Internet measurement in China: How to get out of the Dark Ages
[Editor's Note: Numerous local entrepreneurs and investors were quick to point out the problems with measuring internet traffic in China, we discovered during a VentureBeat trip to the country in May. To help explain the issues, we asked Victor Koo (pictured), the founder of leading online vide-sharing site Youku, to contribute his thoughts in the column below. See this recent guest column by the folks at Web2Asia for more details on the Chinese internet market.]
China… Continue Reading
Despite censorship issues, two Chinese online video sites get large rounds of fresh funding
The third-largest video site in China, 56.com, has been offline for nearly a month due to what most observers believe is government censorship. But that’s not stopping rivals from raising more funding.
Youku, approximately tied with Tudou as the largest video site in the country, has just closed a $30 million round led by private equity firm Maverick Capital, with participation from existing venture and private equity investors.
A much smaller rival, called ku6.com, has also… Continue Reading
As leading Chinese video sites Tudou and Youku battle on, more reasons emerge for 56.com’s downtime
56.com, the third largest online video-sharing site in China, has been offline since June 3rd. The company says the cause is “technical” problems, via the error message pictured above, but there are two other possible reasons.
The first is that the Chinese government simply shut it down to censor content on the site. That possibility has been covered by a number of prominent China bloggers, this publication and now a number of Western media outlets, and… Continue Reading
Everyone wants to be the “YouTube of China,” but they’re not
Every time we hear from one of the numerous Chinese video sites, they compare themselves to YouTube in its early days. But a closer look at the data suggests the video phenom in China just isn’t comparable.
For example, Youku reports today that the number videos viewed daily on its site has reached the levels YouTube enjoyed in Oct. 2006 when it was acquired by Google. This follows a similar statement by another Chinese competitor 56.com.
Youku… Continue Reading
China roundup: Youku, Facebook and Qunar
Updated
While Silicon Valley takes a breather this Thanksgiving weekend from a hectic year of deal-making, the action continues over in China.
1) Well-connected China video site gets $25 million more
2) More rumors of Facebook purchases in China
3) Qunar, a Chinese travel search engine, raises $10 million
Well-connected China video site gets $25 million more – Youku.com is a thriving Chinese YouTube-style video sharing site, and has just raised another round of funding, according to Chinese news organization… Continue Reading