Groupon business model really work in China, therefore, there are lots of Groupon-liked website emerged in China, and open source program providers are very active.
Browsing Posts in SNS/BBS/CMS
Currently, MicroBlog (product like twitter) is sweeping across Chinese netizen. Sina, Tencent, Netease released MicroBlog and quickly applied to client and mobile. Sina MicroBlog open its API already, and Tencent will do it soon.
What MicroBlog will bring to Chinese internet business? How to commercailize MicroBlog app? Let’s see…
(to be continued)
Official website: www.bbscall.com
BBScall is a kind of IM specifically for Discuz BBS, it will help users receive BBS updates instantly, and connect the relationship inside of BBS. It’s a commercialized software, and support languages including Chinese simplified (default), Chinese traditional, English, Vietnamese so far.
BBScall basic features:
1, support all versions of Discuz BBS;
2, custom Logo；
3, custom icons, including desktop, installation icons, copyright icons, etc.
4, custom ringtones;
5, custom software copyright;
6, custom skin;
7, minimize windows, and automatically run after windows start (setting).
8, specific forum tips setting, tips and tones setting, and updates setting;
9, visit BBS control panel and message box directly from software;
10, custom advertisement delivery;
11, one to one chat, group chat;
12, open API.
Following is the free version demo screenshot:
Author: Lei YANG
Almost all Chinese SNS has the same layout, and similar features. However, recently one SNS website aiming to make friends (dating) is a little bit different.
Background info: taobao.com accounts for around 82% of e-commerce in China, and people called commodity there as ‘treasure’, therefore, ‘treasure’ is the symbol of commodity on the Internet business.In Chinese, the handwriting and pronunciation of ‘treasure’ is the same as ‘baby’, in pinyin, it’s ‘bao bei’, and taobao’s bao represents ’bao bei’, therefore, Chinese give taobao’s tao the meaning of ’looking for’ as a verb.
51taonan.com, a ‘feminist’ SNS website which is the supermarket only for women, all ‘bao bei’ are men. 51 in Chinese means ‘I will’, ‘tao’ still means ‘looking for’, and ‘nan’ means ‘men’. It’s in fact the dating site, but the manner of dating is that women choose their ‘bao bei’ and put them into cart. The layout is friendly to find men, like, on the left column at homepage for women, there are’bao bei’ at the same city, and ‘find bao bei’ at top banner which leads to advanced search. There are still lots of interactive features and feeds like normal SNS website, but more focus on looking for, interacting with, and dating with men. 
The site is still new, its slogan is ‘we are not looking for men, but looking for romantic’, which tells us, the more fanny thing is about the precess but not only the result. It has been released at the second half of Jan this year, and has now 26K+ daily average IP, and 448K+ daily average PV according to alexa.
More information about this site, please refer to: http://www.globaltimes.cn/www/english/metro-beijing/lifestyle/education&careers/2010-02/507799.html
Author: Lei YANG
11. make the interaction convenient
In most cases, users will not leave message or dont know what to say after reading a blog or photo, even they have some feelings. In Chinese SNS, there are some action icons by click which readers will show their feeling easily. Normally these icons represent pass by, throw eggs, give flower, shake hands, shock!
You will also choose to leave your footprints, or in some SNS site, you will leave your footprints automatically when reading but you can delete it if you like.
12. help users to promote their own profile
It’s a kind of self promotion item. User could use this item to give visitors scores when they visit his profile.
13. small and medium SNS business model
In China, there are a huge number of SNS sites, most of them are new, local, and small or medium, but they can still survive thanks to the SNS value chain business model.
In China, when a site owner wants to build up a SNS, he can use UChome which is an open source SNS program. It takes only half an hour for one who has some basic knowledge to install a SNS. Then, SNS owners can install some plug-ins like specific game applications by themselves, but they can also choose Manyou as their application platform.
Manyou works as application platform, collects, develops, operates, promotes all kinds of applications in the market, and give commission (35%) to SNS sites for they working as Manyou’s games entrants.
This model is very helpful for some SNS websites which has no enough resource to operate games, and it also improves SNS stickiness. For example, concerning that SNS games are always played with same site users, a new SNS website will have not many users to play together. However, most Flash games allow users play with others from different entrants, therefore, flash game players will enjoy playing with popularity and keep coming back to the SNS site and playing this flash game no matter if there are many or not players in the same SNS website, others in the same SNS will see the feeds and join the games also. Therefore, Chinese small and medium SNS website is easier to earn money leveraging inside users competition by SNS games, and outside users competition by Flash games.
14. interactive items
Chinese SNS will also provide some items to achieve differentiation. Like ‘make a shock when come online’, ‘make the article title colorful’, some avatar related items, ‘invisable card’, etc. There are more than 20 items that can be exchanged by scores, and are showed everywhere they can probably be used by users in the SNS website.
15. contents moving tool
It’s a kind of synchronization tool. Users can synchronize blogs and moods from other spaces if the spaces are open to everyone. This tool does not need users to login but just provide the url that they want to sync up. Currently, this tool support QQ (QZone), sina blog, netease, and taotao (also Tencent product).
Author: Lei YANG
6. a page named ’have a look around’
The senario of a new user in SNS will always has not much buddies and activites, what they can do then? Chinese SNS will always have a page with the link on top banner, which is ‘have a look around’. Administrator can set the contents in control panel, like show the latest album, blogs, profiles, votes, manually recommended members, groups, etc. for new users can get some interesting contents more easily.
7. Group
It’s hard to accumulate popularity for a new SNS at the beginning, Group is a way, but how can make users come into the same group instead of setting up different groups with the same topic. Some Chinese SNS administrator will setup some fixed group according to location, constellation, sports (like basketball, tennis, etc.), which will help new users to come into the same group before setting up any new one.
8. email alerting
Besides the usual ways that users can choose which kind of feeds that they would like to receive by emails on daily or weekly base. Admin can also setup email alerting for users that have not come back within a certain number of days.
9. Leverage Forum
Because Forum came firstly before SNS in the market, some sites has already good Forum when they build up SNS. So, there are several ways to active SNS leveraging Forum.
1) setup specific area for SNS discussion
2) scrolling head icons of SNS ‘star’ users on the top of forum
3) show list of photo of latest updated profile, wall/comments/mood, feeds of game application on the left of forum
4) change the link of ‘add forum buddy’ to ‘add SNS buddy’
5) add SNS ads (image, or wording) into Moderator’s signature
6) raise some activities/tasks in forum to encourage users to try SNS
10. enable and encourage more ‘DIY’ work
It works better in young Chinese generation who like very much decorate their space. SNS owner could provide more attractive templates, or enable users to upload their own pictures with certain requirement as the background of profile. They also can provides some decoration items that users can change by scores.
This features need more technical and contents operation support.
Author: Lei YANG
1. Upload photo
There are 2 normal ways to encourage users to upload his personal photo right after registration.
1) Forced upload
In control panel, administrator has an option to force the new registration to upload his photo. Then, users will get tips to upload photo firstly before any action on the SNS. But this will raise new entrants’ barrier.
2) Use a urgly picture as default avatar
Example: on http://home.ebrun.com, the new register will have Pigsy as the default photo, with the wording: why not change your photo quickly?
2. Default buddies
When a new user comes to the SNS website, he will already have some default buddies, and their messages, which is setted by adminstrator in the control panel also.
3. Rich taskes
The tasks also play a role of user guide, which encourages users to fulfill the profile, and try some basic features. Also the daily task like ‘get scores for everyday’ will help to build the user behavior to come back everyday. The administrator can also setup new tasks or re-set the scores for tasks at control panel. Users will get the task tips on the top right corner of the SNS homepage.
4. Leverage ‘gifts’ to encourage the interaction
After ‘gifts’ application added, users will get some items recommendation at top right corner of homepage, sometimes you will really find this recommended item is suitable for somebody that u want to keep in touch. Also the most often ways is to present recent buddies birthday at right column.
5. Desktop icon
Some company that has client product, will combine a desktop icon setup during the client installation as an option of course. Like taobao’s SNS, when you install taobao’s IM, you will have an option whether install the SNS as well. If you keep the default check, you will get a desktop icon, which will lead to the SNS website in the browser. It’s convenient for the loyal users, and a good way to occupy users desktop.
