Western media have been speculating about the whereabouts of Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma after he disappeared from the limelight months ago. Ma did get a dressing down from the government after he ushered criticism, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein to AP. Ma is laying down, but there is no reason he is in real problems, Rein adds.Read More →

Content creation has been key for short-form engagement, writes the Jing Daily. And for  Bytedance’s Douyin/Tiktok it has paved the way from its original base of millennials to mainstream engagement, adds Matthew Brennan, author of  “Attention Factory: The Story of Tiktok and China’s Bytedance.Read More →

Bytedance’s Tiktok is a very successful global video-platform, and one of the few with a background in China. China internet watcher Matthew Brennan, author of “Attention Factory: The Story of Tiktok and China’s Bytedance, explains what makes Tiktok so successful. Getting feedback from its users is one of the key differences with other platforms, he tells in Explica.Read More →

Douyin – the Chinese name of Tiktok – became a runaway success as a short-video platform in China. Tech watcher Matthew Brennan looks in his book ‘Attention Factory: The Story of TikTok and China’s ByteDance’ at the playbook Bytedance used for their lift-off before they took the platform global. An excerpt from Techcrunch.Read More →

China’s Single’s Day continued to be a runaway success after COVID-19, although e-commerce expert Ashley Dudarenok finds it hard to compare it with the previous events because it changed from a one-day event to an 11-days success. But more luxury brands, cars, and even McDonald’s joined the fray, and gamification become important, she tells at state-owned broadcaster CGTN.Read More →

E-commerce firm Pinduoduo is closing in on market leader Alibaba, show recent post-corona figures, says marketing expert Arnold Ma in Kr-Asia. Ma believes that the key to Pinduoduo’s growth is its continuing focus on its D2C (direct to consumer) model across manufacturing, agriculture, independent sellers, and new brands.Read More →

Seasoned Shanghai-based VC William Bao Bean, general partner at SOSV and managing director of Chinaccelerator and MOX, sits down with Asian Pioneers to discuss his background, upbringing, and early career. In this snippet: what are the new trends in his industry, biotech and AI?Read More →

The massive US$34.5 billion IPO by Jack Ma’s Ant Group has been derailed by regulatory action, days before its listing, and that does not make the investors happy, says political analyst Shaun Rein at AP. The decision also might rattle Chinese entrepreneurs who were considering selling shares on their own country’s market, said Rein.Read More →