Things I’ve learned in China so far
Just some quick impressions.
1. If you want to compete with your web service and keep copying from happening, do two things: 1. let users upload streaming, live, video. That drives the censors here nuts. 2. Make your system totally open so your users can leave. The Chinese don’t understand that concept. They love cloning walled garden approaches like Facebook. Even that won’t guarantee success here, they have resources for cloning services that you just wouldn’t believe.
2. If you could make face masks sexy you could make a mint here. The pollution is horrendous. Last time I was here, 11 years ago, it was bad, but now it’s worse and people are starting to wear masks to protect their lungs. I think a good marketing campaign would be all you’d need.
3. American brands are doing very well here. There are tons of Buicks here (GM started with Buick because that was a brand that was in the national consciousness here. There are tons of American brands here from Osh-Kosh to McDonalds to Budweiser (they think it’s better beer than their own beer).
4. I met with quite a few geeks here building companies. It was very rare to find an entrepreneur that had been in Shanghai for more than six years. The amount of new people moving in to build businesses is amazing.
5. The censorship here is an annoyance that everyone makes fun of. It’s sort of like having a boss that randomly turns off websites to try to keep you working on what he wants you to work on. But, when you dig deeper you see it really is a protectionist scheme that keeps businesses from outside China from effectively competing. There are several Facebook clones here that are more popular (and more profitable, even) than Facebook itself.
6. I’ll never complain again about California drivers or California smog laws.
7. Chicken feet are more tasty than one might expect.
More to come soon.
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November 10th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
[...] what our perspectives on freedom are and what theirs are. This is currently being highlighted by Robert Scoble during his China tour, and Paul Glazowski talked a bit about this over the [...]
November 10th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
hah. great post.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Quick word of advice - Invest with care. Funds have a habit of disappearing - at every stage of a business project. Have fun and socialize.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
[...] what our perspectives on freedom are and what theirs are. This is currently being highlighted by Robert Scoble during his China tour, and Paul Glazowski talked a bit about this over the [...]
November 10th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
China and their people will soon become compassionate.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
Why don u pay for all of your theft.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:26 am
Chicken feet are not bad but if you are in Shanghai, the best food should be the soup dumpling (Xiaolongbao). You must try it before you leave!
November 11th, 2008 at 1:45 am
Budweiser isn’t american. It’s Czech lager.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Try a Chinese reflexology foot massage while you are there. It is quite the experience and can improve your sleep if jet lagged. Also, haggle like crazy! They see you and they will jack up the price, cut it down to at least half or walk away. Also, get someone else to wash your hair at the hair salon, it should cost less than $10 USD and comes with a scalp and shoulder massage…the advantages of cheap labor…
November 11th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Interesting observations so far, Robert. I would not recommend anybody to start a streaming live video service though. If you try to do it inside China you won’t get a license (=end of business before you can even start) and and if you host outside China the service will likely be blocked within a few weeks.
The face masks are actually not for the pollution (a common misconception) but you wear them if you have a cold to avoid infecting others.
November 11th, 2008 at 4:28 am
Ha! I read “If you could make face masks sexy you could make a mint here. The POPULATION is horrendous” and thought, that’s rather uncalled for!
I wonder how India compares to China in terms of potential future impact in the tech industry. I imagine the Great Firewall will prevent the adoption and realisation of the openness ideas we’re coming to accept / expect with new web apps.
November 11th, 2008 at 5:21 am
[...] Nano. This is a fake iPhone that you can get in China, as spotted by Robert Scoble during his current trip to China. Bookmark and ShareClose Bookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser Favorites / [...]
November 11th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Yeah. I would think chicken feet might be flavorful just like the wing tip. I haven’t tasted chicken feet though. Bring back a recipe. We can have them as snacks at a special Scobleizer conference!
November 11th, 2008 at 6:40 am
I think I’m still going to go ahead and complain about California smog laws, at least those relating to cars.
November 11th, 2008 at 7:49 am
They like American Bud?
It was all going so well.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:09 am
[...] what our perspectives on freedom are and what theirs are. This is currently being highlighted by Robert Scoble during his China tour, and Paul Glazowski talked a bit about this over the [...]
November 11th, 2008 at 8:24 am
What are the Facebooks of China?
I did a little digging and found these two:
http://www.xiaonei.com
http://www.51.com/
Am I right?
November 11th, 2008 at 9:39 am
This is a great post, thank you. I love travelogue stuff like this. Very much appreciated.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Robert,
Sounds like a great trip so far– I have to admit that a blog posts admitting that trying out chicken feet wasn’t that bad are few and far in between!
November 11th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Hey Rob…
ONE OF MY MEMORIES OF WEB-DRIVEN CHINA:
1-Going into tucked away internet cafes located in between apartments in Beijing.
2-Having to give in my ID and get it fotocopied (drove me insane)
3-Barely able to find a computer available because these room were FILLED with dozens of teenagers, men and women, all playing video games, smoking and drinking Sprite.
4-NOTE: This was of course on a Wednesday at 11am)
5-Adamant to judge, I must confess I did feel scared and felt sorry for all those young people in there. It was a weird vibe.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Sexy gas masks. Unfortunately I see this being big. Love the post.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
#6 is so true, drive carefully ;-)
my comments at http://www.commentino.com/orim
November 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Thanks for showing your ignorance.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
With all of your “I am not an American”, Socialist, liberal leanings, it’s no wonder you have assimilated so well. Did you buy a one-way ticket or round trip?
November 11th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
7. Yes, chicken feet are very tasty. My youngest son was born in Thailand. Earlier this year, we went back to the states for a vacation. We went to KFC. What did he ask to eat? Fried Chicken Feet! The staff behind the counter thought he meant chicken legs. Imagine the look on their faces when I explained what he really wanted.
Another chicken feet story, right before the Iraq War, an Iraqi Kurdish friend was visiting us in southern Thailand. At the local internet cafe, he came running up to me and said, “Oh my god, what are those people eating? It looks like some kind of weird animal.” Nope, it was fried chicken feet.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
You are braver than I am eating chicken feet. Have you tried drunken prawns yet?
November 11th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
just to add to May’s post: when haggling, offer .10 of the asking price. walk away at least twice.
November 11th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
just 1 point: I’ve lived in China over 20years, never seen ppl wear masks to protect their lungs, that’s totally exaggerated. You’ll lose your money if you sell masks here :)
November 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Chicken feet, tasty? Chewy, maybe, satisfying, perhaps, but I’m not sure they taste like… anything…
I live in rural China, so most of the rest of your points aren’t the same here (low pollution, the American brands are mostly Oreos and Pepsi, not cars or beer, ec.). But I’ve traveled around other parts of China to know what you mean! (Especially about the driving… scary.)
November 12th, 2008 at 2:48 am
Hi,
All that pollution it’s not good. China has now a great economical power and if they suffer I think we all will feel it.
Thank you
November 12th, 2008 at 4:56 am
I think People fail to realize that the protectionist censorship philosophy has been rampant in China since China was first open to the west in the early 19th Century as a form of protection from invasion.
Thus the counter if to succeed would also have to philosophically have at its core the task of protecting China from perceived invasion..yes we all hate Xenophobia but in CHina its looke don as a Countries other military..
November 12th, 2008 at 5:02 am
> 7. Chicken feet are more tasty than one might expect.
This made me laugh :-) On the other hand, one already has pretty low expectations to begin with when it comes to chicken feet!
Have you tried the fried bugs yet?
November 12th, 2008 at 6:14 am
What are the Facebook clones that are doing well?
November 12th, 2008 at 8:52 am
did you make any video of the interior design of the Shenzhen book center?
Would be great to share it, thanks.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:57 am
That’s cool. Nice perception.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Nice post. But chicken feet! Eyuk. I have a habit of browsing blogs and having my dinner. I’m glad I was done with dinner before reading this post :)
November 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Hi,
well Budvar is a Czech pilsner and a fairly good beer and Budweiser is a brown liquid that s marketed in the US as a beer but can be easily avoided if you for a real beer from a microbrewery.
Have fun
Martin
November 12th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
[...] am releasing this version now because I am hoping to get the attention Robert Scoble, Shel Israel and the rest of the gang on the China 2.0 tour sponsored by Edelman [...]
November 12th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
How were the chicken feet prepared? Fried? Anything tastes good fried.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Ahh, chicken feet. I stayed with family friends once when I was a kid and they served chicken feet. I refused to eat that night.
Years later, as a joke, my parents cooked up some chicken feet and put them in front of me. It was a good joke, but I still didn’t eat them.
November 15th, 2008 at 2:55 am
hey - thanks for visiting us at our Web2Asia office, it was a cool session with local entrepreneurs!
November 15th, 2008 at 2:58 am
[...] & investors. Check out Robert Scobles Kyte recordings here, a blog post about his learnings here, some pics from Christine here and our Web2Asia Flickr set here. by [...]
November 18th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Great! Everone have something to learn from this.
Thanks for writing such a fabulous article
November 21st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Robert, did you get to see the cover bands in China? They’re amazing (in Singapore too). Everyone wants to be a music star. When I was there in earlier this year , I had serious talks with entrepreneurs about creating a “self publishing” business for these guys. It’s hard to borrow the exact models of US-based music collaboration and publishing startups, but with mild modifications it can definitely be a huge opportunity.
Best,
Ravit
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:23 am
[...] muy real entre nuestras perspectivas sobre la ertad y las suyas. Esto se ha puesto de relieve por Rort scoble durante su visita a China y Paul Glazowski conersó n poco acerca de ello durante el fin de [...]
December 30th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
[...] Now Public) or someone who’s recently travelled to China with an eye towards business like Robert Scoble and/or Mike Butcher or others from the China 2.0 Tour like Dutchproblogger Ernst-Jan [...]