Making Western designed electronics products faster, cheaper and in greater quantities was a copycat game that Asian manufacturers played from the 70s onward, until it was pretty clear that they had conclusively won. Ironically, the same thing is happening again in the Web2.0 space - but with a twist.
The China Web2.0 Review blog is an interesting site to keep an eye on - if for no other reason than to marvel at the macabre speed by which hot Silicon Valley startup concepts are reverse engineered, replicated and deployed in local Chinese varieties.
The latest is Popwu which is a oriental reincarnation of the uber mobile app Twitter. MSN integration is in place, but so far no SMS support. The latter is where the action will be if they can get it to work financially - considering the huge install base of Chinese mobile users. But you can also bet that there will be a dozen Popwu clones before the year is out if it looks as though someone is going to fund or buy Twitter for big dollars.
Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but there is also a perverse fiscal logic at play. Most of the Chinese Web2.0 clones have been designed to both attract the hot VC cash that is pouring into the market, as well as prepare themselves to be digested whole by larger web entities.
So, should you be in China yourself transcribing the Techcrunch RSS feed into Beijing business plans? Maybe - but its harder than it looks. As eBay, Yahoo and Google have already discovered - the challenge for foreign entrants are the unusual dynamics of the Chinese market. The dominant web companies such as Tencent (which operates the 200m plus QQ messenger network) as well as search and portal players like Baidu, Sohu and Sina have consistently proved their ability to use their large user bases to dominate new application areas, snuffing the oxygen from pure play startups.
A billion customers, yes. But easy billions, no.
The Minnesota Wild have made Mike Yeo their new head coach bags, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hire. The Wild called a Friday news conference at Xcel Energy Center in St.missseo
Posted by: Name | June 17, 2011 at 06:34 PM
It is well known that beats by dr dre headphones Sale Online become more and more popular.
Posted by: dr dre beats headphones | September 23, 2011 at 05:45 PM
Really,then what are the understanding property of your buses.
Posted by: ghd straghtners | November 23, 2011 at 07:03 PM
The person spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hire.
Posted by: North Face Sale | December 06, 2011 at 05:48 PM
having privilege to be attached in this kind of blog will give me understanding to some issues and concern in my community.
Posted by: freelance writers | January 13, 2012 at 06:49 AM