This new attitude and slow shift will eventual spells much success for your brands, products and services. We all is already living in a 3rd screen world and it will be here to stay ... and gets more exciting as time comes.

Mobile Media Ranking

2007-07-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Heidi Lehmann of Third Screen Media broke down the numbers for the four main types of mobile usage:

#1 is SMS - with 104 million unique monthly users

#2 is mobile Web - (WAP) with 37.7 million

#3 is downloadable apps — 7.8 million

#4 is video — 4.7 million

Though mobile video has caught the attention of many advertisers, its still the least most used mobile media feature, a testament most likely to the lack of technology. The message? If you’ve got a mobile campaign, make sure its layered so that it can reach your most basic user (via SMS) on up to users with 3G capable phones (mobile video).

Give MySpace China a Break !

2007-07-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

Give MySpace a Break !

News is out today that Wendi Deng will be MySpace China Chief of Strategy ...

There have been numerous news about whether MySpace China will survive ? And how only will it be able to make it in China ? I have also blog about it sometime back that the chances of MySpace succeeding in China is slim but considers these ...

NewsCorp's Rupert Murdoch - have deep pockets and with intense competition in the US now and news of MySpace being unhip, surely Asia, Japan and China if successful will bring them the much need boost !!! Deep pocket is very essential especially in China SNS space as no social networking sites is currently making money. This reminds me of the days at Alibaba many years ago ... where which portal / company could survive and still extend the best services to its customers ???
In this context ... MySpace will probably WIN hands-on !

Its a China operated portal - unlike all western Internet companies, Lu Chuan *MySpace China CEO have the experience from Microsoft on what's dead meat in China to know better what's not to do certainly. He will surely make MySpace China as Chinese to the local taste as possible.

MySpace is the one of the social networking sites that is making money currently *US site. But this would give the much needed support and unlimited worldwide brands promotions and campaigns could be done ... right to China.
*The potential to create Worldwide campaigns simultaneously is important to generate revenues and good for clients / brands etc ...

Social Networking in China ... in my personal opinion QQ is the strongest and will continue to hold this position for a long long time to come. 51.com have everything and is very robust but needs to have a 'Revenue Model' certainly ! Dating sites is popular in China as we can see people do meet their spouses online *even on MMOG !!! I have mentioned in my previous blog about NICHE* social networking in China ... now its the time to formulate niche markets and make them strong ... as who knows *which Big Boys may acquire you !!!

MySpace needs a Chinese Killer Application ... actually every SNS sites needs one !
Apart from killer application you also need a sure "Revenue Model" these days ... show me the money is one VC used to tell me ! So what's maybe MySpace killer application be ? Or positioning be in China that will capture the numbers ?

Playboy Opening Mansion in China

2007-06-28T02:57:00.000-07:00

Playboy Opening Mansion In China

PLAYBOY IS OPENING A MANSION in Macao, China's Studio City, a leisure resort property.
The Playboy-inspired destination, Playboy Mansion Macao, is a 40,000-square-foot entertainment destination with nightlife and entertainment options, dining, specialty retail elements and a Hugh M. Hefner Villa, which will be a part of the Macao Studio City complex that broke ground earlier this year.

It is expected to open in late 2009. The Playboy Mansion Macao will offer gaming and a version of the Playboy grotto, famed venue for 70's-era romps.
The new venue follows the Playboy Club Casino at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas which opened in October. There are Playboy concept stores in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo.

Why come to China ?

2007-06-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

I was asked many times by friends back home ... why did I choose China ? Why China ?
Here is a little something for everyone to chew on ...

China's economy has soared at consistently astonishing rates ... A new emergence of a far more powerful new middle class is fast forming in China apart from the most affluent urban customers todays, whose spending power will soon redefine the Chinese market.

Consumers in China's urban-affluent segment earn more than 100,000 renminbi (about $12,500 US) a year and command 500 billion renminbi, nearly 10 percent of urban disposable income, despite accounting for just 1 percent of the total population. They consume globally branded luxury goods voraciously, allowing many companies to succeed in China without significantly modifying their product offerings or the business systems behind them. And since this segment is currently concentrated in the biggest cities, it's easy to serve, both for companies now entering the Chinese market and for old hands seeking a steady revenue stream.

*Now this is already an IMPORTANT market ... but WAIT ...

However, fixating on the urban-affluent consumer could mean that companies fail to capitalize on the dramatic changes that lie ahead as China's economic growth improves the livelihood of hundreds of millions of its citizens, posits the study. Over the next 20 years more people will migrate to China's cities for higher-paying jobs. These working consumers, once the country's poorest, will steadily climb the income ladder, creating a new and massive middle class.

The rising economy in China will lift hundreds of millions of households out of poverty. Today 77 percent of urban Chinese households live on less than 25,000 renminbi a year; by 2025 that figure will drop to 10 percent says the study. By then, urban households in China will make up one of the largest consumer markets in the world, spending about 20 trillion renminbi annually. Since these estimates were calculated at today's tightly managed exchange rates, they may significantly underestimate China's future consumer purchasing power.

Annual Income (one Chinese renminbi equals approximately 12 ½ cents, U.S.)
Global Affluent (>200,000 renminbi annually)
Mass Affluent (100,001-200,000 ren)
Upper Middle Class (40,001-100,000 ren)
Lower Middle Class (25,001-40,000 ren)
Poor (<>

Source: McKinsey Global Institute, 2066

As this economic tide rises, two phases of steep growth in the middle class, with waves of consumers in distinct income brackets emerging and receding at specific points. The first wave, in 2010, will be the lower middle class. A decade later, the upper middle class will follow. When accounting for purchasing-power parity, a household income of 100,000 renminbi, for instance, buys a lifestyle in China similar to that of a household earning $40,000 in the United States.
Two features of China's emerging middle class are already particularly notable.

It will be unusually young. In the United States income generally peaks between the ages of 45 to 54.9 Since higher-paying jobs require a higher level of education and training, the Chinese government currently makes substantial investments in higher education for the younger cohorts, meaning that the country's wealthiest consumers will be from 25 to 44 years old.
The urban middle class will dwarf the current urban-affluent segment in both size and total spending power. The biggest opportunity for companies selling mass-consumer goods and services will be the newly empowered middle class. To serve these households successfully, companies will need to understand how the saving and spending patterns of consumers change as their incomes increase.

China is evolving from a relatively monolithic, poor country into a vibrant marketplace with complex and rapidly developing consumer segments, concludes the report. Instead of focusing mostly on urban-affluent customers, who are just the tip of the consumer iceberg, more companies should adjust their strategies to include the emerging middle class as a core customer segment. This approach poses many challenges, but for companies that anticipate the changes that lie ahead, the opportunities will be as vast as the country itself.

Online Video - A New Media Ready for Use !

2007-06-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

Firstly let's take a look at these figures in March 2007 ;

Americans consumed more than 7 billion video streams online, led by Google Sites with 1.2 billion.
YouTube.com drove the lion's share of the video streaming activity at the Google Sites property, with 53.5 million unique streamers and 1.1 billion streams initiated,
Yahoo Sites ranked second, with 434 million streams, followed by Fox Interactive, with 421 million, and Viacom Digital, with 260 million.
Online viewers watched an average of 145 minutes of online video.

According to the Online Publishers Association's "Frames of Reference: Online Video Advertising, Content and Consumer Behavior" report80% of viewers who had watched an online video ad, just over half had taken some sort of action. Nearly a third had checked out a Web site, while 22% had searched for more information, 15% had gone into a store and 12% had actually made a purchase. Now this is MARKETING in the New Digital Age.

But BEWARE as Online Video / Social Networking and/or Social New Media Marketing is not for everyone. Its more than just throwing in the whole craziness of clipping videos, audio and imagery online that everyone is doing it. Basically when you want to do an Online Video Marketing program you need a STRATEGY that is specifically designed for this media. The most basic first step to take is ... Go log on to one of these sites. See how users are becoming more and more personalized, opt-on and implementing video and audio. Not only do we need to understand how these technologies work, we need to pay attention. It is critical, to have much more than surface knowledge about user- generated content, social networking and the like to have a successful program.

No matter what these Online Videos will be here to stay and will be readily available to those that is smart enough to make use of its HUGE potential and reap the new digital wave freely.

2006 - 2007 Year of Avatar Communities

2007-06-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

2006 - 2007 Year of Avatar Communities

With regards to my last blog post - "Top Ten MMO", 5 out of the top ten MMO --> Avatar Communities. I got a call from a former business associate back in Beijing which pointed this out to me after reading my post. He said he was amazed that back in 2005 when I was a consultant to Citic 1616, I had persuaded Citic to invest heavily in to avatar communities which not many people believed that these FREE to Play avatar communities would be a big hit today ! *Back then online games rules the street of this industry. He then asked me why I had chosen avatar communities instead of pure social networking back then ?

To be frank and honest ... I m not a fortune teller whom could tell the future of this industry but I did saw that these avatar communities and virtual world would become something really interesting in the coming near future. I recall telling the CEO of Citic Telecom 1616 that 2006 would be the year of avatar communities and virtual worlds certainly and it did today making wave all around the world and in China. My choice is simply between avatar community and pure social networking ... where is the revenue source ? Pure social networking relies strictly on advertising and this revenue stream dont appears until you have a "Full House" at your site. But avatar communities is quite similar to FREE to Play MMO where items sales is the main source of income and the best part of it is that sales start from day one !

With so many people jumping on to avatar communities these days ... its time carve a 'niche' area or target now and differenciate yourself from the soon to be crowded market space again.

Top Ten MMO

2007-06-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

The Ten most popular MMOs in terms of active users or subscribers, based on publicly available data. These titles may or may not be games, but the medium has expanded far beyond Tolkienesque fantasy worlds. They all are Mac-friendly/Web-based with exception of Guild Wars.

1. World of Warcraft, released 2004 - 8.5 million subscribers. While Habbo is giving Blizzard a run, the numbers generally support WoW as the biggest MMO in the world. Important qualification, though: only 4 million are based in the West and monthly subscribers, while its 4 million Chinese players only pay roughly 4 cents an hour to play it in Internet cafes.

2. Habbo Hotel, released 2000 - 7.5 million active users. The Finland-based “social game” MMO popular with teens and growing fast. Look out, Horde!

3. RuneScape, released 2001 - 5 million active users. A Java-based MMORPG operated by Jagex Ltd. with over nine million active free accounts. Boasts one million paying customers. Fancy that.

4. Club Penguin, released 2006 - 4 million active users. MMO for the kiddies developed by New Horizon Interactive. The game shares similarities with other social environments like Habbo Hotel.

5. Webkinz, released 2005 - 3.8 million active users. Here’s a novel idea: create beanie baby like stuffed animals, assign them a unique ID, then create an MMO portal in which kids can spend even more time using your product. When kids graduate from Club Penguin, they go to Webkinz.

6. Gaia Online, released 2003 - 2 million active users. Not quite an MMO, not quite a social site, but founder Derek Liu has openly stated the networks desire to focus on social gaming. Forums make up 30% of the current site activity.

7. Guild Wars, released 2005 - 2 million active users. Another MMORPG made by the popular NCsoft out of South Korea. No Mac love here, but a lot of active users.

8. Puzzle Pirates, released 2003 - 1.5 million active users. Published by Ubisoft and developed by indy king Three Rings, Puzzle Pirates merges casual games with a rising interest in pirate culture. Puffy shirt aside, it’s working like a charm.

9. Lineage I/II, released 1998 - 1 million subscribers. Published by South Koreas NCsoft, Lineage was once the most popular MMO of its day. At one point total active users peaked at 3 million. A Western release in 2002 mostly fizzled.

10. Second Life, released 2003 - 500,000 active users. No introduction needed here. Created by Linden Labs, this virtual world features a rabid fan base, inflated numbers, a high influx of corporate doppelgangers, and lots of digital genitals.

Other popular MMOs are sure to exist, particularly new-comers and non-localized Asian games that are sure to grow. Also, this list reflects popularity alone, not necessarily revenue models, though World of Warcraft is performing well on both counts.

For all intents and purposes, the most popular MMOs represent an estimated 50-75% of the total MMO market (30-60 million active users.) Is that enough attention to justify MMO’s recent surge of attention? Maybe not all of the hype, but definitely a large portion of it. And who wouldn’t want a piece of Blizzard’s reoccurring pie or another revenue model with a similar install base?

Interestingly, however, it’s apparent that no single business model is winning out. Subscriptions work well for MMORPG games like WoW that are more akin to crack cocaine than mere entertainment. But what about other non-game MMOs? How will companies bank on consumer attention in those areas? One thing’s for certain: with all the popularity surrounding MMOs several new business models such as the FREE 2 PLAY model, are sure to flourish in the coming years, as it’s not just about games anymore.

Selecting Your Country Manager for China

2007-06-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

The One Paper Napkin Tactic

I was asked by a few friends on the topic of how do we select the best Chinese Country Manager or the person that will be responsible for our Chinese overall operations, management and marketing ? As China enjoys a tremendous souring growth rates the search for the right talent and candidate is becoming harder and harder. The war for retaining or obtaining the right talent or the brightest executives has started, with firms offering and increasing better remuneration package and attractive compensation to the right candidate. The demand for highly-skilled people in China far outstripping supply these days.

A friend of mine whom operates a Wine distribution in Shanghai said he prefers to hire Singaporean or Malaysian expat managers as they tend to stay a minimum of 2 to 3 years with him instead of locals which these days have a higher tendency to jump and look for the next better offer around the block. He also jokes that these days the Chinese stock market had a big influence on Chinese managers performance as well but the not with these the expats whom had seen what the stock market could do ... The CEO of one of China largest B2B company gave a simply tip on how to select who is the best candidate for any foreign firm in China ;

He quoted "Take a simply restaurant paper napkin and ask him to write on this small piece of tissue how he would operate, manage and make the company successful in China ?". Then reads what he had written ... if it makes sense then he is the one ! If he cant express it on a small piece of tissue then probably he wont be able to manage your company with wits and wisdom.

'SPRITE YARD' Coke enters Mobile Social Networking

2007-06-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

'SPRITE YARD' Coke enters Mobile Social Networking

While the whole world put on the wait and see attitude, Coca-Cola Co. has become one of the first major marketers to commit wholeheartedly to mobile marketing / mobile advertising and mobile social networking. at the Mobile Marketing Association's Mobile Marketing Forum in New York City last week, Mark Greatrex, senior VP-marketing communications and insights at Coca-Cola, said the soft-drink marketer has decided to center its marketing for the Sprite brand, its No. 2 label, on the mobile phone, with TV and other media playing secondary roles. Eventually, other brands will follow suit with similar mobile programs to target today's multitasking, traditional-media-avoiding teens, he said.

Looks like Coca-Cola Co. is making a major investment in mobile marketing, which is absolutely a good strategy in reaching the new digital generations of todays. "Sprite Yard," a MySpace-like mobile website, which launched in China earlier this month and is scheduled to be introduced in late June in the U.S. Sprite plans to seed the Yard with an on-package campaign on some of the 10 billion single-serve bottles it sells each year. Each container will have instructions to text the word "Yard" to 59666. That, in turn, will deliver to phones a mobile-web link, which when activated will allow users to register, set up a tag name, and add information to share with friends. Features include photo sharing, a message board, an activity planner and "shouts" -- mobile messages from one Yard member to another or to a group of users. Yard users will literally have their friends in their pockets is the Coca-Cola Co. aims.

South East Asia for Social Networking

2007-06-06T17:45:00.001-07:00

South East Asia for Social Networking

When the whole world is looking at Social Networking in the US, Europe and China, there is a market so huge that have gone unnoticed ... the SEA ( South East Asia ) market. While no one is talking about Friendster anymore apart from their recent news on the SNS patent, Friendster have actually make a mark in SEA. With some 70% of the social network's traffic now comes from Southeast Asia. It's the most popular Web site in the Philippines and the second most popular site in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Friendster's growth has been astonishing. Since 2003, when the company started to lose U.S. users to MySpace, its registered user base has grown more than 10 times. It now has 20 times the page views over the same period. It has a total 41 million Internet users in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia alone, according to Internet World Stats.

But no body noticed this growth including the company which is undergoing heavy restructuring. Having gone through four CEOs since 2004. It's also suffered massive slowdowns throughout the years, a problem only just fixed last year ( *The Wall Street Journal ). Perhaps its biggest problem, though, is its identity crisis: is Friendster for Asia or targeting the US ? The company is still based in San Francisco.

So anyone wants to become the MySpace of SEA ?

The opportunity is now ! And so happens I just know the best company that could tap into this market effectively ... Roland / IAH *hint if you are reading my blog.

Social Networking will go Niche

2007-06-06T17:15:00.000-07:00

Social Networking will go Niche

Everyweek as we open our email, someone invites us to join this cool Social Networking site that he/she had just joined, this is the viral marketing tools used by each and almost every SNS site today. The market for SNS is growing at an incredible speed ...

The evolution of a mature SNS market coming soon, will allow consumers to be in control. Eventually it will create a seismic shift from one-size-fits-all mass markets to millions of markets of self interest SNS hubs. All mature markets inevitably evolve into this kind of economy, driven by ever-narrower markets of desire and ever-narrower facets of individual self-identities. As every market matures, choice increases.

The only SNS sites that then thrive are those that move beyond "me-too" or incremental offerings to marketing more-relevant and more-differentiated products and services. The only way to accomplish this is to focus on a narrower target. It's the same in the real world for clubs and associations which reflects back on social networking online itself.

Niche Marketing as according to THE ECONOMIST. "Niche" is derived from the Latin word for "nest." The inference of marketing as something that helps individuals feel snug and in harmony with their self concept is the antithesis of the old economy's marketing to the lowest common denominator. Interesting right ?

Niche also means something different from marketing segmentation. While segmentation looks for similarities among a diverse group, niching looks for differences within a similar group. It then finds opportunities to customize products and services to the narrow interests of each niche. In this way, nichemanship is a complement to segmentation. You could call it - Optimized Segmentation.

So will Social Networking becomes Niche ? Only time will tell the theory today ...

FREE Music Formula ?

2007-06-06T01:26:00.001-07:00

FREE Music Formula ?

Lala co-founder Bill Nguyen announced today, it is planning on giving away streaming songs for free and the company is prepared to pay up to $140M in music licensing fees over the next two years. Free songs for consumers. That sucks for Apple which will surely lose downloads to LaLa. Lala's new bet is that wants to put free music in front of people, get them interested in it, and make up the difference on the back end with increased music sales by users who want to own the songs that they heard streamed and recommend those songs to buddies. The formula hope to pull in hundred of thousands of users, same old formula of catching eyeballs and obtaining users first.

But will the formula work in the West ? Can the company ramp up comparable revenues in the near future ?

Note that almost similar formula works in China, the likes of Baidu, Thunder and a string of many others with the exception of the $140 million licensing fees right in-front.

SEGA Closes China Online Games Arm

2007-06-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

SEGA Closes China Online Games Arm

One of Japan largest and most popular games company closes their online games division in Shanghai, China. SEGA China Online Game division have been officially disbanded due to poor performance. Sega PR department cited that "Sega is not familiar with the Chinese online game market and had decide to shrink the business but will continue to study the market for future opportunities".

Sega had three Online Games in-operations in China but did very badly as according to insider sources, with concurrent users base of below 1000. In China this is not serious market share at all. China achieved a 27% market growth last year to RMB$ 7.13 billion ($929 million). The winners were home grown online games companies such as - THE 9, SHANDA, NETEASE and a few emerging players such T2CN, KINGSOFT and 9YOU. China will probably see 2 more IPO for online games company within the coming next 12 months.

China Online Games market provide a very lucrative base but players must be able to understand the culture in order to capture a strong market base. Good games designs is essential but local knowledge and operations expertise is even more essential. Foreign players whom wants to succeed must first truly understand the basic principals of the Chinese online users culture and minds. Be flexible to act fast and adopt fast to market changes is the Art of War on the Chinese online games battlefields.

Second Life to live in the Business Sector *prediction

2007-06-05T08:49:00.000-07:00

Last year Second Life did USD 30 million selling virtual space (*sales is still moving strong in Second Life as we speak). The media reported highly of Linden Lab hype and that the fact they have their own currency system within the wall garden. Second Life is deemed as a 'Client Base' virtual world by industry standard while Habbo ( *not so exactly because of Shockwave ) a 'Browser Base' virtual world.

While the entire industry see good in Second Life, if I m a VC today I would bet my money on web-base virtual worlds simply because of its simplicity of use vs. the complicated client base worlds. Hence I predict that Second Life would go or be use by the business sector more in time to come. This will mean that there will be a gap and opportunity for new virtual worlds to cater for the mass market.

Mobile Advertising ...

2007-05-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

Mobile Advertising

When we look at the news and figures quoted by experts in the mobile industry we cant help but to note that ... Mobile Advertising is coming to the tiny screen on our palm. AOL acquires Third Screen Media, Microsoft acquires ScreenTonic, Nokia introduces Ad service and look at these numbers - In the U.S., mobile advertising is expected to grow from $421 million in 2006 to $4.7 billion by 2011, while globally the market is expected to increase to $11.3 billion by the same year.

In China recently reported that there is 39 million active WAP users. 26% of these users pay RMB 11-20 yuan per month for WAP usage, 23% users pay 21-50 yuan and 20% users pay 6-10 yuan. 48% users used WAP search in last six months, 40% played WAP games, while the most popular service is ringtone and image download (63%). The most popular WAP sites in China at this moment - Baidu, Sina, Sohu, Tencent, Netease, KongZhong, 3G.net.cn, Yicha.cn, Lxyes and China Mobile Monternet. Recently reported that there is 16 million mobile instant messenger users in China, generating nearly $ 90 million in 2006. The number of users should reach 40 million by end 2007. iResearch reveals that mobile advertising last year was more than RMB$ 500 million and estimate that this year will double last year's market value. The market will grow rapidly within the next four years, with a compound annula growth rate of 38%.

Advertisers are eager to get on to mobile advertising but currently there is no consistent framework, mobile advertising is highly fragmented with no standard size or lenght nor is there a reporting mechanism to measure the success of the campaigns. The GSM Association recently launched a forum to begin to define such a framework.
There is approximately 1.4 billion TV sets, 1 billion PCs in the world and 2 billion mobile users on this planet, making mobile advertising certainly important arena to reach targeted users. But not all mobile phone users will be able to receive mobile ads, they must subscribe to a data service and have a capable mobile phone ... Mobile Advertising is not COMING SOON as its already happening now, mobile operators and agencies just need to find the best way to have it implemented.

So what are the current Mobile Ads methods or types available ?
Basically integrated campaigns both online and offline surrounding wap sites leading clicks over to the target customer wap sites whether promotional or fixed is the industry norm these days. There is the traditional method of Mobile SMS Advertising, iResearch found that 91.3 percent of mobile users have received advertisements in sms forms and surprisingly nearly 40 percent of them said they are willing to try the advertised products or services. There are a few new players with innovative methods such as - campaigns that gives immediate cash rebate to your phone account and zapping a picture / photo / logo of a brand in a contest format to win prizes *this method is currently very popular in Singapore. Not forgeting Mobile ADS Games ... ads supported mobile games / these in-games advertising have capture the attention of VC's and Disney as well lately.

New innovative ways, new technology, new ideas, new methods, great campaigns and contest will surely be coming to the tiny screen on our palm in a single mission to grab our attention and seek our eye balls. Opportunities is now for those that is able to innovate the Next BIG Thing on the next generation of Mobile 2.0 *which I will speak more on the next blog.

What is Mobile 2.0 ? Coming soon at http://dragoncalvin.blogspot.com

THE 9 in FREE Play Mode ( SUN )

2007-05-24T00:24:00.000-07:00

THE 9 in FREE PLAY MODE ( SUN )

THE 9 annouced that it will adopt the Free-To-Play business model for their top class rated MMORPG Soul of Ultimate Nation ( SUN ). FREE Play on MMORPG pioneered by Shanda its main competing rival in China. Free-To-Play mode are usually the main business model in casual games in China such as O2Jam, Audition (9You) and Freestyle (T2CN) where you play for FREE but if you need special items or skills you will need to pay and to differenciate yourself in the game users pay for special clothings, shoes and even pets.

Looking at the trend currently unless you command a Super Top Class AAA title like WoW ( World of Warcraft ), it is very hard for players in China to pay to play based on time anymore and yet still achieve high numbers. SUN recorded an impressive 400 000 in their first opening week and to maintain the numbers Free-To-Play model is the choice certainly. It will be a challenge in the online games industry to see how these top class title fare against lower class titles in the battle for numbers with the Free-Play mode kicks in. THE9 did the right choice certainly by using SUN to tap into Shanda already lucrative Free-To-Play market.

Will all future games fall into Free-To-Play mode ?
Or will advertising sponsored online games be the next Free-To-Play model ? Games developers and publishers have been looking at how they can incorporate advertising into online games effectively and we may just see this coming pretty soon ...

What could Habbo China do ?

2007-05-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

Below is an email from one of my blog readers and this blog is specially for him ...

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Dear Calvin,

I read your blog with interest and it seems you are indeed a veteran in the Chinese games industry. However when my friends at Pacific Epoch did a search on you and found out that you were a senior management of the failed China Habbohotel http://www.habbo.cn/, we wondered what really happened in Habbohotel China? We followed the Chinese and International games and social networking a lot and Habbohotel in China is among one of the greatest failures from a successful company like Sulake.

Would you be kind enough to high-lights to everyone why did Habbohotel fail in China? Why didn't you set the basic social networking rules for them?I'm certain the internet industry would like to know as a case study for all future net companies coming to China. A personal request; I would like to know what would you have done to ensure Habbohotel success in China if you had your say? Or learning from Habbohotel mistakes what would you have done that was not done? If possible also do includes your views on what should http://www.myspace.cn/ do to achieve success in China? I and my friends will be keeping tab on your blog, keep up the good work! By way you Warcraft guys are again making a huge bucks from EA THE 9 deal *we know who you are wink!

Dustin Koff

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WHAT COULD HABBO CHINA DO ?

While every where in the world avatar communities are thriving and making headlines every month ... little do people know that Habbohotel with more than 7 million active users in Europe failed in their initial launch in China. Like all international companies coming to China, localization is an essential part of success road map in China. But Habbo China was not actually officially launched in China to be precise, the management did alot of test run and etc ... to prove a thing or two *unfortunately they did spend quite a fair sum on these test! So we cant actually say that Habbo China failed as they knew there were many aspects from many standpoint and issues where they need answers to justify changes and how they would react. Again I do agree that TIME and OPPORTUNITIES was wasted in this process.

Habbo China will be doing a re-launch very soon in China with a top online games company as their marketing partner. This time they have some good tactics and is more prepared to face the Chinese netizens *but in my personal opinion ... Habbo still lacking the success ingredients to make it big in China despite having the right partner.

What should Habbo do ?

As starters ...

1.) Habbo needs to be better POSITION in China to the Chinese netizens.

*Users need to know what they can do with Habbo and what it stand for ? Capturing a large niche sector is very essential as a starting point.

2.) Design to have localize contents, campaigns and events.

3.) Allow the decisions making process to be in China.

*Remote monitoring and decision making have prove to fail many a times in China. *MySpace did the right thing by ensuring that all decisions making and localizations is to be done in China.

To succeed in a BIG way for Habbo in China is not impossible but it requires a China specific strategy to ensure success. Doing it the same way they have been doing internationally will certainly spell disasters. Shockwave will still be a major obstacles for Habbo in China despite the new arrangements. In-house activities needs a total revamp to fit the target age group and Chinese audience. China is the 2nd largest internet and largest mobile phone users population in the world, it will be a BIG portfolio for a company like Sulake if they succeed in China.

Like all Social Networking business coming to China, the competition is intensive as the Chinese copies and modify stuff at lightning speed. However all businesses is about understanding the market and finding a BIG NICHE and owning that niche. Sulake is currently valued at over USD 300 million and looking at the intended purchase price of Club Penguin in the US of $ 460 million, Habbohotel could be still be under valued. There is always a short-cut to success in China, the same formula could apply to MySpace.cn as well ...

The Strategy ,,,,

Acquire an existing popular social networking site and integrate Habbohotel into it. Most SNS sites is based on similar concept as MySpace and FaceBook but heavily localize to the Chinese needs and culture. Note that these sites primarily based their interactions on the website and Habbo is based on its Virtual World Community ... equals an almost PERFECT fit ! But choosing the right website partnership is essential ... The last step will be to slowly localize Habbo step by step along the way. This strategy if used by Habbo or MySpace.cn could provide an international gateway for the Chinese SNS company where both parties WIN at the end. Sulake will be able to used the Chinese SNS platform for Worldwide by localizing it in different languages or just simply tap to become the World largest Chinese SNS site ... by helping to connect "Chinese People" worldwide + their Avatar Virtual Community as the main activity zone. MySpace could also do the same ...

Thus if a successful China venture could easily make Sulake into a $ 600 million company.

*Hint ... there is a few more simply tactics but that would be for another day ... another blog page. Till then I sincerely hope the best for Habbo China ...

Finding your 'GuiRen' ( NobleMan )

2007-05-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Finding your 'GuiRen' ( NobleMan )

When I started preparing for this business in China ... I was often asked "How do we really go about meeting the NOBLEMAN or GUI'REN ?"
Some people asked me that in his/her BaZi the present of the "NobleMan / GuiRen" star is not good ... does that means he/she will not be able to meet their "GuiRen" ? What are the ways and methods they could change their chances to meet a "GuiRen" ?

Firstly what is the "NobleMan" star or "GuiRen" ?
"GuiRen" is a concept familiar to most Chinese people and nowadays even in the Western culture as well. A "Nobleman" refers to people who are able to help you in times of needs or when you need help or assistance in life. Normally, such persons themselves are of high social status in society or business circle ( It makes perfect sense since its easier for them to rescue others ). But this need not be necessary in today's society as he/she could just be someone normal but because his/her dad or mom is someone or a close relative have that special status to help also makes a normal person a "Nobleman / GuiRen" to you. This is why some Master say's dont look down upon anyone these days for you'll never know helps comes from where ... when you need it !

Now we must all remember that both BaZi and JiWeiDouSho ... these ancient Chinese Numerology tells us if we have such "Luck Destiny" to meet the NobleMan or "GuiRen" and it also helps us to recognize the best time and actions to be taken to meet these people in our life. Now can we still meet a "NobleMan / GuiRen" if we dont have the 'NobleMan / GuiRen" star present ?

The answer is YES ... we can use various methods to enhance the chances to meet your "NobleMan / GuiRen" such as using Feng Shui and a system such as VZOOM which we have developed especially for you to assist both sides to find each other. Now this eliminates the question of - Where to start looking ?

Till my next topic ... dont sit and wait for luck ... go out and start looking for it !
But know when is the best and most effective time to start looking to make things move more efficient and smooth in life !

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亲爱的朋友，同事们：

当我准备在中国开始这项生意的时候…我经常被问到“我们怎样才能遇到贵人？”

有些人问我从他/她的八字中看到“贵人星”并不是很好……这意味着他/她不能遇到他们的 “贵人”吗？他们有什么办法来改善他们遇到“贵人”的运气？

首先何谓“贵人星”？

“贵人”是大多数中国人熟悉的观点，甚至现在也在西方文化中传播。“贵人”就是指那些能够在你需要时，或当你生活中需要帮助的时候帮助你的人。通常，这些人在社会或生意圈里有很高的地位（如此地位才能以证明他们能轻而易举帮助他人）。但在当下的社会中这未必是必须的，因为他/她可能是位普通人，但兴许他/她的父亲、母亲有如此地位，又或许他们与处于此地位的人有很亲密的关系，如此一来这位普通人称得上你的“贵人”。这正是一些大师们所告诫的,千万别小看任何人，因为当你需要帮助的时候，你是无法预知“帮助”何来……

现在我们必须记住八字和紫微斗数……这些中国古代命理学能告知我们是否有“缘”遇见“贵人”，它也能帮助我们在最恰当的时间付出行动来遇见我们一生中那些重要的人。如果我们没有“贵人”星我们还能遇见“贵人”吗？　

答案是肯定的……我们可以使用各种方法来加强遇见你的“贵人”的运气，比如使用风水，或像VZOOM一样的系统，我们精心开发出来可以在两个方面帮助你找到彼此。现在问题是上哪儿去找？

Founders should be a part of the Community

2007-05-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

Social Networking Founders should be a part of the Community ...

Honestly speaking ... founders of social networking sites or any sort of community portal should participate actively on a daily basis. It helps to show commitment and the responsibility towards building and developing a great site for your users.

Community can not be treated as another piece of business or investment unless you dont have the intention to grow it big and become the leading or most talk-about place in town (or in cyber sphere). Therefore the founders touch is essential to remind users that everyone is a part of a "Big Fat Family" here. It also acts to tell people that there is a real people behind the PC screen and it brings people closer towards the community itself.

Designing a successful social networking site or community portal ... the first most important point is knowing all about the community needs yourself. It is hard to believe that one can design a great master piece without first being in-love with it ... You cant run a golf club if you know nothing about golf ! What makes a golfer ticks ? What's most challenging for them ? What will make them come back again and again to the same course ?

The trick of the trade ... is to know everything and be a part of it !
If not ... then go design something else that you are interested in !

The Spa No.1 Service Boy

2007-05-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

The Spa No.1 Service Boy

I was in Shenzhen recently on a business trip and a friend suggested that we spend the night at a local SPA so that we could have a 2 hours massage that would relieve all our back and mussle pain after sitting at the Hong Qiao Shanghai airport waiting for the plane to take off for 4 hours. The Spa was nice but a little crowded ... in the morning when we were leaving after another hot shower we need to take our clothings from the locker whereby some 'Service Boy' will attend to your needs by assisting you to open your locker and take your clothings out 1 by 1. They would even ask if you would like your shoes polished which would take just 3 minutes. All these just to get a good tip from us ... just as I was about to reach out and put a $ 5 RMB tip on the ever smiling service boy basket I saw a plastic 'Gold' ingot in it.

I quickly took a glance at the other 'Service Boy' baskets and there were no golden ingot on them. This makes me more curious and I started to ask the boy ... "Why did you put a plastic gold ingot in your basket ?"

The boy whispered and said to me ... "Sir this is for Feng Shui and it really works ...".
I asked him why did he say so ? He whispered again to me ... "Sir a fortune teller told me to do and also to face certain direction when greeting my guest at my stable to get good luck and fortune ...".

Did it work for you I ask the boy ?
He again started to whisper even more softly this time ... "Yessss Sir ... I get more tips from my guest always and I make more money than any of the service boys here".
That's very good I replied him ... but always keep smiling as I like your smiles ... with that I took 2 RMB $ 10 bill and put it in his basket as he helped me carry my laptop bag out.

Was it his smile or the plastic golden ingot or the direction he was facing that got the extra $ 15 RMB from me and others customers whom he serve ? The question remain unanswered as always but what harm does it do if Feng Shui really did work for this No.1 Service Boy !

Calvin Ng @ Vzoom 'World 1st Feng Shui Social Networking Hub'

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我近日在深圳出差，朋友建议我们在当地一个SPA过夜，大家可享受2个小时的按摩，这样可以舒缓在上海虹桥机场等待延误4小时的飞机而引起肌肉酸痛感。
SPA很不错，但有点拥挤......早晨，我们又一次热水淋浴之后就准备离开，我们需要从上锁的储物柜中取出自己的衣物，一些男服务生会按照你的需要帮你打开储物柜，然后一件接一件地取出你的衣服。
他们甚至会问你是否需要擦亮鞋子，这只需3分钟。所有这些只不过是想从我们这儿得到更多的小费......正当我准备把五块人民币放入这个一直面带微笑的服务生的篮子里时，我看到里面有一个塑料的“金”元宝。

我迅速地瞥了一下其他服务生的篮子，都没有金元宝。
这使我更加好奇了，我开始问那个男孩......“你为什么要在篮子里放一个金元宝？”
男孩低声地说......“先生，这是因为风水，而且它的确有效...”。
我问他为什么这么说？
他又低声地告诉我...“一个算命先生曾告诉我这样做的，他还教我在向客人致意的时候要面向这个方向，这样可以增强好运...”
我问他：这对你管用吗？
这次他用更低柔的声音说...“当然了先生...我总是能从客人那里得到更多的小费，我比这里的其他服务生赚的钱都多”。
我回答他...这真不错！但你要一直保持微笑，因为我喜欢你的微笑...于是我拿出两张10元人民币放在他的篮子里，而他帮我拿出了我的电脑包。

到底是他的微笑还是塑料金元宝，又或者是他面向的这个方位使他从我和其他客人这里得到了额外的15元钱？这个问题无法回答。管它风水是不是真的在这个服务生身上起了作用，信它又有什么坏处呢！

10 Commandments of Successful Social Networking

2007-05-17T02:23:00.000-07:00

10 Commandments of Successful Social Networking
*Building a Successful Strategy for Social Networking /
Online Community

Here is a basic 10 Commandments of Successful Social Networking :

1.) Have a Killer Application or a Unique Angle.- Have either one of the above or better still have both to ensure higher chances of success.

2.) Determine your Target Users, Segment and know them well.- You have to know your users well in order to understand them and their needs to enable you to create a successful society. If you don’t fish then don’t start a fishing club as it will surely fail.

3.) Ensure the website stability and functionality.- Nothing kills you faster than a badly constructed site or a site that is slow to response to the users.

4.) Develop a Core User Group.- Always make sure you have a strong core user group before moving on to the mass. How strong and active your core user determines the success of your site.

5.) Create News and Publicity always.- What’s a community or society if there is no news or stuff to gossip about ? Make sure you know all about the stuff that is happening around always !

6.) Have a Good Story to tell.- Why or how your club / community started as a results of … make sure that the reason and story is interesting enough to create an emotional attachment with your users. Nothing is better than a good story !

7.) Run activities, events and contest regularly.- Remember as a community operator you must keep it active and alive. Have a look at what’s happening at your neighborhood community and see what’s they are doing to keep residence happy.

8.) A Good Marketing plan combines – Viral, Offline & Online Tactics. - That’s how MySpace started … pure viral no way !

9.) Believe in what you are doing and participate in it.- Being involved in your site is the most important thing to do. In-fact every-one of your staff must be involved daily. How many companies PC actually is set to launch their company website instead of Yahoo / MSN / Baidu or Sina when you launch the IE ?

10.) Get a Good Name & don’t start till you have sufficient Funds to move.- A good name is essential always in internet branding, so make sure it is easy to remember. Most website failed is not because they don’t have what’s it takes to be a great portal but the lack of funds to make it happen. Internet marketing is no joke, it is an expensive event !

The list can go on but these are the most basic Success Commandments that will get you through ….

Advertising China and New Media – Catching the Eyeballs !

2007-05-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

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Advertising China and New Media – Catching the Eyeballs !

Focus Media, a Shanghai based company founded by old advertising hand Jason Jiang in 2003, operates LCD screens advertising in elevator lobbies of office towers, apartments and supermarkets airing TV commercials 24 hours per day. In July 2005, the company raised $ 172 million with a NASDAQ listing, turning Jiang now 34, into one of the richest man in China. Focus Media created a new genre of China’s new media advertising. Focus Media also snapped up – Shanghai Frame Media for $ 183 million and later took over his remaining competitor – Target Media for $ 94 million in cash and $ 231 million in stocks, pulling off two of China largest mergers to date in the advertising industry and creating a monopoly situation for Focus.

Following the success of Focus Media we now have LCD screens every where we go – on the streets, at the busiest junctions and crossroads we have bright LED screens pushing a certain message across to us. In the taxis, busses and the underground we cant escape these LCD screens. While they push forward advertising to us, these new media companies also knows how to ensure that we are entertained along the way. This is to ensure the receptiveness of the users to these screens.

Lets also take a look at these latest news :
o Jiangxi-based Bus-Online Media had pulled in over $35 million in funding from an undisclosed group of investors. Bus-Online operates an advertising network that reaches more than 20 million passengers on 10,500 buses in 27 Chinese cities.
o Shanghai-based in-store LCD advertising company Cgen Digital Media Network Company Limited closed a $24 million third round of funding, led by Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific. Cgen is position to keep Focus Media from dominating the LCD box retail sector as it has the office building segment.
o Shanghai-based Touch Media, an early mover in taxi-based LCD networks, enlisted the financial backing of Shanghai-based Qiming Venture Partners. The company has 5,000 units installed in Ba Shi taxis around Shanghai.

The word “Focus” and “Target” is very essential part of advertising. It is essential to broadcast the right advertisements to the right target audience, that is why LCD screens now even appears in hospitals, bars, coffee shops, karaoke, golf clubs, fitness centre and spas. Having the right audience for the right medias !

I spoke with an expert in advertising and a veteran VC, both told me that they are looking for new media businesses that can be more focused and targeted. To be precise the holy grail of advertising is ONE to ONE focused advertising where the user can give its feed back or provide some form of interactions towards the ad. Is this possible ? Can there be better focused LCD screen medias ? The answer is ‘YES’ and the product itself is designed and produced in China.

The Next Generation of Video Telephony

I was invited to participate in a new development in Guangzhou recently to help and consult in their company marketing strategy, positioning and market directions for – FinePhon Video Telephony. FinePhon have been in secret development and research for 3 years now collaborating with Guangzhou Telecom to design the Next Century Telephony technology and media. The old house and desktop telephone is a losing traditional business model, with zero value added services (VAS) and media value. People rarely use the house or even the desk phone in the office to make calls these days. The phonebook in our mobile is one of the culprit + communications have also moved towards sending of sms and mms. Take note that once 3G is launched in China an important new communications medium could be ‘video telephony’.

What’s going to happen to our old trustworthy home and desk top telephone ?

FinePhon together with China Telecom and China Netcom will provide the Next Generation answer to the 21st Century Video Telephony in your homes and office desktop. FinePhon have developed the latest state-of-the-art video phone that incorporates all (*and I seriously means ALL) the needed digital stuff on a single phone on your desktop or home. Features at a glance includes ;

1. Video Telephony - *soon linking even to 3G mobiles.
2. Security Surveillance – keep an eye on what’s happening in your home or shop when you are away.
3. SMS, MMS & Video MMS – send a video recorded message.
4. Digital Yellow Pages – allows you to SEARCH for stuff u need just on your desktop telephone.
5. Digital Phonebook – just like on your mobile.
6. Finephon Internet Webpages.
7. VAS ‘Value Added Services’ – abundance of VAS services available such as music, news, contents, TV channels and much more …
8. Media – provides a platform for various media and advertising opportunity.
9. Market Research – data processing, allows research to be done via the Finephon itself saving cost and increasing accuracy of data.

Imagine the age of the JETSONS is here in China very soon.
The best part of FinePhon is that both China Telecom and China Netcom is giving it away for FREE with every new high-end ADSL subscribers. This model ensures about 300 000 users alone in Guangzhou / per year, sparking a high success rate for the project.

The Media Values

Imagine this phrase - ‘The Focus Media at your desk or home’.Finephon provides much ‘focused and targeted’ media for advertisers, but the aim is not just for the BIG GUNS but also for the SME and mom / pop shop just around the corner of where we live. Imagine you open a new restaurant and certainly your target audience is those that stay within a certain radius from your shop. With Finephon you are able to send ‘sms’ announcements to every apartment homes offering them to try your new restaurant or send ‘mms’ with photos of your delicious SiChuan Crabs. The user can obtain all your restaurant info from their phone digital yellow pages and at a click … connects the call to your restaurant for a table booking. The cost : $0.10 / per sms making it highly affordable target advertising for every businesses.

BMW or Mercedes can place ads on to upscale apartment Finephon or specify a certain demographics or even user profiles that match their profiling. Specific related ads can appear based on the number that the users dial. The CRM backend system recognizes past behavior and records them in the data to better understand each user.

With the success of China Telecom VAS service 114 (Hao Ma Bai Shi Tong), they are recognizing the need to expand further the VAS product-line and to start a new medium of fully targeted and focused media advertising platform on the telephone.

Finephon cooperation with Guangzhou Telecom will be announced on May 17th ‘Telecom Day’ in Guangzhou, China. Showcase and demo of Finephon Video Phone will be available at selected Guangzhou Telecom service centre from the 12th May onwards. It looks like the LCD screen media will follow us wherever we go in the coming 21st century and we are getting close to the Jetsons !

I often heard a saying whenever I mentioned these LCD screens business models with ads people … “its such a simply concept but it do work and is effective”. Advertisers bought into these LCD screen advertising with great gusto and there is so much more room to grow in China as compared to the US, Korea and Japan.

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Yahoo Shut Auction ... The Niche always Dominates

2007-05-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Shut Auction ... The Niche always Dominates !

Yahoo announced today it will shut down its auction site as of June 16, 2007. EBay has dominated the consumer auction market, with 95 percent of the auction traffic compared to Yahoo's less than one percent. EBay specializes on its core business - auction and being specialized creates not just a strong branding but helps in capturing market share certainly.

The Niche always Dominates !

Just take a look at the real world we are in today ... from burgers, fried chickens to cosmetics and the shoes we wear, each brand caters to a certain category in our minds. Burgers - McDonalds, Fried Chicken - KFC, 'Wringle Away' - SK2 and the list goes on meeting our particular personality and individuality.

The key on the net is to look for that special niche that is huge enough to be the next BIG thing. Past examples have shown us that by being able to meet simply niche like providing a space for people to share photos and videos have created a tidal wave on the net.

Social Networking exceeds Porn sites

2007-05-09T04:31:00.000-07:00

Social Networking passes Porn

Ah ha ! This photo certainly caught your eyes today!

An interesting statistic from the print version of The Economist: social networking sites will soon overtake porn as the most visited properties on the Web in the US. Hitwise data suggests that, FOR THE FIRST TIME!, porn may fall to #2 on the rankings list to the growth of social sites like MySpace and Facebook.

It is likely that the change in percentage is due to the insane growth of social networks and not the drop off of porn certainly, as everyone knows porns sells so far on the net and growth had been steady. The article also mentions an interesting bit about porn … that there’s a lot going on in peer-to-peer networks, so porn are actually moving social as well (the likes - like the popular AFF).

This is just adding further fuel for the fire that social networking has gone mainstream and is here to stay.

But the question remains ... How many MySpace or FaceBook can there be ? *The 'niche' and the 'boutique SNS' wave will be coming soon !

2 Sides of a Coin … 2 Ways to Profits from WEB 2.0

2007-05-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

2 Sides of a Coin … 2 Ways to Profits from WEB 2.0

Like the saying goes “There is always 2 sides of a Coin” … I read an interesting business model by keeping a tab on Habbo and SecondLife, that if you are innovative enough to think out of the box you too can be a part of all these MEGA HUGE Web 2.0 success, read this story …

Richard Moross just 20+ from London, came up with an innovative business model for business cards and name cards. He innovated – Moo Prints, a 10 person start-up company that takes images from popular Web 2.0 websites, like Flickr, BeBo, Habbo, SecondLife and prints them on cards that are exactly half the height (28mm x 70mm) of a regular business card.

Size alone makes Moo cards memorable. Moross cleverly named them “mini-cards,” leveraging a marketing trend that’s already been über-successful in selling iPods. Better still, Moo minis are highly personalized. For instance, Moross will take photos from your Flickr account and print it on your cards. Getting your Moo cards is simple—sign up for the service, fill out your contact details, add your Flickr ID, and 10 days later 100 cards show up. All in, a set of Moo minis sets you back just $5.

Thanks to their size, Moo minis are cheaper to print than typical calling cards. The company prints its cards on an industrial strength laser printer made by Hewlett-Packard. But Moross juices his profits in other ways as well. Because Moo works with existing communities (and social networks) such as Skype, Habbo Hotel, Bebo, Second Life and Flickr, the company has built a sizeable following without spending a dime on marketing.

Moo is among the first wave of young businesses reinventing a traditional business into an innovative Web 2.0 business. Plus riding on highly successful dozens of top user generated contents websites with ready users = clients to Moo.

Now what else can we reinvent for Web 2.0 ?

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Building a Successful Strategy for Social Networking / Online Community ( Part One )

2007-05-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Building a Successful Strategy for Social Networking / Online Community ( Part One )

Before we start we need to understand that there are dozens of “Me Too” social networking sites out there and new ones are mushrooming daily. Smart new players aim at niche segment of the market and try to create a unique positioning. This is a smart move and strategy given the fact that there can’t be many MySpace or YouTube in the marketplace. And the very notion of social networking or community is all about the gathering of people that have similar interest or likings, this is true whether it is online or offline. Clubs and associations live by these basic principals.

Do remember that on the net the netizens (*internet citizens) can only remember one (1) name or URL. So we must do all we can to be that “Name” in the netizens mind and occupy a category or segment in their mind. In China when we say : IM – QQ comes to our mind, mention C2C – TaoBao jumps out almost immediately and the word / segment of SEARCH belongs to – BAIDU.

Don’t be Number Two (2) but instead be Number One (1) in a new category that you can lead. This is because the Number Two (2) position on the net is very vulnerable and is easily overtaken most of the time by a new comer that is more unique or strong. EBay vs QQ PaiPai is a good example. However the market for Social Networking is still in its early stage in China, certain portals are able to capture users in geographical leadership. And therefore there is much room to move at this moment for new comer.

All eyes are set to how MySpace.cn will do in China given the sophistication of the Chinese online community environment. The support of Chinese netizens towards a western style product layout (*unless MySpace under go localizations) ?

The challenge of the online community industry today is about ;

Creating a unique niche in the social networking circle.
Having a sure ‘Revenue Model’ (Show me the Money ?).
Launching a successful new product.
Building a core user group.
Having breakthrough media strategies.
Making the focus users stick and pay.

As mentioned the first step is to find the RIGHT category in the vast online community market that you can be first and lead in ? What or where there is a unique missing link ? Forget about designing another Chinese FaceBook even if you are able to get all your university friends onboard as there are already very strong players here and leadership will be seen in the coming 1 to 2 years.

Remember to also determine your exit strategy if you wish to embark on creating the next MySpace of China. As I was writing this Blog my friend on MSN asked me to add in a personal tip ! Well … I m no expert but I can see a very definite niche for people whom have the passion and zeal for social networking … go conquer a geographical area where you are staying as communities is often about people that stay near you and me. If you are in the 2nd or 3rd tier cities you have a niche and if you make good use of this niche you have a good bargain when the big boys needs to expand.

Next Blog : That’s probably the Biggest Mistakes in Social Networking !

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What is Social Networking ?

2007-05-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

What is Social Networking ?

Well if you are not already a part of any online / internet social networking site, you are probably outdated. I have profiles in a little more than a dozen such social networking sites. Everyday we get an email from a friend or someone we don’t even know inviting us to be a part of this cool new community online.

Social Networking is a new way to seek a connection with people, new friends or …! Every one of us seeks to be connected with people, create a group or community, share experiences or share anything at all … the list runs deep. There are thousand of social networking sites available for all of us but the famous ones are those regularly reported by the news and press – MySpace, Friendster, Xanga, FaceBook, Habbo and in China we have similar versions such as – WangYou, 51, XiaoNei, Cyworld, Life365, Love21cn and so on … Every site wished they had 1/10 the success of MySpace which began two years ago by two young men (*the story told and created) in California who created a network where bands could share play-lists. Last year it was sold to Robert Murdoch (FOX) for USD 596 million dollars.

Social Networking provides a FREE space for anyone to showcase themselves and share information just about anything … themselves, their families, friends and etc … A little info or alot, users look for people whom share their interest or is looking for similar stuffs. This is the basis of a community … a gathering of people with similar interest or in geographical areas ! Some are their friends, some are complete strangers but once they are added on to their space they become ‘Virtual Friends’ or ‘Net Friends’. You can customize your page to have music, your colors, your own personal style, video and pictures. So what do people do in Social Networking sites ? Teens they hang-out in these sites for hours just like before we all hang-out at malls, today’s teens do the same on the net. Adults form communities on the net just like how they join clubs before in real life.
“Hanging-out” and “Society” have moved online and people can be more out-spoken here than in real-life.

Social Networking is everywhere today and attracting the eyes balls of every users, corporate companies are starting to use Social Networking sites for advertising and promotions of their brands and products. Learn more about user behavior, needs and comments. MySpace became X-Space the day it help launch X-MEN 3 the movie and even politicians is starting to use it as a tool to gain votes or counter attack the opponent.
Last October MySpace hit rates exceed that of Yahoo in the US.

No matter what you think … like it or not Social Networking is becoming an important aspect of our life now and in the future. It will be here to stay … only it will start to become more niche and this is another story to tell …

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MySpace in China – Challenger or mere passer-by ?

2007-05-01T22:22:00.000-07:00

Friday 27th May marks the entrance of the World largest social networking community portal in China. Will MySpace.cn be a strong challenger to already established sites like 51.com or WangYou ? All industry eyes will be on MySpace for the coming months to come … will it have the fate of Ebay vs TaoBao ?

Apart from a strong brand name and a nice international story to tell … MySpace have nothing special to offer to the Chinese netizens community what they already have with existing sites ! The new feature “school” in MySpace will face competitions from Chinese strong Facebook sites like Mop (XiaoNei) and ChinaY which have already established strong foothold in certain universities following exactly the start of FaceBook in the US.

However if MySpace knows how to leverage on their strong international branding and make good PR + publicity about ‘Connecting with People All over the World’ it might just work to bring in the crowds. MySpace.cn needs to differentiate themselves from the current leaders in the Chinese Space and their main strength that I can see is – connecting people worldwide, where the Chinese sites can’t offer at this moment. MySpace.cn should leverage on their appeal that they are able to bring their users worldwide … not just China. This could be what will make them special in China.

"The Extent and Way of the Effectiveness of Feng Shui"

2007-04-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

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"The Extent and Way of the Effectiveness of Feng Shui"

Many of us wants to know to what extend the effectiveness of Feng Shui can do for us ?
Can a beggar use Feng Shui to become so suddenly rich ?

First of all, in the study of feng shui, we pay major attention to coordination of Tian (Heaven) Dao, Di (Earth) Dao and Ren (Human) Dao, so that it can have an auspicious result. A simpler way of expressing it is: to achieve unity and harmony in terms of heaven and man. There are a lot of old feng shui stories, after passing down from one generation to another generation, were greatly exaggerated to make them more fascinating. To a large extent, they are not true to the fact. Those stories usually told that how after the placement of feng shui, a beggar can become rich very soon. Actually, feng shui can only improve a beggar's life from poverty to self-sufficiency. By analogy, we can help an ordinary person to improve his life from self-sufficiency to have some savings. This is to say, feng shui can improve a person's life, but we need to take into consideration of the 'starting point'. Every person has different 'starting point' in this world.

I like to use medical field as an illustration. A patient with a minor illness can be healed very fast under the care of a diligent doctor. But another patient with a serious illness, even under the care of a very good and diligent doctor, will require time to be healed. But the 3rd patient who has a fatal illness, however good a doctor is, he can only release the pain and suffering, and cannot heal the disease.

CALVIN NG
http://www.vzoom.com/ 'Connecting RIGHT People Worldwide'

COMING NEXT : "How fast can Feng Shui works ?"

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风水的效力
我们中大多数人都想知道风水到底能多有效地帮助我们？
一个乞丐，利用风水就能突然变成一个有钱人吗？
首先，在风水的研究中，我们主要关注的是天道，地道和人道之间的调和，使之产生良好的结果。简单的说法就是：在环境与人之间达到统一和和谐。
有很多古老的风水故事，经过一代又一代的流传，被极大地夸张而变得匪夷所思。从大的范围来讲，它们并不是忠于事实。那些故事经常讲的是如何经过风水的布置，一个乞丐很快变成一个富翁。而事实上，风水只能将一个乞丐的生活从穷困提高到自足。以此类推，我们能帮助一个普通人从自足提高到有盈余。这就是说，风水能提高一个人的生活，但我们必须考虑到“起点”。每个人都有不同的“起点”。我想举医学的例子来做说明。一个病症不重的病人在医生精心的治疗下能很快复原。但另一个重病病人，即使在一个医德高尚，医术高明的医生照顾下也需要时间来复原。但是第三个患有不治之症的病人，不管这个医生有多么好，他只能减轻疼痛，少收折磨，而不能根本上治愈。

Do Feng Shui Works ?

2007-04-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

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Someone at a seminar once stood up and ask the Master -- "Sir ... if Feng Shui really works why
can't we see rich descendents of famous Feng Shui practitioners ?"

Let's look back into history ... Actually this is due to one's aspiration and wish and depend the way on how one is looking at things. Firstly, we need to keep in mind that, the temperament of those learned predecessors or forefathers feng shui masters in ancient time are not wealth or fame- based, if they are the so-called materialists in modern time, then they would just allocate the best feng shui to their own and family members, and why should they have to travel here and there to perform audits for others and to seek livelihood? There are a lot of ancient FS masters who do not seek fame and wealth. They lived their lives complied with religious requirements. They cherish more on doing good deeds and accumulating merits and virtual. According to their religion belief, they look upon themselves as 'Jia Pi Nang' (false body). They would not be sentimentally attached to wealth and family members.

They will only enlighten people that is be fated to meet or help on their journey. Further, in this world, we do not just measure 'fine/good' with wealth. Therefore, we cannot judge the effectiveness of feng shui in terms of whether a person will flourish.

NOTE : Currently in Hong Kong the top 3 Feng Shui Masters well earned above HKD 50 million / per year. This show's the change of time in the modern society.

'VZOOM mission is to enable you to master the art yourself'

CALVIN NG
http://www.vzoom.com/ 'Connecting RIGHT People Worldwide'

COMING NEXT : "The Extent and Way of the Effectiveness of Feng Shui"

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风水有用吗？
在一次研讨会上，有人站起来问师傅:“先生…如果风水真的有用，为什么我们看不到那些著名的风水大师的后人非常富有？”
让我们回溯过去…事实上，这是被一个人的抱负和愿望所决定，而且也和一个人如何看待事物有关。
首先我们得知道，古代那些学识渊博的风水大师先辈并不看中名利，如果他们现代社会中所谓的物质主义者，那么他们只会将最好的风水用于他们自己的家族成员，他们何必在各地奔波劳顿，为别人看风水，讨生计？很多古代的风水大师并不追求名利财富。他们的生活遵照宗教的要求。他们更乐意做好事，积累美德，充实内心。根据他们的宗教信仰，他们把自己看作一副“假皮囊”。在精神上，他们对财富和家人并不依赖。
他们只会去启发那些注定要遇见的人，或者在旅途中去帮助别人，进而整个世界。我们并不用财富来判断“善良美好”。因此，我们并不能因为一个人是否富有来判断风水。

注意：目前在香港，顶级的三位风水大师每年收入超过五千万港币。这表明在现代社会
观念的改变。

“VZOOM的使命就是帮助您掌握自己的人生”

Just a case of Cyworld vs Habbo

2007-04-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

Just a case Cyworld ...

Just like to bring up a small point for us all to see ...
Habbo target age group had been the 12 to 16 mainly and what's in Habbo fits perfectly well for this age group in Europe (*Habbo is the largest avatar community there). Now let us not talk about "what's so difference in China" but just look at the next closest competitor : Cyworld which is the closest competition to Habbo. Cyworld in China score very much better ! Why ?

Cyworld in Korea captured an impressive 96% of their age group users in Korea, the 20 to 29 years old youth. There is over 20 million subscribers in Cyworld. What is Cyworld ? What do they have that these age group users loves so much ?

The answers - Social Network with personal media, music, video and photo sharing. These are no new elements at all but these are what the target age group users wants and needs in their daily net life. Cyworld is just providing them what they need all in a simply package. Another point of interest - more than 6 million songs downloaded from the site monthly and 100 000 videos uploaded daily.

Now we should understand these are basic needs of the youth we are targeting ... once we meet their basic needs the rest is all about - Marketing and Positioning to capture their mind with a Brand that spells in their head and minds. This also includes the simply act of Packaging the product such as designs and colors. But without these basic needs how do we expect to be their lifestyle provider ?

I hope this simply written message finds the light we have been seeking for ...

Just another day of being a Lifestyle Leader ... China is no difference or not much difference but its all about fullfilling Basic Requirements + Marketing & Positioning. Isn't all products the same ?

Is it Pure Science ...? ( Meeting RIGHT People )

2007-04-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Is it Pure Science ...? ( Meeting RIGHT People ) by VZOOM

You had always been a shy boy all your life ... but suddenly at your manager Peter's birthday party, you meet this girl Suzie Li and you just find yourself being able to suddenly talk so much ! You find yourself so comfortable and happy. She responce similarly ... At the end of the party you wonder ... is she the one for me ? Was it some kind of chemistry ?

Congratulations ... you may have just meet the girl of your destiny !
But how many of us never had this chance ... or in Chinese context we call it 'Fate' ( Yuen Fen [][] ).

LOVE is mysterious some may say ... but finding the RIGHT love and avoiding the pain of break-up's is it something we can actually control to a certain extend ?

There is a friend of mine whom have been working for his boss for 8 years in a Hong Kong
international company, he have been waiting endlessly for 4 years for that ultimate promotions to a higher executive level. He works hard everyday and puts in much effort into everything then suddenly one day a new guy whom is younger and less experience came to work. Within just 9 months he was promoted to the executive level that my friend had waited for ...
Some say's because he was close to the boss and knew how to play his politics but we cant deny the fact that in alot of times it is not how hard you work to attain success but is knowing the RIGHT people that could bring you success. In the Chinese Metaphysics context - 'Meeting the RIGHT People' mean "meeting your GuiRen ( NobleMan )", people whom could and will help you in times of trouble and to succeed up that ladder.

Wont all of us like to meet our True Love or NobleMan 'GuiRen' in life ?

Chinese Metaphysics
Every human is born with a unique 'DNA code of Life' in Chinese Metaphysics studies. These DNA codes have hidden vibrations between people and when we study it carefully it can reveal why certain people can hit out almost instantly and why some just cant. Believe it or not ... sometimes it can shock even professors at what your DNA code of life can tell you about yourself and about your relationships with others. The Chinese spent more than 3 millennia pondering upon life, the universe and the role Man played in this elaborate theater. Unsurprisingly, this led them to question the very purpose of our existence. One question led to another, and they soon immersed themselves studying the correlation between humankind and what life particularly holds in store for each human being.

*DNA Code of Life - your date and time of birth.

CALVIN NG
VZOOM 'Connecting RIGHT People Worldwide'

NEXT : Can we make our own fate in Love and Career ?

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这完全是科学 ……？（遇见合适的人） by VZOOM

你一直都是个害羞的男孩……但有一次，在你的经理彼得生日聚会中，你遇见一个叫苏西的女孩，你发现自己突然变得口若悬河！而且是如此地自在和开心。她也有着相同的感觉……在聚会快结束的时候，你不禁自问……她就是我的另一半吗？或只是某种化学反应？

恭喜……你也许遇见了命中注定的她！
可我们中有多少人会有这样的机遇呢…这就是缘分。

也许有人会说爱是神秘的……但是找到合适的爱人，避免分手的痛苦，我们是否能在某种程度上控制它们呢？

我有一个朋友，在香港一家跨国公司工作八年，他整整等了四年，等待着被提拔到更高的管理层。他每天辛勤工作，尽心尽职。可突然有天，一位比他年轻，经验比他少的新同事，在短短九个月内就被提升到我朋友苦苦等待的管理层……
有人说他的提升是因为与老板关系亲密，知道如何玩花招。但我们不能否认的是，很多时候，并不是你多么辛苦的工作就能获得成功，而是认识了适合的人能给你带来成功。中国玄学说法——“遇见适合的人”为“遇见你的贵人”，他们可以并且能够把你从麻烦中解脱出来，并且登上成功的阶梯。

难道我们不想遇见自己生命中的真爱或贵人吗？

中国玄学
在中国玄学研究中，每个人一出生就带有独一无二的“DNA生命密码”。这些密码在人与人之间隐藏着共振。当我们仔细研究它时，它能向我们揭示为什么有些人会一见如故，而有些人不会。信不信由你…如果专家为你解释你的DNA生命密码所反应出的你自己以及你的人际关系时，你会为此感到震惊。中国人花了三千年的时间来思考人生、宇宙和人在这个精妙大千世界里所扮演的角色。所以毫不奇怪，这使得他们研究出我们存在的每一点因素。一个接着一个的问题，很快他们就潜心研究出人类这个整体与每个生命个体之间的相互关系。
*DNA生命密码——你出生的日期和时辰。

CALVIN NG
VZOOM 'Connecting RIGHT People Worldwide'

下一个：我们能在爱情和职业中决定自己的命运吗？