China
Number Four: Alibaba Opens Operations In Taiwan (Fri, 25 Jul 2008)
Chinese e-commerce website Alibaba.com says this week it opened an office in Taipei, its fourth office outside mainland China. "The launch of our Taipei office signifies our strong commitment to invest more resources to develop the Taiwan market and help local SMEs with global trade," said David Wei, CEO of Alibaba.com. "Alibaba.com can provide Taiwan's 220,000 [...]
>> read more
Baidu.com Posts Impressive Q2 Chinese Search Engine Results (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
Chinese Internet search engine Baidu.com (BIDU) posted its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008 and said total revenues increased to CNY802.6 million — 100% more than the same period in 2007. "This quarter saw impressive growth for Baidu," stated Robin Li, Baidu's chairman and chief executive officer. "Our ability to make [...]
>> read more
Joost Cooperates With Tom To Explore China's Online Video Sector (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
According to foreign media, Joost, an American online video service provider, will cooperate with Tom Group to establish a joint venture in China and provide online video services to Chinese netizens. The joint venture will reportedly provide Chinese-language TV programs through the Internet. At present, Joost and Tom Group have opened a website which reportedly can [...]
>> read more
Dangdang.com Inks Strategic Cooperation With Chongqing Publishing Group (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
Chinese e-commerce website Dangdang.com will establish a strategic partnership with Chongqing Publishing Group and to build a logistics base in the southwestern area of China. After the establishment of the partnership, Dangdang.com, which specializes in selling books, and Chongqing Publishing Group will realize a further resource sharing in brands, channels and marketing through measures such as [...]
>> read more
IPTV-Based Video Advertising Network Begins In China (Tue, 22 Jul 2008)
China Telecom's subsidiary Guangxi Telecom will be using UTStarcom's (UTSI) RollingStream IPTV platform to deploy a new interactive advertising system, making Guangxi Telecom the first service provider in China to deploy IPTV for building-based video advertising. UTStarcom says it will provide Guangxi Telecom with 3,600 concurrent IPTV streams for the initial deployment of the interactive advertising [...]
>> read more
Chinese e-commerce website Alibaba.com says this week it opened an office in Taipei, its fourth office outside mainland China. "The launch of our Taipei office signifies our strong commitment to invest more resources to develop the Taiwan market and help local SMEs with global trade," said David Wei, CEO of Alibaba.com. "Alibaba.com can provide Taiwan's 220,000 [...]
>> read more
Baidu.com Posts Impressive Q2 Chinese Search Engine Results (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
Chinese Internet search engine Baidu.com (BIDU) posted its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2008 and said total revenues increased to CNY802.6 million — 100% more than the same period in 2007. "This quarter saw impressive growth for Baidu," stated Robin Li, Baidu's chairman and chief executive officer. "Our ability to make [...]
>> read more
Joost Cooperates With Tom To Explore China's Online Video Sector (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
According to foreign media, Joost, an American online video service provider, will cooperate with Tom Group to establish a joint venture in China and provide online video services to Chinese netizens. The joint venture will reportedly provide Chinese-language TV programs through the Internet. At present, Joost and Tom Group have opened a website which reportedly can [...]
>> read more
Dangdang.com Inks Strategic Cooperation With Chongqing Publishing Group (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
Chinese e-commerce website Dangdang.com will establish a strategic partnership with Chongqing Publishing Group and to build a logistics base in the southwestern area of China. After the establishment of the partnership, Dangdang.com, which specializes in selling books, and Chongqing Publishing Group will realize a further resource sharing in brands, channels and marketing through measures such as [...]
>> read more
IPTV-Based Video Advertising Network Begins In China (Tue, 22 Jul 2008)
China Telecom's subsidiary Guangxi Telecom will be using UTStarcom's (UTSI) RollingStream IPTV platform to deploy a new interactive advertising system, making Guangxi Telecom the first service provider in China to deploy IPTV for building-based video advertising. UTStarcom says it will provide Guangxi Telecom with 3,600 concurrent IPTV streams for the initial deployment of the interactive advertising [...]
>> read more
CNNIC: Over 100 Million Bloggers in China (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
CNNIC released its semi-annual China’s Internet development report today. According to the report, by June 2008, there are 253 million Internet users in China, making China the World’s largest Internet market by users. CNNIC said Internet users with broadband access has amounted to 214 million, and over 73 million users have used mobile handsets to [...]
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MobileMonday: Chinese Mobile Companies Going Abroad (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
This Monday I participated in the Mobile Monday Beijing event with the intention to know the experience of going abroad from some Chinese mobile companies, including Pica.com, a mobile IM service provider, Yicha.cn, a mobile search company with presence in Japan since 2006, PP.cn, a mobile community with Japan market entry by partnership with Yicha.cn, [...]
>> read more
Interview With David Li on China’s Open Platform (Sun, 20 Jul 2008)
This year will be a big year for open platform concept in China, with Xiaonei, Comsenz, 51.com, Taobao launching their open platform. In last week, I have chance to have an interview with David Li, who developed some very popular apps on Facebook platform. So we asked his opinion on open platform of some Chinese [...]
>> read more
Taobao Open Platform Is Coming (Fri, 18 Jul 2008)
In this February, we reported that Taobao will launch open platform within this year. Today Taobao Open Platform(TOP)’s webpage has been online already, which provides information on Taobao API for developers. (tip by Sina) To be a developer for TOP, at first you need to sign up as an ISV in Alisoft, the software business under [...]
>> read more
Kaixin001: A New SNS with High Growth (Wed, 16 Jul 2008)
Kaixin001.com is a Facebook-like SNS established in late April by ex-Sina people. Yes, it is a new-comer in China’s already crowded SNS market, but in last three month, Kaixin001.com gained quite good growth curve. If we check the Alexa data of Kaixin001.com and Hainei.com, which is a SNS launched in late 2007 and targeted similar [...]
>> read more
CNNIC released its semi-annual China’s Internet development report today. According to the report, by June 2008, there are 253 million Internet users in China, making China the World’s largest Internet market by users. CNNIC said Internet users with broadband access has amounted to 214 million, and over 73 million users have used mobile handsets to [...]
>> read more
MobileMonday: Chinese Mobile Companies Going Abroad (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
This Monday I participated in the Mobile Monday Beijing event with the intention to know the experience of going abroad from some Chinese mobile companies, including Pica.com, a mobile IM service provider, Yicha.cn, a mobile search company with presence in Japan since 2006, PP.cn, a mobile community with Japan market entry by partnership with Yicha.cn, [...]
>> read more
Interview With David Li on China’s Open Platform (Sun, 20 Jul 2008)
This year will be a big year for open platform concept in China, with Xiaonei, Comsenz, 51.com, Taobao launching their open platform. In last week, I have chance to have an interview with David Li, who developed some very popular apps on Facebook platform. So we asked his opinion on open platform of some Chinese [...]
>> read more
Taobao Open Platform Is Coming (Fri, 18 Jul 2008)
In this February, we reported that Taobao will launch open platform within this year. Today Taobao Open Platform(TOP)’s webpage has been online already, which provides information on Taobao API for developers. (tip by Sina) To be a developer for TOP, at first you need to sign up as an ISV in Alisoft, the software business under [...]
>> read more
Kaixin001: A New SNS with High Growth (Wed, 16 Jul 2008)
Kaixin001.com is a Facebook-like SNS established in late April by ex-Sina people. Yes, it is a new-comer in China’s already crowded SNS market, but in last three month, Kaixin001.com gained quite good growth curve. If we check the Alexa data of Kaixin001.com and Hainei.com, which is a SNS launched in late 2007 and targeted similar [...]
>> read more
China: Olympic blog shutdown continues (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
One of China's oldest blog service providers, Sohoxiaobao, has been kept shut down for a week already and looks to stay that way until the Beijing Olympics wrap up in late August.
>> read more
China: Baidu and Music Industry (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
DANWEI reprinted an article from Music 2.0 blog on Baidu's strategy in conquering the music industry.
>> read more
Baidu.com Soars (BIDU) (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
Baidu.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) just posted its quarterly earnings report, and our conversions are into US Dollars rather than Chinese RMB. The Chinese internet... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
>> read more
China: More on the Olympic 'sealing' of internet data centers (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
Following up on the massive IDC server room lockdown, veteran Shanghai blogger Wang Jianshuo has also posted on the new Olympic regulation. For a better idea of how it felt the last time something like this happened, read his post from last year, ‘Yes. I am very frustrated.‘
>> read more
Joost Cooperates With Tom To Explore China's Online Video Sector (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
According to foreign media, Joost, an American online video service provider, will cooperate with Tom Group to establish a joint venture in China and provide online video services to Chinese netizens. The joint venture will reportedly provide Chinese-language TV programs through the Internet. At present, Joost and Tom Group have opened a website which reportedly can [...]
>> read more
One of China's oldest blog service providers, Sohoxiaobao, has been kept shut down for a week already and looks to stay that way until the Beijing Olympics wrap up in late August.
>> read more
China: Baidu and Music Industry (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
DANWEI reprinted an article from Music 2.0 blog on Baidu's strategy in conquering the music industry.
>> read more
Baidu.com Soars (BIDU) (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
Baidu.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) just posted its quarterly earnings report, and our conversions are into US Dollars rather than Chinese RMB. The Chinese internet... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
>> read more
China: More on the Olympic 'sealing' of internet data centers (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
Following up on the massive IDC server room lockdown, veteran Shanghai blogger Wang Jianshuo has also posted on the new Olympic regulation. For a better idea of how it felt the last time something like this happened, read his post from last year, ‘Yes. I am very frustrated.‘
>> read more
Joost Cooperates With Tom To Explore China's Online Video Sector (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
According to foreign media, Joost, an American online video service provider, will cooperate with Tom Group to establish a joint venture in China and provide online video services to Chinese netizens. The joint venture will reportedly provide Chinese-language TV programs through the Internet. At present, Joost and Tom Group have opened a website which reportedly can [...]
>> read more
10 ways the Chinese Internet is different from yours[Slides] (Wed, 14 May 2008)
We all know that China censors the Internet for its citizens behind "The Great Firewall of China," but what are the consequences of that? Here's a balanced look at the pros and cons of the Chinese approach.
>> read more
Bill would penalize companies for aiding Internet censorship (Fri, 02 May 2008)
The Global Online Freedom Act aims to hold US-based companies liable for aiding Internet censorship in countries such as China, and for turning over personally-identifiable information except for "legitimate foreign law enforcement purposes." The catch: the president has the discretion to waive the law's requirements in the name of national securit
>> read more
China Vaults Past USA In Internet Users (Mon, 21 Apr 2008)
China, already the world leader in cellphone use, has surpassed the USA as the No. 1 nation in Internet users. The number of Chinese on the Internet hit more than 220 million as of February, according to estimates from official Chinese statistics by the Beijing-based research group BDA China.
>> read more
Wikileaks: over 150 censored videos&photos of Tibet uprising (Mon, 14 Apr 2008)
[Warning! Shocking Images] Wikileaks has also called on bloggers around the world to help drive the footage through the Chinese internet censorship regime — the so called "Great Firewall of China
>> read more
IOC Wants China to Open Up the Internet During Olympics (Tue, 01 Apr 2008)
The Internet must be open during the Beijing Olympics. That was the message a top-ranking International Olympic Committee official delivered Tuesday to Beijing organizers during the first of three days of meetings. China routinely blocks Internet access, a practice it has stepped up since rioting broke out over two weeks ago in Tibet.
>> read more
We all know that China censors the Internet for its citizens behind "The Great Firewall of China," but what are the consequences of that? Here's a balanced look at the pros and cons of the Chinese approach.
>> read more
Bill would penalize companies for aiding Internet censorship (Fri, 02 May 2008)
The Global Online Freedom Act aims to hold US-based companies liable for aiding Internet censorship in countries such as China, and for turning over personally-identifiable information except for "legitimate foreign law enforcement purposes." The catch: the president has the discretion to waive the law's requirements in the name of national securit
>> read more
China Vaults Past USA In Internet Users (Mon, 21 Apr 2008)
China, already the world leader in cellphone use, has surpassed the USA as the No. 1 nation in Internet users. The number of Chinese on the Internet hit more than 220 million as of February, according to estimates from official Chinese statistics by the Beijing-based research group BDA China.
>> read more
Wikileaks: over 150 censored videos&photos of Tibet uprising (Mon, 14 Apr 2008)
[Warning! Shocking Images] Wikileaks has also called on bloggers around the world to help drive the footage through the Chinese internet censorship regime — the so called "Great Firewall of China
>> read more
IOC Wants China to Open Up the Internet During Olympics (Tue, 01 Apr 2008)
The Internet must be open during the Beijing Olympics. That was the message a top-ranking International Olympic Committee official delivered Tuesday to Beijing organizers during the first of three days of meetings. China routinely blocks Internet access, a practice it has stepped up since rioting broke out over two weeks ago in Tibet.
>> read more
GroundReport: Beijing Reporter Contest for the Olympics 2008 (Sun, 13 Jul 2008)
GroundReport, founded by our friend Rachel Sterne is a social news platform that democratizes the media by helping everyone get involved. You can find world news, politics, business and opinion from reporters on the ground, across the globe. On GroundReport, anyone can publish news stories and photos, rate quality and earn a revenue share based [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "GroundReport: Beijing Reporter Contest for the Olympics 2008", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=432" });
>> read more
Share Your Life With Family, Will You? (Tue, 01 Jul 2008)
Based in Shanghai, 5j5x is another Chinese family-centered social network aims to help users share their life with relatives and friends. Many of us believe Social Networks are the big things in modern Internet, but the fact we have to be aware of is that the majority of users never or seldom contact their family [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Share Your Life With Family, Will You?", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=429" });
>> read more
India Web Joins OpenWeb.Asia Workgroup (Mon, 30 Jun 2008)
We are very happy to announce that 3 excellent tech blogs focusing on India web are now members of OpenWeb.Asia Workgroup: Pluggd.in is edited by Ashish Sinha who is a product manager for Yahoo India and also involved with several startup focused events in India. Startup Dunia, edited by Pranav Dharma is covering Indian startups, Web [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "India Web Joins OpenWeb.Asia Workgroup", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=428" });
>> read more
It Is More About Clones, Facebooks Made In China (Tue, 24 Jun 2008)
[Gang Lu: You can also find a revised version of this post on ReadWriteWeb. ] Facebook has officially launched its Japanese version, and its Chinese version was also released last week. However, the fact is that many Facebooks have been made in China and in operation for a long while, which probably means whether it will [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "It Is More About Clones, Facebooks Made In China", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=423" });
>> read more
Webpal Networks Brings Digital Marketing To Vietnam (Sun, 22 Jun 2008)
Webpal Networks, founded by Jason Vu, an investor and entrepreneur based in Vietnam, is officially in operation this week. Webpal Networks is probably the first international digital marketing firm in Vietnam provides digital marketing services including SEO, SEM, Social Media Optimization, Online Reputation Management that help clients monitor and manage online brand identity. According to Vietnam [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Webpal Networks Brings Digital Marketing To Vietnam", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=424" });
>> read more
GroundReport, founded by our friend Rachel Sterne is a social news platform that democratizes the media by helping everyone get involved. You can find world news, politics, business and opinion from reporters on the ground, across the globe. On GroundReport, anyone can publish news stories and photos, rate quality and earn a revenue share based [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "GroundReport: Beijing Reporter Contest for the Olympics 2008", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=432" });
>> read more
Share Your Life With Family, Will You? (Tue, 01 Jul 2008)
Based in Shanghai, 5j5x is another Chinese family-centered social network aims to help users share their life with relatives and friends. Many of us believe Social Networks are the big things in modern Internet, but the fact we have to be aware of is that the majority of users never or seldom contact their family [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Share Your Life With Family, Will You?", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=429" });
>> read more
India Web Joins OpenWeb.Asia Workgroup (Mon, 30 Jun 2008)
We are very happy to announce that 3 excellent tech blogs focusing on India web are now members of OpenWeb.Asia Workgroup: Pluggd.in is edited by Ashish Sinha who is a product manager for Yahoo India and also involved with several startup focused events in India. Startup Dunia, edited by Pranav Dharma is covering Indian startups, Web [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "India Web Joins OpenWeb.Asia Workgroup", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=428" });
>> read more
It Is More About Clones, Facebooks Made In China (Tue, 24 Jun 2008)
[Gang Lu: You can also find a revised version of this post on ReadWriteWeb. ] Facebook has officially launched its Japanese version, and its Chinese version was also released last week. However, the fact is that many Facebooks have been made in China and in operation for a long while, which probably means whether it will [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "It Is More About Clones, Facebooks Made In China", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=423" });
>> read more
Webpal Networks Brings Digital Marketing To Vietnam (Sun, 22 Jun 2008)
Webpal Networks, founded by Jason Vu, an investor and entrepreneur based in Vietnam, is officially in operation this week. Webpal Networks is probably the first international digital marketing firm in Vietnam provides digital marketing services including SEO, SEM, Social Media Optimization, Online Reputation Management that help clients monitor and manage online brand identity. According to Vietnam [...]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Webpal Networks Brings Digital Marketing To Vietnam", url: "http://www.mobinode.com/?p=424" });
>> read more
techblog86: [techblog86] From David Feng: 22 Hours To The Sanlitun Apple Store (Part Two): David Feng .. http://tinyurl.com/6eoyuv (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
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techblog86: [techblog86] From David Feng: 22 Hours To The Sanlitun Apple Store (Part One): David Feng .. http://tinyurl.com/59lx8v (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
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techblog86: [techblog86] Coming Wednesday on techblog86: 22 Hours To Sanlitun: A Full Report: David Fe.. http://tinyurl.com/5nshkd (Tue, 22 Jul 2008)
>> read more
techblog86: Armband numbers up to 1000! (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
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techblog86: Slogan yelling: Apple is coming! (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
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techblog86: [techblog86] From David Feng: 22 Hours To The Sanlitun Apple Store (Part One): David Feng .. http://tinyurl.com/59lx8v (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
>> read more
techblog86: [techblog86] Coming Wednesday on techblog86: 22 Hours To Sanlitun: A Full Report: David Fe.. http://tinyurl.com/5nshkd (Tue, 22 Jul 2008)
>> read more
techblog86: Armband numbers up to 1000! (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
>> read more
techblog86: Slogan yelling: Apple is coming! (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
>> read more
Justin.tv now available in Chinese, Traditional and Simplified (Mon, 14 Jul 2008)
Justin.tv is reaching out to users in Asia, specifically China (Hong Kong included) and Taiwan. According to Justin’s post in their blog, they just released a Traditional and Simplified Chinese version. However, it’s appears to be a straight translation of the English version, which may work in Hong Kong, but will have to [...]
>> read more
Harbork - Make Money with this Content Driven Community (Mon, 07 Jul 2008)
Harbork is a new social network from Hong Kong. It is currently in private beta and they demo-ed it to the crowd at the Startup Hong Kong event couple weeks ago. The idea behind this is allowing their users to monetize for the traffic that is generated from the content uploads, including videos, classifieds, [...]
>> read more
Entrepreneur 27 Singapore Unconference (Sun, 06 Jul 2008)
While Hong Kong has started to take on the idea of Barcamp unconferences, Singapore is initiating these events all year round. On top of Barcamps there, Entrepreneur 27 Singapore has been hosting their own unconferences for five yearstimes in two years now. This year’s event will be on July 12, 2008. There will [...]
>> read more
Youblog - The New Lifesterblog (Wed, 02 Jul 2008)
This is news, two local startups rebranding themselves with new names this month. First it was Bullpoo, with changing to Duedee. Now, Lifesterblog, the local blog host that makes a good alternative to Yahoo! Hong Kong’s basic blog platform, renaming themselves to Youblog.cc. You won’t notice much differences between the old site and [...]
>> read more
3 Hong Kong Doubles the Price of 3G iPhones (Mon, 30 Jun 2008)
We all know the 3G iPhone will be a hit, I’ve waited knowing they had plans to release a 3G version after the launch of the 2G version. In Hong Kong, the sole provider, 3 Hong Kong, is taking advantage of this and have jacked up the prices. As a clueless consumer (not [...]
>> read more
Justin.tv is reaching out to users in Asia, specifically China (Hong Kong included) and Taiwan. According to Justin’s post in their blog, they just released a Traditional and Simplified Chinese version. However, it’s appears to be a straight translation of the English version, which may work in Hong Kong, but will have to [...]
>> read more
Harbork - Make Money with this Content Driven Community (Mon, 07 Jul 2008)
Harbork is a new social network from Hong Kong. It is currently in private beta and they demo-ed it to the crowd at the Startup Hong Kong event couple weeks ago. The idea behind this is allowing their users to monetize for the traffic that is generated from the content uploads, including videos, classifieds, [...]
>> read more
Entrepreneur 27 Singapore Unconference (Sun, 06 Jul 2008)
While Hong Kong has started to take on the idea of Barcamp unconferences, Singapore is initiating these events all year round. On top of Barcamps there, Entrepreneur 27 Singapore has been hosting their own unconferences for five yearstimes in two years now. This year’s event will be on July 12, 2008. There will [...]
>> read more
Youblog - The New Lifesterblog (Wed, 02 Jul 2008)
This is news, two local startups rebranding themselves with new names this month. First it was Bullpoo, with changing to Duedee. Now, Lifesterblog, the local blog host that makes a good alternative to Yahoo! Hong Kong’s basic blog platform, renaming themselves to Youblog.cc. You won’t notice much differences between the old site and [...]
>> read more
3 Hong Kong Doubles the Price of 3G iPhones (Mon, 30 Jun 2008)
We all know the 3G iPhone will be a hit, I’ve waited knowing they had plans to release a 3G version after the launch of the 2G version. In Hong Kong, the sole provider, 3 Hong Kong, is taking advantage of this and have jacked up the prices. As a clueless consumer (not [...]
>> read more
Japan
What Happens to Yahoo in Asia? (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
(BusinessWeek)
>> read more
Google 77.4% Dominance In US, Japan A Whole Other Story! (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
(searchnewz.com)
>> read more
Japanese browser maker taking on IE, Firefox (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
(IT World)
>> read more
Yahoo eyeing sale of stake in Japan division (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
(Japan Times)
>> read more
New VoIP mobile service in Japan (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
(telappliant.com)
>> read more
(BusinessWeek)
>> read more
Google 77.4% Dominance In US, Japan A Whole Other Story! (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
(searchnewz.com)
>> read more
Japanese browser maker taking on IE, Firefox (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
(IT World)
>> read more
Yahoo eyeing sale of stake in Japan division (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
(Japan Times)
>> read more
New VoIP mobile service in Japan (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
(telappliant.com)
>> read more
Lonely Nerds Now Have Cyber Alice (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
Lonely Nerds Now Have Cyber Alice in: Crazy Stuff, Internet, Science & Technology News, Video Games Humanity has accomplished some amazing things by combining virtual reality with plain ole reality. This is not one of those things. This is something designed to give randy nerds a few cheap thrills. The idea is that if you can’t find a girlfriend, Alice will take a shot at being the object of your affections.
>> read more
Japan: The Linguistics of Nico Nico Douga (Sun, 20 Jul 2008)
Metagold is a research blog based out of a project at Goldsmiths College, University of London, focused exclusively on the video sharing web service Nico Nico Douga. In a July 15th post, Metagold takes up the story of a linguist at Kyoto University, Kanamaru-san (id:kana0355 [ja]), who “asks how the basic difference of the comments' placement […] creates the specific speech situations of commenting on Nico Nico Douga and Youtube.”
>> read more
Japan: Facebook Will Fail? (Fri, 18 Jul 2008)
Akky Akimoto from Asiajin looks into the obstacle of facebook's development in Japan.
>> read more
Japan: Internet Trend (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
Peter Payne from Japundit blogs about the latest internet trend among young people in Japan.
>> read more
Japan: Tokyo2point0 (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
Serkan Toto from Asiajin reports on the two presentations in the Tokyo2point0 event. The first is about a Japan portal site Goo and the second is about Japan twitter.
>> read more
Lonely Nerds Now Have Cyber Alice in: Crazy Stuff, Internet, Science & Technology News, Video Games Humanity has accomplished some amazing things by combining virtual reality with plain ole reality. This is not one of those things. This is something designed to give randy nerds a few cheap thrills. The idea is that if you can’t find a girlfriend, Alice will take a shot at being the object of your affections.
>> read more
Japan: The Linguistics of Nico Nico Douga (Sun, 20 Jul 2008)
Metagold is a research blog based out of a project at Goldsmiths College, University of London, focused exclusively on the video sharing web service Nico Nico Douga. In a July 15th post, Metagold takes up the story of a linguist at Kyoto University, Kanamaru-san (id:kana0355 [ja]), who “asks how the basic difference of the comments' placement […] creates the specific speech situations of commenting on Nico Nico Douga and Youtube.”
>> read more
Japan: Facebook Will Fail? (Fri, 18 Jul 2008)
Akky Akimoto from Asiajin looks into the obstacle of facebook's development in Japan.
>> read more
Japan: Internet Trend (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
Peter Payne from Japundit blogs about the latest internet trend among young people in Japan.
>> read more
Japan: Tokyo2point0 (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
Serkan Toto from Asiajin reports on the two presentations in the Tokyo2point0 event. The first is about a Japan portal site Goo and the second is about Japan twitter.
>> read more
シニアのデジタルデバイド：Digital Divide of Seniors (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
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「電気自動車を殺したのは誰なのか」とTesla：Who killed the Electric Car? (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
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水で走る車で袋叩きになる：Japanese Water Car and Its Skeptics (Sun, 22 Jun 2008)
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Google Map x Flickr = EarthAlbum.com (Wed, 18 Jun 2008)
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これは何でしょう？：Reef Sandal (Sun, 01 Jun 2008)
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「電気自動車を殺したのは誰なのか」とTesla：Who killed the Electric Car? (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
>> read more
水で走る車で袋叩きになる：Japanese Water Car and Its Skeptics (Sun, 22 Jun 2008)
>> read more
Google Map x Flickr = EarthAlbum.com (Wed, 18 Jun 2008)
>> read more
これは何でしょう？：Reef Sandal (Sun, 01 Jun 2008)
>> read more
Facebook's co-founder taken to Tokyo Venture Beat by yours truly (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
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11 Venture Capitalists+me in the Japanese woods (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
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My 3rd Techcrunch article+USA trip to TC 50 (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
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I took part in the Mobile Monday Tokyo event (July 2008) (Wed, 16 Jul 2008)
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Article about me on Turkey's leading Tech blog Webrazzi (Fri, 27 Jun 2008)
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11 Venture Capitalists+me in the Japanese woods (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
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My 3rd Techcrunch article+USA trip to TC 50 (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
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I took part in the Mobile Monday Tokyo event (July 2008) (Wed, 16 Jul 2008)
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Article about me on Turkey's leading Tech blog Webrazzi (Fri, 27 Jun 2008)
>> read more
Korea
Youtube Korea seeing a nice growth (Thu, 24 Jul 2008)
ZDNet Korea reports that Youtube has seen a nice growth since its launch in Korea, making the service a third popular service among all video services in Korea.
Youtube PV (source: Korean Click) According to Korean Click, a Korean web analytics service, Youtube Korea is doing about 55mm monthly page views, while Pandora.tv (the leading player) is doing about 160mm. Youtube Korea's traffic grew by 66% in the first half of the year, making the service the highest growth entertainment web property in Korea. The recent success of Youtube is largely attributed to localized content - Youtube Korea has partnered with Korea's local content companies such as cable TV networks. But some people also believe that at least part of the reason why Youtube is popular in Korea is because as a foreign service, Youtube is not directly under the government control.
>> read more
Korean government mulling over scraping WIPI altogether (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
Image from GoogleWIPI (Wireless Internet Platform for Interoperability) is Korea's standard mobile application platform that's currently required on all mobile phones sold in Korea. WIPI was driven by the Korean government, but the government is now thinking about scraping WIPI altogether.
The original idea behind WIPI was to give interoperability to Korean mobile content providers, who had to re-develop their applications for different carriers that were each using different mobile application platforms. Before WIPI was introduced, SK Telecom was using its own VM (virtual machine), KTF was using Qualcomm's Brew, and LG Telecom used Java. As such, content providers - say a mobile game developer - had to re-develop their applications at least three times if they wanted to serve customers through all three carriers. Multiply this to the number of handsets they had to optimize their apps for, and you could imagine how much pain in the arse it had been for them.
Came for the rescue was WIPI. WIPI was a middleware that could theoretically run both Java (MIDP) and Brew applications on top of it. How wonderful - It was like developer's dreams come true. But in practice, there had been lots of small rough edges; Also, the WIPI requirement effectively kept certain phones from entering into the Korean market, most notably the iPhone. (Do you honestly believe Apple would even toy with the idea of getting WIPI onto their iPhone just for the smallish Korean market?)
WIPI was (and honestly, still is) a noble concept, and it did its part very well. Thanks to WIPI, Korean mobile content developers could save lots of energy and time. But it was still only a Korean standard (despite Korean government's hard efforts to globalize it), and in this open era any technology standard that's bound to a specific country doesn't sound terribly good. So it looks like we'll have to say goodbye to WIPI - and hopefully say hello to iPhone.
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Should SK Telecom buy Sprint? (Wed, 16 Jul 2008)
CNBC reported Korea's #1 mobile carrier SK Telecom is in talks to acquire Sprint of the US. This is definitely not the first time SK Telecom was rumored to be interested in such a deal. Should SK Telecom buy Sprint? I think so, given these: 1. SK Group has a fairly deep pocket and has a track record of hit acquisitions, so they will probably make this work right. Sprint is bigger than SK Telecom, but if we talk about the whole SK Group instead of SKT as a single company, it's a whole different story. This is relatively little known outside of Korea, but SK Group, Korea's #3 chaebol (after Samsung Group and LG Group), practically built itself through successful acquisitions. SK Telecom itself was an acquisition, and SKT has been quietly gobbling up content companies including Cyworld over the years. Of course there were some bad deals too (did someone just say Helio?), but you win some and you lose some, right? I believe there are more than enough # of smart guys at SK Group who will make sure a deal of this magnitude won't go sideways. 2. For SK Telecom, which is thriving in the Korean market but has been pretty much nonexistent outside the country, gaining an international presence is the name of the game. You can rule the Korean market as much as you want, but you're still limited to about 20-25 million subscribers range (Korean antitrust law demands SKT to keep its market share to about 50%). Sprint will give them a pretty nice presence in the ever-important US market, as well as a decent number of subscribers.
Image from Google3. Sprint will be a much better platform on which SK Telecom can roll out advanced handsets and services, than Helio was. Remember Helio users (albeit very few) were quite happy with their slick phones and their ARPU was a whopping $80. SK Telecom can introduce interesting mobile services running on slick phones (such as the Samsung Instinct). Of course it will be a huge challenge to stack up against the iPhone and its app store. But even if SK Telecom indeed buys Sprint, one thing they should never ever do is to try to inject Korean blood (human resource, corporate culture, services not localized enough, etc) into the American body. That doesn't work, and I'm sure everyone at SKT knows it by now very well, through their largely failed attempt to bring Cyworld to the US.
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More evidence that Koreans are hooked to the net (Tue, 15 Jul 2008)
According to a recent study, 9.2% of the whole Korean population (including 14% of all teens) are found to be the "internet addicts" who may need to seek some professional help. Another survey done by Belkin Korea (the Korean branch of the computer accessories company) showed that the favorite spot at home where Koreans use their laptops and notebook computers is the bedroom. When asked where they use their notebook computers at home mostly, 40% of Koreans answered "in bedroom", compared to living room (31%) and study (24%). This explains a product like this. (It's a Belkin product, by the way).
Hey, aren't you supposed to sleep in bedroom? Apparently, for some folks, that's not necessarily the case. (I had posted these pics before too). 
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What % of your front page content is news? (Tue, 15 Jul 2008)
The other day, a senator from Korea's ruling Hannara Party proposed a law that can at best be described as "weird". According to the proposed "Internet Newspaper Law", if over 50% of a given website's front page content is found to be of journalistic nature, the website will be classified as "an internet newspaper site" and will have to follow relevant laws that are currently enforced on traditional media companies. On the other hand (I think this is even funnier), according to the proposal, if less than 50% of a website's front page content is of journalistic nature, then the website is defined as a "non-news site", and such a site cannot undertake any media activities such as reporting news or making commentaries. So how do you measure "50% of the front page content" anyway? Or, what if a website filled exactly 48% of its front page with news, if such measurement can ever be done? (According to the proposal, such a website cannot be deemed as an internet news site and therefore shouldn't put up news content on their sites.) All I can say is the politicians *so* don't get it - anywhere in the world, even in this cutting-edge Korean society. I certainly hope this laughable proposal won't pass.
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ZDNet Korea reports that Youtube has seen a nice growth since its launch in Korea, making the service a third popular service among all video services in Korea.
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Korean government mulling over scraping WIPI altogether (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
>> read more
Should SK Telecom buy Sprint? (Wed, 16 Jul 2008)
CNBC reported Korea's #1 mobile carrier SK Telecom is in talks to acquire Sprint of the US. This is definitely not the first time SK Telecom was rumored to be interested in such a deal. Should SK Telecom buy Sprint? I think so, given these: 1. SK Group has a fairly deep pocket and has a track record of hit acquisitions, so they will probably make this work right. Sprint is bigger than SK Telecom, but if we talk about the whole SK Group instead of SKT as a single company, it's a whole different story. This is relatively little known outside of Korea, but SK Group, Korea's #3 chaebol (after Samsung Group and LG Group), practically built itself through successful acquisitions. SK Telecom itself was an acquisition, and SKT has been quietly gobbling up content companies including Cyworld over the years. Of course there were some bad deals too (did someone just say Helio?), but you win some and you lose some, right? I believe there are more than enough # of smart guys at SK Group who will make sure a deal of this magnitude won't go sideways. 2. For SK Telecom, which is thriving in the Korean market but has been pretty much nonexistent outside the country, gaining an international presence is the name of the game. You can rule the Korean market as much as you want, but you're still limited to about 20-25 million subscribers range (Korean antitrust law demands SKT to keep its market share to about 50%). Sprint will give them a pretty nice presence in the ever-important US market, as well as a decent number of subscribers.
>> read more
More evidence that Koreans are hooked to the net (Tue, 15 Jul 2008)
According to a recent study, 9.2% of the whole Korean population (including 14% of all teens) are found to be the "internet addicts" who may need to seek some professional help. Another survey done by Belkin Korea (the Korean branch of the computer accessories company) showed that the favorite spot at home where Koreans use their laptops and notebook computers is the bedroom. When asked where they use their notebook computers at home mostly, 40% of Koreans answered "in bedroom", compared to living room (31%) and study (24%). This explains a product like this. (It's a Belkin product, by the way).
>> read more
What % of your front page content is news? (Tue, 15 Jul 2008)
>> read more
Flying Cars, Flying Space Stations, and Mosques for Flying Birds (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant, Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco to name the Sewage Plant after George W Bush, Real Flying Car, The Sky Cutter .40 V2, The Flying Lawn Mower, Gear Factor Marketing, The heads of the International Space Station meet in Paris, International Space Station, WaPo: Put Wings on The ISS and Send it to the Moon, Slashdot Readers to WaPo: ROFLMAO, Connect a Desk Connects a Laptop to Your Neck, 9.2 Percent of Koreans are Addicted to the Inte
>> read more
Flying Cars, Flying Space Stations, and Mosques for Flying Birds (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant, Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco to name the Sewage Plant after George W Bush, Real Flying Car, The Sky Cutter .40 V2, The Flying Lawn Mower, Gear Factor Marketing, The heads of the International Space Station meet in Paris, International Space Station, WaPo: Put Wings on The ISS and Send it to the Moon, Slashdot Readers to WaPo: ROFLMAO, Connect a Desk Connects a Laptop to Your Neck, 9.2 Percent of Koreans are Addicted to the Inte
>> read more
In South Korea GPS surfs the Internet for you (Wed, 09 Jul 2008)
KT Telecom a South Korean telecom giant has announced that it will be delivering high speed Internet or mobile broadband Internet service via navigation devices in the local market. Using WiBro it delivers faster access speeds than HSDPA so you can enjoy ultra fast downloads when cruising at over 120 kmph. Best of all it will be affordable and economically priced. Source
>> read more
Websites Unite To Protest Internet Censorship In Uzbekistan (Wed, 25 Jun 2008)
Several websites in Central Asia have launched what they call an “unlimited campaign” against Internet censorship to protest the increasingly restricted access in Uzbekistan to independent websites. The independent websites fergana.ru and uznews.net and an online news bulletin, “Uzbekistan’s Civil Society,” have placed a special emblem on their homepages that carries the inscription “This Site Is Blocked in Uzbekistan.” The websites, which have been blocked in Uzbekistan for years, are callin
>> read more
Alipay Enters Australia Through Partnership With Paymate (Mon, 16 Jun 2008)
Alipay, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has announced in Hangzhou the launching of Hai Wai Bao, a new Chinese shopping platform which has been jointly set up between Alipay and Australia's online payment company Paymate. Earlier this year, Alipay signed a cooperation agreement with Paymate. The cooperation between the parties enables Chinese consumers to do shopping directly [...]
>> read more
The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant, Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco to name the Sewage Plant after George W Bush, Real Flying Car, The Sky Cutter .40 V2, The Flying Lawn Mower, Gear Factor Marketing, The heads of the International Space Station meet in Paris, International Space Station, WaPo: Put Wings on The ISS and Send it to the Moon, Slashdot Readers to WaPo: ROFLMAO, Connect a Desk Connects a Laptop to Your Neck, 9.2 Percent of Koreans are Addicted to the Inte
>> read more
Flying Cars, Flying Space Stations, and Mosques for Flying Birds (Mon, 21 Jul 2008)
The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant, Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco to name the Sewage Plant after George W Bush, Real Flying Car, The Sky Cutter .40 V2, The Flying Lawn Mower, Gear Factor Marketing, The heads of the International Space Station meet in Paris, International Space Station, WaPo: Put Wings on The ISS and Send it to the Moon, Slashdot Readers to WaPo: ROFLMAO, Connect a Desk Connects a Laptop to Your Neck, 9.2 Percent of Koreans are Addicted to the Inte
>> read more
In South Korea GPS surfs the Internet for you (Wed, 09 Jul 2008)
KT Telecom a South Korean telecom giant has announced that it will be delivering high speed Internet or mobile broadband Internet service via navigation devices in the local market. Using WiBro it delivers faster access speeds than HSDPA so you can enjoy ultra fast downloads when cruising at over 120 kmph. Best of all it will be affordable and economically priced. Source
>> read more
Websites Unite To Protest Internet Censorship In Uzbekistan (Wed, 25 Jun 2008)
Several websites in Central Asia have launched what they call an “unlimited campaign” against Internet censorship to protest the increasingly restricted access in Uzbekistan to independent websites. The independent websites fergana.ru and uznews.net and an online news bulletin, “Uzbekistan’s Civil Society,” have placed a special emblem on their homepages that carries the inscription “This Site Is Blocked in Uzbekistan.” The websites, which have been blocked in Uzbekistan for years, are callin
>> read more
Alipay Enters Australia Through Partnership With Paymate (Mon, 16 Jun 2008)
Alipay, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has announced in Hangzhou the launching of Hai Wai Bao, a new Chinese shopping platform which has been jointly set up between Alipay and Australia's online payment company Paymate. Earlier this year, Alipay signed a cooperation agreement with Paymate. The cooperation between the parties enables Chinese consumers to do shopping directly [...]
>> read more
The Real ‘Cyber Insult’: Internet Control (Wed, 23 Jul 2008)
some insightful commentary about the recent announcement/rulings from the Korea Communications Commission. Link: [Editorial] Hankyoreh Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han says he is considering the creation of a new crime, that of a “cyber insult.” This is a conspicuous revelation of...
>> read more
New Ruling Holds Portals Accountable for User Copyright, Privacy, Content (Tue, 22 Jul 2008)
A recent ruling by the Fair Trade Commission announces a new standard of accountability for online portals, including Daum and Naver. The commission ordered the sites to straighten out the agreements by the end of September. it examined 110 contracts...
>> read more
SK Telecom's Global Ambitions (Sun, 20 Jul 2008)
Link: Businessweek: Why Korea's SK Telecom Wants Sprint [SK Telecom], the biggest mobile carrier in the country, is determined to establish itself as a major player in the world's most influential consumer market. Moreover, a technological fit between the two...
>> read more
Less Traffic, More Gov't Scrutiny for Internet Portals (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
The notorious monopoly grip on online traffic that internet portal giants Naver and Daum have in South Korea, appears to be loosening. Talks of mergers with software co.'s, tighter gov't regulation...this merits close attention in the coming months. Link: Digital...
>> read more
Constantly Connected - Korean Internet Habits (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
*photo from Web2.0Asia Chang's post emphasizes the pervasiveness of internet and computer-related activities in the everyday lives of most South Koreans. A few recent studies (in Korean) are cited. Link: Web 2.0 Asia According to a recent study, 9.2% of...
>> read more
some insightful commentary about the recent announcement/rulings from the Korea Communications Commission. Link: [Editorial] Hankyoreh Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han says he is considering the creation of a new crime, that of a “cyber insult.” This is a conspicuous revelation of...
>> read more
New Ruling Holds Portals Accountable for User Copyright, Privacy, Content (Tue, 22 Jul 2008)
A recent ruling by the Fair Trade Commission announces a new standard of accountability for online portals, including Daum and Naver. The commission ordered the sites to straighten out the agreements by the end of September. it examined 110 contracts...
>> read more
SK Telecom's Global Ambitions (Sun, 20 Jul 2008)
Link: Businessweek: Why Korea's SK Telecom Wants Sprint [SK Telecom], the biggest mobile carrier in the country, is determined to establish itself as a major player in the world's most influential consumer market. Moreover, a technological fit between the two...
>> read more
Less Traffic, More Gov't Scrutiny for Internet Portals (Sat, 19 Jul 2008)
The notorious monopoly grip on online traffic that internet portal giants Naver and Daum have in South Korea, appears to be loosening. Talks of mergers with software co.'s, tighter gov't regulation...this merits close attention in the coming months. Link: Digital...
>> read more
Constantly Connected - Korean Internet Habits (Thu, 17 Jul 2008)
*photo from Web2.0Asia Chang's post emphasizes the pervasiveness of internet and computer-related activities in the everyday lives of most South Koreans. A few recent studies (in Korean) are cited. Link: Web 2.0 Asia According to a recent study, 9.2% of...
>> read more
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