Map of Online Communities
Very interesting map thanks to Randall Munroe.
2007/5/3
2007/4/26
Can Yobanbe Survive?
The leading Vietnamese game operator Vinagame launched a Yahoo360 clone yesterday. Yobanbe is planned to open beta April 23rd but delay to 25th due to fixing technical backend. Still some problems with forgot password and sign-up as account management shared with gamers data warehouse. Yobanbe even lures Yahoo360 users with import instructions as hot news. The reasons that Yobanbe could face hard future:
- The brand name is not cool.
- Launch date: just before long Holiday, Vietnamese people will take 6 days off until May 2nd and traveling is the top choice. Cyworld Vietnam was opened 10 days earlier.
- Associate with hardcore gamers: Yahoo360 users are female dominated while Vinagame gamers are almost males.
- Revenue model: what is revenue source for Yobanbe while Vinagame is used to collecting gamers' subscription fees.
2007/4/25
Do we need to educate old media?
IDGVV just announced to invest in three companies in Vietnam. Vietnam Investment Review featured the news that I got from Vietnamnet and press coverage section of IDGVV website. The original in Vietnamese only.
"Website yeuamnhac run by the Yeu Am Nhac Joint Stock Company is one of the three companies. This is a professional forum specialising in music established in 2003. More than 500,000 members have joined the forum". What do they mean professional here: is it for music professionals, actually it is an online community for music lovers.
"The third company is Cyworld, a forum about society run and developed by SK Communications, a member of the Republic of Korea’s SK Telecom". This old media guy has no concept of social media, social networking services. Furthermore, SK Communications and SK Telecom are affiliates (same level) of SK Group. PR is good but it should be adapted to new media influence, PR guys should read The High Cost of Being “AntiSocial”.
"Website yeuamnhac run by the Yeu Am Nhac Joint Stock Company is one of the three companies. This is a professional forum specialising in music established in 2003. More than 500,000 members have joined the forum". What do they mean professional here: is it for music professionals, actually it is an online community for music lovers.
"The third company is Cyworld, a forum about society run and developed by SK Communications, a member of the Republic of Korea’s SK Telecom". This old media guy has no concept of social media, social networking services. Furthermore, SK Communications and SK Telecom are affiliates (same level) of SK Group. PR is good but it should be adapted to new media influence, PR guys should read The High Cost of Being “AntiSocial”.
2007/4/23
American Idol vs Next Webstar
TV show American Idol just came to Vietnam with local version Vietnam Idol. If it had arrived earlier than 2005, it should been a huge success. Some American Idol clones had been on air since then. It is worse now as social media is much more important to youngsters than TV. Next Webstar could be the right answer:
With the explosion of online video in 2006, Next Webstar was born to provide an outlet for anyone to share their talent with the world, without all the clutter of other video sites. The power of the internet has allowed the PEOPLE to define entertainment and has weakened traditional "Hollywood" methods of becoming a celebrity. Innovative sites like YouTube have proven that everyday people can become celebrities if they have that certain something that makes us want to watch. There is no longer the need for years of auditions before you can get your big break. Online video has truly enabled us to choose America's funniest home videos and the real American idols.
Beside Next Webstar, anyone can also enter contest with SingShot, an online singing community that lets you choose from thousands of songs, record your own versions, and share them with the world for free. SingShot was acquired by Electronic Arts Inc. early this year.
Do you want to be the Next Web Startup Star?
2007/4/14
Newspapers United?
Everyday we see many newspapers (both online and print) chase the same happening for their news coverage. It is waste of social resources, why these old gangs did not sit together to defend against young social media. CityTools seems to be the answer, it is a kind of social network for newspapers or/and file sharing network for publishers. “Our system allows editors to create innovative content sharing networks with like-minded, and let's face it, visionary, editors at other newspapers. Think of it as a way of creating mini-wire services, defined as narrowly or broadly as you choose.” It sounds cool, who can unite Vietnamese newspapers?
2007/4/10
Where Social Networking Sites Go
Looking back to old CNET's article Five reasons social networking doesn't work, I can see CNET guys are really in the first half of the web sphere. With recent Mixi IPO success and Facebook turned down Yahoo offer, social networking startups would be web enterpreneurs' darlings. Why young people flock to SNS? They can:
- Send email
- Chat IM
- Post blogs
- Share multimedia: pictures, videos, music
- Check member profile
- Meet-up
- Rate other members
- .......
2007/4/6
Vietnam Social Networking for Professionals?
My friend just got an invitation from vnSpoke, a social networking service for Vietnam's professionals (Vietnameses or/and expatriates working in Vietnam or/and...). The logo is a kind of GoingOn clone. Vnspoke model may follow OpenBC, LinkedIn but I see the Konnects or Zoodango platforms better chance. With Konnects you can join many groups or integrate your own network, that you have somethings in common beside just business concern. Zoodango "connects professionals through local events and preferred venues like Starbucks,
a place where you can express your lifestyle in relation to your
profession". If you are a professional, do you connect to vnSpoke? Is vnSpoke professional?
2007/3/10
Social Media vs Traditional TV
Stock market has been focal point of Vietnamese people early 2007. Amid the heating fortune quest, Vietnam Television VTV launched InfoTV channel on its pay TV platforms (both cable and satellite) in March 2007. Concept originally as a shopping channel but turned focus to financial news especially stock market related information. How it make content: get archived data on Internet, shooting at exchange floors, interview some investors, finance experts... and collect articles from newspapers as update to its viewers. If Vietnam were ten year back, the channel had been a rock star then. But unlike Thailand in 1996-1997 with poor Internet infrastructure, Vietnamese broadband users can access financial data from local and international stock markets as easy as InfoTV editors. Stock news was updated in near real time in forums. Finance and investment knowledge was shared and tracked back instantly. The ones who watch InfoTV next day are lagged behind the market move as web active users had made decision earlier. The old thinking InfoTV editors are not aware that media shift is happening allover the world. Giant BBC is monitoring the trend with UK regulator Ofcom support. So if you are connected YOU are the ones.
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