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 […]
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 […]
I like search engines. But they are very strange animals. They remind me of giraffes and ant eaters. Unique animals that you can’t really compare to anything else. But their competitive strength is really impressive. For example: Google Search is dominant globally, with +85% of the market. Bing and Yahoo are 2nd and 3rd globally, […]
In November 2020, beauty unicorn Perfect Diary went public in the USA after 4 years of stunning growth. Founded in 2016, the company rose to become the #1 (or #2) make-up brand online in China. And they did it mostly by growth hacking the major ecommerce and social media platforms of China. I thought Perfect […]
I like the saying that winning in digital B2C is like catching lightning in a bottle. But winning in digital B2B is more like mining. The former happens really fast but is difficult to predict. The latter is slower but pretty reliable when you’re in the right spot. You just keep digging away over time. […]
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 episode of the Tech Strategy podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses whether Huawei’s HarmonyOS can break Android’s global dominance. He argues that HarmonyOS has several strengths, including its security features and its ability to run on a wide range of devices. However, he also notes that HarmonyOS faces several challenges, including the lack of app support and the fact that it is competing against an entrenched incumbent.
Huawei is “all in” on building a third mobile operating system and ecosystem. This is the first major challenge to the Android-Apple iOS duopoly in almost a decade. And as iOS is a closed system, it is really about Huawei taking on globally dominant, open source Android. It’s a big deal. I recently spoke with […]
In this episode of Tech Strategy Podcast, we delve into the emerging ecosystem of JD Logistics. Discover how this innovative approach is reshaping the logistics industry and influencing the broader tech landscape in Asia. Join us as we unpack the strategies and implications of this new type of ecosystem.
Online insurance company ZhongAn was the first mover in “digital meets insurance” in China. A strategy Ant Financial would later refer to in its IPO filing as “InsureTech”. And in both the ZhongAn and Ant cases, we saw: An awesome digital strategy and vision in a very big market. Limited traction after years of effort. […]