On CNReviews, we showcase the best, the most innovative, and the most interesting debate about the Chinese Web 2.0 as the week draws to a close…
This week has been the first “real” week after the October Break, which this year was moved ahead two days to start September 29, 2008. We’re starting out with some of the most known tech-related sites in China; we’ll expand our view a tad later on and help shine spotlights on some of the lesser known sites that have interesting views to share…
Kaiser Kuo’s Digital Watch
Probably one of the most notable and Must-Keep-Your-Eyes-On-This tech blogs in the PRC is that from Kaiser Kuo. The bilingual Digital Watch posted quite a number of interesting posts throughout the past week…
• The US markets have plummeted beyond recognition, and the very same can be said for much of the world’s economy, so there’s a post about how the downturn will impact China’s Internet sector. Kaiser spoke with David Wolf of Wolf Group Asia. Funding is expected to get tight, but at the same time, local VCs with RMB-denominated funds could really jump into the limelight.
The DF (David Feng) Take: I chatted with my best friend in Singapore just days ago, and the consensus is that the world economy has taken a hell of a beating. China is likely to face less impact, though, as its economy is not exactly USA II (either in terms of policy, or “opennness”, or the somewhat-convertible Renminbi Yuan). However, bits and pieces of the PRC economically connected with the US on a larger scale will likely get hit — quite a number of export factories around Guangzhou and Shenzhen have apparently felt the punch.
As an entrepreneur-to-be (I do, after all, want to start my own company), the thing that gets you out of the starting gate is MONEY. The CNY still buys less than the USD if you’re looking at the whole thing on a “How-Much-Is-This-Dollar-Worth-In-Terms-Of-Actual-Renminbi” basis (as in USD 1 = approx. CNY 6.8 or something like that), but the Renminbi is the currency of the future. It will appreciate. Money from any (legit!) source is what gets your company out of the starting gate. If I had to start a company the next second, I’ll look for both local and global players to get the money in — never discount the local VCs!
The Mobinode
• Gang Lu’s excellent (and equally bilingual) The Mobinode tells of the imminent inaugural Open Web Asia 08 Conference. There’s a 10% discount (if you act really quick — they could’ve already disappeared…)
The DF Take: If it wasn’t for the fact that I’ve commitments in Beijing that have more than implanted me here, I’d have flown over to South Korea in no time. I wish the inaugural Open Web Asia 08 Conference nothing but the best, and am confident that they’ll do more than well. I hear that @loiclemeur’s headed to Seoul.
China Web 2.0 Review
China Web 2.0 Review, written mainly by Tangos Chan, but also by others of note, has been tracking the next-generation Web in China for quite a while and is worth a read.
• BlogBus is about to launch an SNS service — this is of note as Blogbus is a relatively well-established blog provider based in Shanghai. 100 users have been invited to test the new SNS service. Also of interest: the new SNS will not have games such as “Friends for Sale”. The report rounds up saying:
2008 will be marked as a year of SNS in China, but most of those social networking sites look similar. Can Blogbus bring some surprises to us?
Well said, Tangos. The PRC web needs more innovation and less imitation.
The DF Take: First of, I’m really pleased that the new SNS will not have pointless (the way I see it). Second of all, this is going to be a brave new step for an established blog provider.
Just before this post went to press the Internet, I heard by way of a few tweets that China Unicom may also have did its own SNS thing. There’s nothing wrong with SNSs — and do note that the Chinese as a whole are more group-oriented than individualistic — but doing 1.3 billion SNS services pushes the whole thing to saturation point. Things will eventually happen — and for some, it won’t be all that good.
• Also of note: Don’t Just Talk At Me, Talk With Me — two video clips about how to be newly successful in China’s changing branding environment.
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It’s just about two months before the Chinese Blogger Conference 2008 is reality — I’m already thinking of making a second trip back (last year was my first). Since that 2007 conf in Beijing (which was really close to where I lived), the Chinese Internet has changed quite a bit…
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Bits and Bobs: Views on the Chinese Internet, September 2008 (Part One) 
