China Tech Talk

John and Matthew talk with Elijah Whaley, Chief Marketing Officer for ParkLU, about:   Why big ad agencies are failing to keep up How content is being democratized Why Taobao is dominating live streaming  How influencers are building the brands of the future Why it's better not to focus on viral content (hint: being a successful influencer isn't easy) Links John Artman: Rules for Weibo KOLs shed light on Alibaba-Tencent tensions Eva Yoo: Lessons from failed influencer campaigns in China Eva Yoo: 3 ways Chinaccelerator Batch 11 startups monetize with KOL marketing How to leave an iTunes review Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel     Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3   China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production

John and Matthew talk with Lauren Hallanan, an internet celebrity in China about: Differences in live streaming platforms Gifting as a business model How to make a live stream interesting Agency practices (hint: it’s not always ethical) Transition from streamer to KOL   Links Lauren Hallanan: China Live Emma Lee: Momo sees record revenue growth thanks to live streaming Charles Custer: Fei Cheng Wu Rao: China's Hottest Dating Show Tracey Xiang: Report: China's live streaming market grew 180% in 2016 How to leave an iTunes review Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel     Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3   China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production

John and Matthew talk with Dannie Li, an analyst at China Tech Insights, about China's internet celebrities, including: Differences between wanghong (网红) and KOLs/influencers A brief history of the wanghong industry Why they've become so popular (hint: Taobao ain't that easy) Links Dannie Li: Fashion Influencers in China: a new force for retail Eva Yoo: 6 things you didn't know about Taobao live streaming Yue Wang: Superstar Influencers: China's Internet Celebrities At Heart Of Alibaba's Growth How to leave an iTunes review Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel     Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3   China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production

John and Matthew talk about the future of Tencent and WeChat, including: What a WeChat hardware device might be Possible AR features and products The role of mini-programs in the WeChat ecosystem WeChat team learning how to make partnerships with big brands Links John Artman: WeChat feature shows Starbucks is no longer an international brand Tracey Xiang: WeChat introduces gold hongbao to promote new financial product Juro Osawa: WeChat Deal With Starbucks Points to Cultural Shift at Tencent (paywall) Sheila Yu: On "I love you" day, WeChat continues to dominate hongbao Matthew Brennan: Mobike White Paper Report Released How to leave an iTunes review Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel   Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3   China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production

John and Matthew talk about Apple's challenges in China, including: A brief history of the iPhone in China A look at some strong competitors and their ability to appeal to Chinese customers Apple's non-existent services ecosystem Tensions between Apple and Tencent (hint: half of Apple's China app store revenue comes from Tencent's games) Links Emma Lee: One year on, Apple Pay finding little traction in the Middle Kingdom Kayla Matthews:Why Apple is coming under fire for its Chinese app offerings Matthew Brennan: WeChat is building an augment reality app store Steven Millward: It's looking really grim for Apple in China App Annie: Market Forecast 2016-2021 How to leave an iTunes review Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel   Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3   China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production

John and Matthew talk with Steve Hoffman, Founder and Captain of Founders Space. Steve has tons of experience in the Valley and has been spending more and more time in China. We talk about a variety of things, including:   How does Chinese government policy give Chinese startups an advantage? Why are business people so popular in China? How is innovation different in China compared to the Valley? Why is WeChat so much better than every other social network? Links   Steve Hoffman: Making Elephants Fly: The Process of Radical Innovation Yuval Noah Harari: Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow Emma Lee: Tencent reports 58% profit surge on strong Q1 driven by WeChat and gaming Matthew Brennan: 2017 WeChat User Report Is Out! Eva Xiao: WeChat just launched a search engine. Baidu should worry. How to leave an iTunes review Hosts   John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel   Podcast information   iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by

This week we switch up the format a bit to do our very first interview!   Continuing our discussion of bike sharing, we invited Florian Bohnert, Head of International Expansion at Mobike, to talk about Mobike, bike sharing, and their plans inside and outside China.   Questions How did you come to China/start working at Mobike? How do you keep up with everything and stay sane at the same time? How does Mobike view its own brand? Why isn't Mobike a bike share company? How is Mobike like Tesla? How do you explain the early traction of Mobike and bike sharing? How many millions of bikes is Foxconn building for Mobike? Why do you think the sector has gotten so hot? What do investors expect? What are your expansion plans inside and outside China? How does Mobike see mini-programs? Strategic or just another entry point? Links Sheila Yu: Mobike announces "Magic Cube," an AI made from its mountains of user data Sheila Yu:Mobike bike-rental feature added to Wechat Wallet Emma Lee: Mobike joins ofo in Singa

John and Matthew go deeper on bike sharing and respond to some listener feedback.     Questions they answer: How many bikes are on the streets? How many users do Mobike and ofo have? How much are these two companies worth? How do they generate revenue? What are some potential monetization strategies? How do Mobike and ofo fit in with Tencent and Alibaba's broader strategy? How has the government responded? What will future regulation look like?   Links   TechNode's coverage of bike sharing Sheila Yu: Mobike announces "Magic Cube," an AI made from its mountains of user data John Artman: Mobike jumps on hongbao bandwagon with “Mobike, mo’ money” Matthew Brennan: Mobike & Ofo: Bike Sharing Industry Report (Nov 2016) Matthew Brennan: China Bike Sharing Report: March 2017 ReportLinker: China Bicycle Sharing Industry Report, 2017-2021 iResearch: 2017年中国共享单车行业研究报告 Hosts   John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel   Podcast information   iTunes RSS feed

John and Matthew talk about WeChat's mini-programs. Introduced earlier this year, the full potential of mini-programs were not apparent at launch, leading some to speculate that they would never be useful. Matt is pretty bullish while John has a wait-and-see attitude.   Questions they answer: What are mini-programs? Are these mini-apps or mini-programs? How are they different from apps? How are they different from WeChat official accounts? What are the advantages to users of using mini-programs? What are the advantages to businesses of using mini-programs? What are the drawbacks of using mini-programs? How do users find mini-programs?   Links TechNode: Panel: WeChat mini-apps have promise, but fail to deliver John Artman: Data from Cheetah Global Lab reinforces that WeChat IS the Chinese internet China Tech Insights: WeChat User & Business Ecosystem Report 2017 | Exclusive Matthew Brennan: Wechat Podcast Mini Programs Matthew Brennan: List of 100 WeChat Mini Programs Matthew Brennan: WeChat launches

John and Matthew talk about bike sharing. Since the middle of 2016, China's streets have explosions of yellow, orange, blue, and green as the bike sharing wars take off. Who are the big players? Why is it taking off in China? Will the Chinese government intervene like they have with ride-hailing? Links TechNode's coverage of bike sharing John Artman: Mobile payments, O2O, and the IoT economy Matthew Brennan: Mobike & Ofo: Bike Sharing Industry Report (Nov 2016) Matthew Brennan: China Bike Sharing Report: March 2017 Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing, TechNode Matthew Brennan, @MattyBGoooner, ChinaChannel Podcast information iTunes RSS feed Music: "Theme from Penguins on Parade" by Lee Rosevere, Music for Podcasts 3 China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production    

China Tech Talk is a TechNode x ChinaChannel co-production   This episode is all about introductions: who we are, what we do, and what this podcast is about. John Artman is Editor-in-Chief at TechNode English. Matthew Brennan is the founder of ChinaChannel.