Alibaba’s journey began as a simple B2B platform, but it quickly expanded to connect consumers with small merchants through Taobao. This virtual bazaar, closer to C2C than B2C, emerged as a response to eBay’s entry into China. In this article digital strategy consultant Jeffrey Towson details how Alibaba strategically built demand-side scale, focusing on core interactions and ancillary growth opportunities.
In this episode of the Tech Strategy podcast, Jeff Towson discusses Elon Musk’s strategy for Twitter and how he plans to supercharge performance and then 10x the product. He explains how Musk is using his experience with Tesla and SpaceX to inform his approach to social media and how this could change the way we use Twitter. Towson also talks about the potential benefits and risks of Musk’s strategy and how it could impact the future of social media.
In Part 1, I argued that Twitter 1.0 is about supercharging operating performance. That’s what I expect to happen in the 6 months. And it looks to me like Elon is making big changes in the Digital Operating Basics. Specifically, DOB1, DOB2, DOB5, DOB6, and DOB7. See Part 1 for details. I do like that this […]
I’ve talked a lot about why KOLs and influencers are so important in a connected world. Live streaming and short video are currently the big focus of influencers, but this is a much larger phenomenon. So why is Baidu is selling iQiyi, China’s #2 video streaming platform? Consumers Are Networks It begins with this simple […]
I have one B2C “super chart”. It’s a bit ridiculous but stick with me. I think it is actually a good prediction of the future of B2C. The basic idea is that ecommerce is combining with entertainment. We see that in Taobao Live and TikTok already. And this is also being combined with social media […]
I first went through the financials of Bilibili in 2018, shortly after it went public. It was a very interesting company because of its rapidly growing usage. But I thought it was basically a weird niche version of YouTube. It had lots of quirky videos about anime, comics and gaming. It had pioneered bullet chat. […]
In Part 1, I laid out some basic theory for Baidu and search engines. I think it was a pretty solid picture for Baidu circa 2010. But strange things have been happening since then. Baidu has moved into entertainment, services (for a while), content creation and self-driving cars. I’m not sure if these were strategic […]
Baidu-controlled iQiyi (IQ) is one of the big leaders in video in China. And video is the most popular online activity in China’s massive market. That’s good. iQiyi also has powerful competitive advantages, similar to YouTube and Netflix combined. Overall, there is a lot to like about this company strategically. Its primary competitors Tudou and […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the potential of Roblox to become the next TikTok, and the upcoming IPO of Kuaishou. He argues that both companies are part of a new wave of audience-builder platforms that are changing the way people consume media.
In this insightful analysis, digital strategy consultant Jeffrey Towson delves into the digital transformation strategies of ByteDance and Kuaishou. ByteDance’s innovative approach contrasts sharply with Kuaishou’s fast follower strategy, highlighting different paths to capturing consumer attention in China. Towson’s expertise provides a comprehensive understanding of these strategies’ implications for the digital landscape.