2 Articles for 'Asia'
Venturebeat's Eric Eldon reports "Friendster’s growth in Asia could make it the top social network in the world, once again." The article quotes Friendster's claim that they are the number one social network service in Asia, leading everyone (Facebook, Myspace, Mixi, Cyworld) by a big margin.
Wait a minue.. Friendster number one in Asia? Every day, I'm getting emails from Facebook and LinkedIn about a new friend request or new updates from my friends. But I haven't had a single email from Friendster for a long time. So at least for me, Friendster doesn't feel like a very active service - But then I may not be profiled as an "average" internet user in Asia.
Stats like these bring a question to my mind: Will the Western/US social network services (Myspace, FB, Friendster) take over the Asian market eventually? Or, will one of the local players (Mixi, Cyworld, 51.com) come out as the Asia's social network winner, transforming itself into a regional market leader that can compete neck-and-neck with Myspace and FB in the global market? Or will every single Asian market have its own social network of choice, without going the consolidation route? What do you think?
Wait a minue.. Friendster number one in Asia? Every day, I'm getting emails from Facebook and LinkedIn about a new friend request or new updates from my friends. But I haven't had a single email from Friendster for a long time. So at least for me, Friendster doesn't feel like a very active service - But then I may not be profiled as an "average" internet user in Asia.
Stats like these bring a question to my mind: Will the Western/US social network services (Myspace, FB, Friendster) take over the Asian market eventually? Or, will one of the local players (Mixi, Cyworld, 51.com) come out as the Asia's social network winner, transforming itself into a regional market leader that can compete neck-and-neck with Myspace and FB in the global market? Or will every single Asian market have its own social network of choice, without going the consolidation route? What do you think?
An open letter to Asia's web industry people - What do you think about AsiaWeb 2008?
Web 2.0 | 2007/12/15 16:43 | Web 2.0 Asia
Given the number of private emails I'm getting through this blog, I know this blog is being followed by quite a few bloggers/web professionals in Asia. So hereby I'm attaching an open letter to all Asian web professionals.
This open letter is about my longtime wish that there will be a pan-Asian web conference, where web professionals in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong... you name it... are participaing together.
I know some Asian countries have had their own good web conferences with international flair, such as recent Web 2.0 Expo in Tokyo, China Foo Camp, and what Angus Lau (a frequent commenter on this blog) is pulling off in HK, etc.
But I don't think I've seen many "pan-Asian" web conferences so far. So I think we could imagine a conference where things like these are happening...
- Keynote speeches being made by well-known tech entrepreneurs in China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan, etc. as well as a host of internationally renowned speakers.
- An international launchpad where new ventures in Asia can showcase their newest products (Think Techcrunch 40 or the Demo). English translation will be provided - we all know English-speaking skills and product-development skills are two different sets of skills. VCs are more than welcome to join.
- Panel discussion between professionals from different countries where different web cultures and business environments can be compared, perhaps in search of some universal success strategies across the Asian web industry.
There should of course be tons of challenges - language barrier for starters. But I don't think those cannot be overcome at all. For example, hiring bunch of interpreters doesn't cost in the order of millions, does it? We can always turn to volunteers as well.
I might go on, but before going further I'd like to make sure if I'm on a right track or not. Do you think it's time Asia saw a pan-Asian web industry conference? Or do you think such event will have far more challenges than advantages and therefore won't make sense?
This open letter is about my longtime wish that there will be a pan-Asian web conference, where web professionals in China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong... you name it... are participaing together.
I know some Asian countries have had their own good web conferences with international flair, such as recent Web 2.0 Expo in Tokyo, China Foo Camp, and what Angus Lau (a frequent commenter on this blog) is pulling off in HK, etc.
But I don't think I've seen many "pan-Asian" web conferences so far. So I think we could imagine a conference where things like these are happening...
- Keynote speeches being made by well-known tech entrepreneurs in China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hongkong, Taiwan, etc. as well as a host of internationally renowned speakers.
- An international launchpad where new ventures in Asia can showcase their newest products (Think Techcrunch 40 or the Demo). English translation will be provided - we all know English-speaking skills and product-development skills are two different sets of skills. VCs are more than welcome to join.
- Panel discussion between professionals from different countries where different web cultures and business environments can be compared, perhaps in search of some universal success strategies across the Asian web industry.
There should of course be tons of challenges - language barrier for starters. But I don't think those cannot be overcome at all. For example, hiring bunch of interpreters doesn't cost in the order of millions, does it? We can always turn to volunteers as well.
I might go on, but before going further I'd like to make sure if I'm on a right track or not. Do you think it's time Asia saw a pan-Asian web industry conference? Or do you think such event will have far more challenges than advantages and therefore won't make sense?
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