State of the Internet in China

Posted on 28. Jun, 2007 by in Uncategorized

In this podcast Kaiser Kuo at the advertising agency Ogilvy, gives us a rundown on the state of Internet in China. Some highlights:

  • 10% of the Chinese population is now online. That makes roughly 140+ million users.
  • Most users are in larger urban areas. Countryside penetration is low.
  • Many internet users in China never surf. They only chat with QQ, a very successful chat program and web portal.
  • Web 2.0 is catching on. But lack of APIs is a problem.
  • Lack of trustworthy site metrics is a big problem. Only way to check “the figures” is to look at bandwidth and server spending.
  • Most companies don’t make money yet.
  • Chinese people are very receptive to advertisement, and likes watching it.
  • 18-19 million blogs.
  • China is a hotpot for streaming tv companies. Many startups, like pplive.
  • Now when older people start to use the net, an new problem have occured. Many olders users have not learned how to input Chinese characters on a computer. Therefore, large link portals like those that died in the last bubble have their place in China.

Kaiser Kuo worked for an early startup in China called ChinaNow.com until the bubble burst. He has also been a buero chief for red herring in China and worked earlier as a freelance writer for a number of IT magazines.

Check out Ogilvy’s China Digital Digital Watch on anything in the intersection of marketing and internet in China.

Kaiser Kuo also started the first heavy metal band in China, Tang Dynasty, in 1992.

This is the first podcast in a series of podcasts about internet in China.

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