Category: jargon watch | 術語定義 | 용어의 정의 | 用語の定義

Jargon watch as an idea was something that came from my time reading Wired magazine. I found that in my work terms would quickly spring up and just as quickly disappear. So it made sense to capture them in the moment.

The best way of illustrating jargon watch is by example. I came across the term black technology through mainland Chinese friends. One of the key things that Chinese consumers think about technology products is the idea of ‘black technology’. This makes no sense to your average western reader. It equates to cool and innovative.

The term itself comes from a superior technology featured in a Japanese manga series plot. As an aside the relationship between Chinese and popular Japanese culture is becoming increasingly attenuated due to Chinese nationalism.

What might be black technology this year might be humdrum in six months as the companies quickly catch up. Black technology is a constant moving target, but generally its sophisticated and likely has a cyberpunk feeling to it.

I keep an eye out for jargon like this all the time, hence jargon watch. I find this content in my professional reading and in the sources that I follow online. What makes something worthwhile to appear here is purely subjective based about how I feel about it and how much I think it resonates with my ideas or grabs my attention. A lot of British youth culture doesn’t make it because it doesn’t have that much of an impact any more beyond the UK.

  • App constellation

    Fred Wilson talked about the concept of the app constellation that he distilled down to:

    mobile apps that share a single login and have app to app linking built in

    He also added the proviso that ignored gaming apps, which generally purely use integration for identity and payment.

    As Wilson points out this level of integration is interesting as one could find a complete suite of apps from the one company and rarely leave that app constellation.  This is partly been driven by context:

    Putting a lot of features in a mobile application inevitably means burying them resulting in lots of clicks to get at something that you want. So on the design level it is very reminiscent of the design focus that drove the first generation of focused lean web 2.0 applications – though on a philosophical level they are world’s apart since the app constellation are about creating a walled garden rather than open transportable data sets (within a walled garden of the mobile operating system).

    The idea isn’t necessarily one that’s new. If one looks at someone like Google, this is the very rationale why they built Android – so that there were no blockages to providing it’s services.  Microsoft exercised control over the majority of desktop users and could make Google’s life difficult, especially through Internet Explorer, by comparison smartphones were a relatively open space to grow in. The roles are now reversed in mobile, so Microsoft has had to play catch up with its app constellation.

    I have attempted to compile a list of some of the the major companies with an app constellation. This has taken more time than I would like as I have had to hand code the tables below in order to get the HTML to work properly. Thankfully not having games in the definition of an app constellation made the work a little easier. For instance, Kakao Corp. is responsible for 9 out of the 10 best-selling mobile games in Korea at the moment and keeps churning out new games on a regular basis.

    Secondly some of the companies here have more than one app constellation cluster, Tencent’s broadly break down into two clusters; those dominated by QQ and those dominated by WeChat, however there is also a connection between QQ and WeChat. This maybe partly down to the different development centres in China that they both come out of.

    Microsoft and Google both have consumer, enterprise user and enterprise administrator app constellation clusters.

    Daum is a Korean Internet company famous for its mobile search, news portal and social properties. No self-respecting Korean pop group used to be able to do without a well looked after Daum Cafe account. As I was part way through this Daum has announced that it is merging with Kakao Corp. We can expect them to merge the Daum app constellation into the Kakao business. Kakao generally has a better mobile experience.

    Name English equivalent What it does
    다음, 뉴스, 브라우저, 프로야구 Daum: news, browser, KBO (Korean professional baseball) It’s a mobile portal of content
    mypeople OTT messenger application that also includes stickers, VoIP and video calls; with support for a number of international languages. It can utilise a common Daum log-in
    다음 지도, 길찾기, 지하철, 버스 Daum Maps, Directions, Subway and Bus A local version of the kind of application Google Maps provides tightly focused on the needs of Korean consumers
    다음 사전 Daum Dictionary Kind of similar to Google Translate and Google Lens. Daum Dictionary allows you to ‘read’ a foreign language using your phones camera, it has a number of translation dictionaries. In addition, it has a flash card function to help Koreans increase their foreign language vocabulary
    다음 카페 Daum Cafe Daum Cafe is a social network with a customisable profile page, a news stream type function called My Cafe, posts and comments – think your Facebook wall or Tumblr account, stickers, a mobile editor and push notifications
    다음 클라우드 Daum Cloud Daum Cloud is similar in functionality to Dropbox and Carousel in terms of being cloud file storage and a way of sharing photos and files. Daum calls out that these can be shared across it’s mypeople social platform, Facebook and Twitter
    다음 웹툰 Daum Webtoon (literally the name would be Daum Pick) Korea like Japan has a comic book culture. The most famous of these is probably Priest which was adapted for film and started Paul Bettany and Maggie Q. The country consumes web comics and Daum Webtoon mobilises that experience. Fans comment on strips, share strips amongst themselves via Daum Webtoon. A western equivalent might be comiXology (a recent Amazon acquisition); but that lacks the social aspects of Webtoon
    mysticker for mypeople Augment photos with various avatar decorations like glasses or facial hair and use these pictures as stickers in OTT messenger app mypeople
    SolGroup SolGroup is a private discussion group for up to 100 members. It allows you to share photos and links as well as doing a broadcast-style notice to group members
    해피맘-육아맘 필수앱 (이웃맘 추천, 임신/출산 정보) Happy Mom A neighbourhood social network for Mums and Mums-to be. It’s a location-based network that tries to plug women into real-world networks, provide an online support network which can be a source of advice and provide local information. In Seoul there seems to be a consult your GP function. All up this seems to be a much more sophisticated version of Mumsnet
    다음 루리웹 블러드 브라더스 공식 커뮤니티 Daum BloodBrothers Community An application that provides a community for players of Mobage’s BloodBrothers game
    WITH A Flickr or 500px-type application that allows photographs to be organised into albums and easily explored
    다음 TV 플레이 Daum TV Play Allows a smartphone to be used as a remote control where the smart TV has a Daum TV application
    다음소셜쇼핑 – 소셜커머스 모음 Daum Social Shopping – social commerce collection The application features group shopping deals and coupons from a range of players including GroupOn. It also has an Apple Passbook-type function to organise any tickets required to redeem an offer
    캠프 Camp Location-based mobile social network that looks to be around organising group activities; kind of similar in some respects to Foursquare’s Swarm
    마이원 모바일 월렛 My One Mobile Wallet Mobile wallet application that also has some loyalty / rewards programme functionality built-in
    마이원 모바일 월렛 Daum Kids Education app aimed at pre-schoolers, it covers much of the educational ground that Sesame Street may cover in other countries
    Kardin A social business card application. It is a cross between LinkedIn’s CardMunch, Plaxo and LinkedIn

    Dropbox

    Dropbox has a small app constellation, but I suspect that it will consolidate over time as it focuses on its core business of cloud storage.

    Product name What it does
    Dropbox Cloud storage
    Carousel Carousel is designed as a single home for all your photos and videos, automatically organized and always with you. It allows for the sharing photos and videos instantly in private conversations. It provides an automatic back up  of photos and videos to Dropbox as they are taken.
    Mailbox Alternative mail application specially for iCloud and Gmail users. It offers a simplified user interface and deep app linking across Dropbox products (preventing an OS-level poaching of that functionality)

    Facebook – social behemoth has a number of applications out there, half due to acquisitions the company has made. It’s app constellation flexes as Facebook launches and kills new services.

    Product name What it does
    Facebook Replicates much of the desktop experience of using Facebook in a mobile application
    Messenger An OTT messenger that seems to be playing feature catch-up with many of the bigger players. Currently allows groups, video sharing and picture sharing. There are some stickers available and a free VoIP facility
    Facebook Page Manager Mobile application for page admins to manage multiple pages easily from their own phone, even provides a view of Facebook Insights
    Instagram Mobile photo application with built-in filters
    Whatsapp Messenger Popular, relatively unsophisticated OTT messaging application acquired earlier this year

    Google

    Google’s vast field of diverse apps are bound together by the Google ID, resulting in a large app constellation.

    Product name What it does
    YouTube Native application video player
    Google Native mobile application version of the Google search page, the key difference being the support of voice-enabled search
    Google Maps Native application version of Google’s mapping service. It has voice turn-by-turn directions. It covers 220 countries and the public transport networks of over 15,000 towns and cities
    Google Earth Explore the world virtually, hard to really describe Google Earth – I thought it was telling that it sits in Apple’s travel rather than navigation section
    Google Chrome Alternative web browser, integration with desktop usage of Chrome browser and a reaction to non-Google search deals
    Gmail Dedicated email client for the Gmail email service
    Google Translate Native application interface for Google’s web translation web service
    Google+ Native application that provides a simplified interface for the Google+ social network, some elements like Hangouts have been broken out into a dedicated application
    Google Drive Native application that positions Google Drive as more of a cloud storage service than the productivity suite viewpoint that it provides in the desktop experience
    YouTube Capture Shoot and upload video directly to a YouTube account
    Hangouts A me-too OTT messenger with more of a video focus than other players
    Chromecast Application to set up and change administrator-level settings for the Chromecast streaming video dongle
    Google Docs Standalone of the Google Docs word processor experience which is integrated into the desktop version of Google Drive
    Google Sheets Standalone of the Google Docs spreadsheet experience which is integrated into the desktop version of Google Drive
    Blogger Native application to manage a Blogspot blog including creating and posting content
    Google Play Books Google’s answer to Amazon’s Kindle app and Apple’s iBooks
    Google Authenticator A RSA key-type second factor authentication for Google accounts. It has easy set-up with a QRcode and support for multiple accounts
    Google Play Music A mix between the Apple iTunes music player app and Spotify based on Google’s Play content marketplace
    Google Play Movies & TV Native application video player and marketplace for Google Play
    Google Currents Flipboard-esque reader with a focus on mainstream media like The Huffington Post
    Photowall for Chromecast Photowall for Chromecast is an application that lets people take pictures, edit them and collaborate with images on the TV – using phones or tablets. Anyone can take a picture and send it to a Photowall to instantly see it on the big screen.Once the collage is finished a YouTube video of your Photowall is automatically generated
    Field Trip The bastard child of vintage Microsoft Office’s Clippy and a travel guide that surfaces information kind of similar to Foursquare’s exploration function. It will even use voice to deliver it’s random flag ups of interesting things near by. It is also notable for its use of skeuomorphic design in a Google product
    Google Adsense Access to reports and key data from a Google advertising account over a mobile phone
    Zagat Restaurant guide that Google acquired a number of years ago. In many respects Yelp before the internet. Now as a native mobile application
    Google Admin Native mobile application providing an interface for sysadmins to manage enterprise usage of Google products – setting new email accounts up, shutting them down etc.
    Google Coordinate Mobile application of a workforce management tool attached to Google enterprise account – ideal if you had a firm of plumbers, roofing contractors etc.
    Helpouts Native application to get live video advice on a given subject matter.

    Kakao Corp. is an OTT messaging application that has a higher user base than Facebook in Korea. It has a lot of hallyu content on there, stickers, in application payments and paid for enterprise accounts as part of the app constellation. Tencent, makers of WeChat have a stake in Kakao.

    Name English equivalent What it does
    KakaoTalk messenger An OTT messenger with text, stickers, VoIP and a pitch shifter to make your voice sound cuter or play around with friends
    KakaoStory A photo social network that is complementary to KakaoTalk. Think the moments function in WeChat or status updates on Facebook
    KakaoGroup Extends beyond the chat room environment of KakaoTalk to private private group chat as a separate application
    카카오아지트 KakaoAgit (a better translation might be KakaoHideout) Private group discussion and collaboration – sharing ideas or organising an event. Kakao Corp. promotes this particularly to self-organising groups of colleagues in a workplace
    카카오 아지트 파트너 앱 Agit Partner Seems to be a group administrator tool of some sort
    KakaoPlace Very similar to the recommendations functionality of Foursquare and the old Dopplr application

    LINE (Naver Japan) – the Japanese subsidiary of Korean online media business Naver Corp. has a range of international and localised products for the Japanese marketplace as a distinct app constellation.

    Name English equivalent What it does
    LINE Messenger An OTT messaging application that has made a good business out of virtual stickers, popular throughout much of Asia from Taiwan to Thailand. It has been fighting a pitched battle for marketshare with WhatsAppk, WeChat, and KakaoTalk
    LINE camera A photo app that integrates with LINE Messenger. It allows filters and affects to be used on pictures including a beauty filter effect. There are over 1,000 stamp effects that allow you to frame your picture, photo editing including a lasso-type function
    LINE Brush and Brush lite An application similar to MacPaint of old but in a mobile device
    LINE PLAY A social network that allows the user to build an avatar as an alter ego with the emphasis on cute and chat with other users
    LINE Card Personalised e-card creator
    pick A photography based social network similar to the social aspects of flickr
    LINE Tools A mix of productivity features: conversation tables, flash light, sound meter and calculator
    Ndrive Cloud storage similar to Dropbox
    Naver Translate Translation software focused on Japanese speakers in partnership with Japanese dictionary publisher Kodensha
    Naver Matome Reader Mobile magazine type application similar to the likes of Flipboard. Not quite a newsreader
    無料 マンガ Webtoons Mobile comic reader rather like Daum’s Webtoon application. Naver Japan has also published the more popular comics as standalone applications
    Kstyle Korean entertainment news magazine capitalising on the success of Korean pop music in particular in Japan. It also has some coverage of other hallyu content such as Korean dramas
    LINE List Seems to be similar to KakaoGroup or the circles functionality in Google+. It pulls in contacts across social networks including LINE, KakaoTalk and Facebook

    Microsoft has a hodge podge of services in a  wide variety of areas. Research, gaming, productivity and enterprise apps all make up a distinctive app constellation.

    Product name What it does
    XBox XBox One SmartGlass A companion application to the game console: it acts as a remote control for the media play side of the console and facilitates off-console social interaction with game mates
    OneDrive The cloud storage service formerly known as Sky Drive, the application comes in both consumer and business versions.
    Photosynth An application that creates panoramic views from a series of pictures that are stitched together. It also allows for these pictures to be shared with others online
    Microsoft Office Mobile The traditional office suite of Word, PowerPoint and Excel for mobile devices. An Office 365 subscription is required
    OWA for iPhone Native application version of Outlook Web Access that requires an Office 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneNote Native application version of Microsoft OneNote, available as a free standalone application
    Microsoft Remote Desktop Connect to and work on a remote Windows PC
    bing search Native application with a number of bing services including bookmarks, maps and the search engine
    Lync for iPhone Available in 2010 and 2013 editions Lync allows in-enterprise OTT messaging and web conferencing. Requires a licence for a Lync server
    Office 365 admin Manage functions such as setting up a new email account from an iPhone
    Xbox Music Spotify-style streaming application
    Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iPad Microsoft separates out these apps on the iPad so each one has to be downloaded separately rather than getting one Office app bundle. An Office 365 subscription is required
    Bing get me there Bing maps application specifically for London that incorporates live data on the Tube from TfL
    SharePoint Newsfeed A newsreader specifically designed for company SharePoint sites
    Microsoft Dynamics CRM for iPhone Native application for Microsoft’s CRM application
    Microsoft Dynamics CRM for iPhone and Dynamics AX Native application for Microsoft’s CRM application. Dynamics AX allows for expenses to be filed and time sheets to be completed
    HealthVault Patient access to their own and their families health records
    My Apps Single sign-on to Azure cloud applications
    Windows Intune Company Store Enterprise mobile and table app store
    Socl Somewhere between Tumblr and Behance as visual content driven social networks
    Microsoft Tech Companion for iPhone News application for Microsoft developers and certified professionals
    RMS Sharing Allows the user to see rights restricted content when used with an Office 365 licence

    Naver: LINE’s Korean parent is a large online media in its own right. Naver powers the majority of searches in Korea and has prominent blogging and mapping platforms. Naver has an app constellation that permeates the consumer and work internet from cartoons to social media and productivity that rivals Google in breadth of services.

    Name English equivalent What it does
    NAVER Native app version of the famous Korean search engine and web portal. It is particularly interesting the way Naver collates stories of interest to the reader. Koreans can subscribe to areas of interest and have the content delivered to them
    네이버 지도 NAVER Maps Similar to Google Maps; the key differences being the focus on Korea and access to real time transport data. Naver also looks to cater to cyclists in major cities more than Google does with its mapping application
    me2day A social network / blogging platform
    네이버 웹툰 NAVER Webtoons Web comic reader application
    네이버 블로그 NAVER Blog Mobile app that allows blog management and creation of posts on Korea’s most popular blogging platform. Blogs in Korea are bigger than in the UK by a considerable margin
    네이버사전 NAVER Dictionary Korean language dictionary and also Korean to 16 other languages dictionary to aid in foreign language usage
    네이버 북스 NAVER Books Korean answer to the Amazon Kindle app
    네이버 메일 NAVER Mail Dedicated email client for the Naver Mail service. Special features include messenger style stickers and deep integration with NDrive cloud storage for file transfers
    네이버 뮤직 NAVER Music A Spotify-esque music client with some special features. It can play your own MP3s directly from the NDrive cloud storage service and synchs with whatever content you have bought on your PC without having to side load the content with a cable
    NAVER Camera Camera application that allows in-app editing of pictures and automatic synching to the NDrive cloud service
    네이버 웍스 캘린더 NAVER Works Calendar Enterprise version of Naver Calendar which supports multiple languages and time zones
    네이버 웍스 드라이브 NAVER Works Drive Enterprise version of Naver cloud storage service, which seems to operate similar to YouSendIt
    네이버 웍스 메일 NAVER Works Mail Enterprise version of Naver email service with a dedicated client
    네이버 웍스 주소록 NAVER Works Contacts Enterprise version of Naver address book with a dedicated client
    그린팩토리 NHN greenfactory NAVER corporate group mobile app with some intranet and stored currency functionality for employees
    네이버 글로벌회화 영중일 NAVER Global Phrase Book (plus paid for version as well) Phrase book supporting English, Chinese and Japanese for Korean speakers
    네이버포스트 – 신개념 모바일 스토리북 NAVER Post-New Concept Mobile Story Book Encourages users to write stories optimised for mobile usage. It allows the stories to be shared across LINE and KakaoTalk and see where connections are on NAVER Maps in a similar kind of way to Google Latitude or Foursquare’s Swarm
    네이버 지식iN NAVER Knowledge iN Mobile client that provides a way to ask and answer questions in a Yahoo! Answers type of service
    쥬니어 네이버 NAVER Junior Naver Mobile app that provides a Yahooligans! type experience including games and video content
    쥬니어 네이버 NAVER Calendar Dedicated calendar application based on NAVER’s consumer-orientated calendar service
    네이버 중한사전 NAVER Chinese-Korean Dictionary The name tells you everything you need to know
    네이버 메모 NAVER Memo Similar to the Notes functionality that is a core part of iCloud, on the Mac and as part of iOS
    네이버 TV NAVER TV Streaming TV and movies application
    네이버 N드라이브 NAVER N Drive Mobile application providing cloud storage access, the smart thing with NDrive is the deep integration with other NAVER services like NAVER Music
    네이버 주소록 NAVER Contacts Contact book app service similar to Apple’s address book app which manifests on iCloud and in system default apps in iOS and OSX

    Netease is a Chinese online media company most associated with online gaming. It’s 163.com forum is enormously influential for technology loving Chinese. It’s app constellation is focused on knowledge and education.

    Name English equivalent What it does
    网易新闻 NetEase News A news client that pulls from a wide range of content from sports to shopping and everything in between
    有道 词典 本地 增强 版 Youdao Dictionary Professional Edition Chinese English dictionary with an installed user base over 150 million. The app won a prize in 2011 from Apple for the app. The app integrates with Tencent’s messenger service QQ
    网易公开课 NetEase Open Class Chinese English dictionary with an installed user base over 150 million. The app won a prize in 2011 from Apple for the app. The app integrates with Tencent’s messenger service QQ
    网易云阅读-杂志新闻书籍 NetEase cloud reading – Magazine News Books Analogous to the Kindle app with 100,000+ books, 3000+ top magazine, ‘massive’ internet information and an ‘exquisite’ picture album. The app also allows the user to subscribe to friends microblogging, blog, QQ space and other social platforms
    网易应用中心 Netease Application Center Focuses mostly on games
    有道翻译官 Youdao Translator Translates eight languages into Chinese, you can use the camera to ‘read’ foreign text
    网易轻博客 LOFTER Mobile client for a light blogging platform more like Dayre.me than Tumblr
    网易轻博客 NetEase fashion magazine An e-magazine that allow you to purchase new editions in-application from with Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, British and American fashion magazines
    网易博客 NetEase blog Mobile application to create and publish blog posts on the Netease platform
    网易将军令 NetEase General Order A two-factor authentication app similar to an RSA tag
    饭饭 Jenna A personalised restaurant and dish recommendation service
    游戏精灵-你的游戏伴侣 Game Wizard A mobile gaming magazine with reviews, tips and hacks
    网易房产榜- 看网易房产榜,知楼市冷暖 NetEase property list Allows the user to see property sales or rental prices as well as background information on the area in terms of the amenities in the locality
    网易即时通2013 Netease Messenger 2013 A self-described ‘enterprise class’ instant messenger platform that supports Windows, Mac and iOS
    Vemento Allows you to shoot one-second videos similar to Vine, but stitches them together into a bigger, longer film. It has a very flat design and colour scheme that mirrors iOS7
    口袋篮球 Pocket Basketball CBA basketball news, statistics, player profiles and game schedules
    网易印像拍 NetEase Photo Album It is like Istagram and iPhoto blended into one an includes printing services
    iEase Translator Pro Youdao Translator version complete with OCR technology designed for English speakers
    惠惠折扣日报—网易出品电商折扣精选(惠惠购物助手手机版) Huihui discount Daily Mobile coupon / group buying application
    网易联系人助手 NetEase Contact Assistant Syncing contacts from NetEase mail in a simple address book type application
    网易家居杂志 易品家 EaseHome Home and lifestyle mobile magazine compiled from the home section of the NetEase website
    网易汽车 NetEase Car News Car mobile magazine compiled from the autos section of the NetEase website
    网易邮箱- 网易官方手机邮箱 NetEase official mobile email Dedicated email client
    网易电视指南-看直播,刷微博 NetEase TV Guide Live mobile TV programming
    网易电视指南-看直播,刷微博 iStyle Fashion-orientated community mobile app
    网易微博(官方) NetEase Weibo client Micro-blogging platform in the shadow of Tencent and Sino versions of Weibo
    花田-免费聊天,交友,婚恋 Hanada A free dating community that includes chat functionality
    网易云相册- 相片备份专家 NetEase cloud album Cloud photo album

    Tencent has two of the dominant social platforms in China: QQ and WeChat. It is also big in online games publishing and e-commerce. QQ and WeChat both have their own app constellation – because of this dual brand strategy Tencent has the largest Chinese ecosystem of all the big internet companies.

    Name English equivalent What it does
    微生活POS Micro Life POS Mobile point of sale terminal application
    腾讯彩票 Tencent Lottery Lottery news including winning numbers
    微客多门店版 Tencent Shopping Guide help traditional retailers store employees to use mobile phones to provide customers with a shopping guide
    搜搜问问 SoSo Ask a knowledge search type mobile application think Yahoo! Answers meets Quora and has integration with Tencent Weibo
    Goal精彩中超 Goal! Latest match results, player details and football league positions from the CSL (Chinese Soccer League)
    看房 Showings Mobile application to aid Chinese house hunters covering most of the major cities in China
    QQ团购 QQ Buy Closely linked to QQ messenger allows for shopping and use of discount coupons
    企业QQ QQ Enterprise version Business version of QQ instant messenger
    QQ便民 QQ convenience Payment handling app covering pre-paid cards, monthly subscriptions and virtual currency balance – presumably for their games portfolio as well as real-world payments
    腾讯路宝 Tencent Lob Google Maps-like turn-by-turn directions with Waze-like traffic information
    腾讯路宝 QQ watch the show Mobile application with Ticketmaster-type features
    QQ网购 QQ Online Shopping Mobile application of a desktop online shopping site, think an online shopping mall, though much less of an audience than Tmall
    腾讯微漫 Tencent Micro-Comic Mobile comic reading platform, with free to read content including Naruto and Dragonball Z
    腾讯充值 Tencent Recharge Especially designed to manage a Q coin virtual currency account used in paying for games and monthly subscription services
    Ps Play Allows images from PhotoShop to be transferred easily to a phone and friends, can do a screen cast of how an effect was done as a walkthrough. Probably handy for sharing memes
    Storycam for WeChat A kind of Instagram companion app for the WeChat OTT messenger – mixes photo frame type effects with an ability to tell people more about the picture
    创意相机 Creative Camera Allows users to edit pictures often for comedic value or giving them a cute look and then share via the QQ messenger service
    wyFire Easy sharing of pictures over a local network: wi-fi connected device to wi-fi connected device
    wyFire Easy sharing of pictures over a local network: wi-fi connected device to wi-fi connected device
    腾讯爱看 Tencent Watch Summarizes and presents content so that the reader no longer ‘reads’ it but watches it
    QQ美食 QQ Cuisine It has location based elements similar to Foursquare and discount coupon offers and ability to share location on Tencent Weibo
    QQ财付通(腾讯出品 QQ Tenpay PayPal like peer to peer payments attached to a QQ messenger ID
    Pitu Picture beautification – to make women’s skin look younger or better
    自选股 Zishuagu Real time stock price information from Shanghai, Hong Kong and US stock markets
    QQ提醒 QQ alert An alarm clock with lost of different settings and alerts
    腾讯看比赛 Tencent watch the game Sports news from Chinese and international leagues
    SOSO慧眼 SOSO Eye Price comparison application, it scans bar codes and QRCodes but also uses image recognition to find matching book covers etc
    QQ电影票 QQ Movie Mobile cinema ticket booking app
    One Browser Alternative to the built in phone web browser for international audiences
    QQ Browser Alternative to the built in phone web browser for Chinese, Taiwanese and international audiences
    腾讯地图 Tencent Map Car and public transport navigation with turn-by-turn directions
    腾讯朋友 Tencent friend China’s first ‘real name’ social network rather like Facebook in that respect
    Qpik International version of picture beautification app Pitu
    WeChat Voice Companion app to WeChat. Speak into the app, pick an avatar which has an animated mouth that lip-synches the message and send to contacts
    微视-8秒短视频分享 Microscopic Vine-like service that shoots 8-second videos
    QQ阅读 QQ Reading Multi-format e-book reader supporting formats like epub and PDF
    QQ通讯录-最快最智能的通讯录 QQ Contacts An address book based around the QQ messaging eco-system
    QQ安全中心 QQ Security Centre Helps with securing details, binding the phone identity to a particular QQ account, protects game settings and other
    My Cam Camera application that has HDR capabilities and Instagram-type filters
    腾讯手机管家(原QQ手机管家 Tencent mobile butler A utility app which helps enhance Wi-Fi security, measure download speed and other features
    We Sync iCloud-like back-up of address book, it helps users to move from an old phone to their new phone. It also allows the address book to be easily erased from a phone. It seems to be aimed at an international audience
    QQ邮箱 QQ Mailbox Dedicated email client similar to Gmail
    QQ Instant messaging client that comes in both domestic market and international versions
    腾讯微云 Weiyun Dropbox-like cloud service
    Qzone A Facebook-like social network allowing check-ins, status, video sharing, picture sharing
    腾讯新闻 Tencent News A news reader application – think mobile portal as app
    微信 WeChat / Weixin One of the world’s leading OTT messenger made in both domestic and international versions. It has features (some of which where borrowed from QQ) and is nipping at the heels of Whatsapp in a number of markets

    More wireless related posts here.

    More information
    Feature Friday: Checking In | A VC
    App Constellations | A VC

  • Dinner porn + more news

    Mok-bong – Korean dinner porn as content

    Unravelling South Korea’s dinner porn | Dazed – Korean dinner porn is actually about loneliness and vicarious eating for dieters. Korea seems to have spawned this dinner porn on local stream apps. They call it ‘mok-bang’ or literally eating room

    Business

    TelecomTV | Microsoft names new CEO: guess who gets to advise him? – Bill Gates does a Steve Jobs by using the new CEO as a glorified sock puppet?

    Japan Today | Sony to sell Vaio business to Japanese investment fund

    KFC’s largest customer base is scared of it’s chicken | Quartz – on China’s relationship with KFC

    This Chinese online retailer’s IPO documents could be a bit too candid | Quartz – interesting analysis for JD.com’s IPO filing

    China: real estate engine sputters in January | FT – that may not be a bad thing (paywall)

    TelecomTV | China’s Third Plenum and its implications for the telecoms sector

    Consumer behaviour

    China’s educated women power e-tailing: warc.com

    Finance

    Spending money has never been easier in China’s mobile finance era

    Hong Kong

    Slower Hong Kong retail sales | RTHK

    Democracy in Hong Kong was never Britain’s concern, pre and post 1997 | South China Morning PostThey wanted a smooth transition, with a nice final party, wholly in accord with the elegant management of national decline being enacted elsewhere in the world – (paywall)

    Ireland

    Ireland goes the extra mile for Chinese visitors | South China Morning Post – Ireland eased its visa restrictions last year, after the UK tightened theirs (paywall)

    Japan

    Foreign journalists in Japan are “propagating misinformation” about Fukushima | Japan Probe – good to see the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan calling bullshit on these journalists

    The tales of Steve Jobs & Japan #02: casual friendship with Sony | Steve Jobs and Japan | nobi.com (EN)

    Luxury

    80pc of Shanghai consumers made a luxury purchase within the last year: study – Luxury Daily – Research

    Vivienne Tam’s WeChat partnership delivers New York Fashion Week front row access | Jing Daily

    Media

    American cable industry plan to survive, make services people want

    Papering over the cracks – Excapite on Facebook Paper

    Online

    Apple CDN: iCloud performance could be vastly improved | BGR – key word here is ‘could’ rumours and speculation.

    QQ carried 13.4 billion messages in one day for Chinese New Year

    Security

    11.6m mobile devices infected with malware | Telecom Asia – inevitable given the connected nature of mobile devices and they are becoming the dominant form of personal computing

    Software

    How to remove Samsung Magazine UX: officially it’s not possible | BGR

    How the ‘value trap’ squeezes Windows PC makers’ revenues and profits | theguardian.com – which explains a lack of innovation, Microsoft getting into hardware and why Apple is better off smaller but more profitable

    China Bets on Homegrown OS | EE Times

    Web of no web

    Adidas Says Under Armour Infringed Its Wearable – Businessweek – patent wars a la Samsung and Apple in progress

    Microsoft signs deal to license Foursquare’s location data as it invests $15 million in the companyMicrosoft just became a Foursquare investor and the startup’s biggest source of revenue, as noted by The New York Times. – Expect Microsoft’s mapping offering to improve radically

    Wireless

    Chinese mobile phone manufacturers try to be better than Xiaomi | wantchinatimes.com

    Microsoft’s new CEO offers little comfort for mobile – Rethink Wireless

    Will Apple find enough consumers in China to buy its iPhone? – Quartz

  • Black business

    The term black business is an Asian term in terms of origin and use. In the west, corporate and social responsibility has been on the minds of management teams for a while. It is also starting to get traction in Asian companies that are exposed to international markets. It doesn’t seem to trouble some Japanese companies however.

    Black business as a term, isn’t about environmental issues, though I imagine that they probably won’t rate great on that either compared t their peers. 

    Instead black business focuses purely on how they manage and treat their employees. A black business is a dismal place to work. 

    A black business is described as a company that overworks its employees, harasses them, and/or pays significantly low wages for the work provided.

    Charges against black businesses include death by overwork. While this is a Japanese buzzword, it doesn’t apply strictly to Japanese companies or their workers. Death by overwork happens in multinational companies. International advertising agencies have a reputation for it. 

    Work cultures in Chinese companies would be typical of black business attributes. These would generally fall into the kind of wolf culture seen at firms like Huawei. The 996 working style prevalent in Chinese tech firms, would be considered overworking members of staff. Chinese fashion online retail company Pin Duo Duo has seen a number of employee deaths through overwork. 

    Foxconn saw worker suicides soar due to pressure on employees and their difficulties adjusting to life on huge campuses. 

    Many Chinese construction firms working abroad routinely pay their Chinese employees six months late. This is due to the hamfisted mess that payments are made from the main contractor to sub-contractors.

    Workers rights in China are routinely suppressed by unions in concert with the employer and the local government.  

    More information

    Could Japan’s Latest Buzz Word Get You Sued? Lawyer Weighs In | Rocket News 24

  • Clone

    I wrote a bit about my experience speaking with a consumer electronics salesperson on a post I wrote for PR Week. It was this conversation where I heard the phrase clone used.

    When I heard clone, I thought of Dolly the sheep, or the lumberjack ‘castro clone’ subculture in the gay community that borrowed from 1960s rockabilly and drove the Levi’s 501s as fashion movement. It also had a clear influence on grunge fashion of the early 1990s

    However n this context it meant a piece of consumer electronics badged with the brand name of, and sold by a famous Japanese brand that has been made in China by an ODM (original device manufacturer), and where many of the critical  components were not sourced from within the industrial group of the Japanese brand. It was a negative term implying that the product was in many respects counterfeit or unauthentic.

    The concept in itself isn’t a new idea. During the golden age of Japanese hi-fi you saw similar ODM relationships. The most egregious example is from some 30 years ago it was well-know that  Ferguson’s Videostar machines were re-badged JVC models. Show a picture of a JVC HR-3300 to your average British person of a certain age and they might tell it was a Ferguson Videostar or a Baird. Grundig and Philips shared a similar relationship back in the 1980s.

    What is interesting is the corrosive effect that the clone accusation must have on a brand, particularly when it comes from a figure like the sales person I spoke to who would be considered by the consumer to be a domain expert.  I gnaws away at reputations based on quality and design over decades and explains how globalisation and digital convergence has destroyed giants like Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer and Sharp.

    This contrasts sharply with the perception of Apple, which uses a similar ODM-based supply chain yet has managed to grow from strength-to-strength. More gadget related content can be found here.

  • Expandables

    BBC documentary series The Men Who Made Us Fat is a fascinating mix of health, marketing history and the law of unintended consequences that has affected the modern diet. One phrase struck me as being a quite interesting. Expandables was a term to use a category of food products that would be part of multi-pack or buy-one, get-one-free deals. The products couldn’t be economic substitutes for instance discounting one type of meat would have it substituted over another meat-type.

    In the case of food products it is usually items that people graze on, so this usually ends up not being the healthiest foods. The idea of grazeable supersized foods came from the middle of the last century in Chicago. There David Wallerstein came up with the idea of supersizing popcorn servings. Wallerstein came up with a behavioural change experiment as business idea based on the insight of that people might want to buy and eat more popcorn, but were simply ashamed of buying two bags.

    Wallerstein was successful in his experiment. Wallerstein was appointed by Ray Kroc to the board of McDonalds in 1968 and then rolled out larger servings in McDonalds restaurants. So in that respect one could consider Wallerstein the inventor of expandables.

    Another McDonalds business person Max Cooper, who was franchisee is credited with inventing bundling – packaging a high margin drink and french fries with a low margin burger. What McDonald’s now call their ‘combo meals’ or ‘extra value meals’. This cemented the role of expandables in food sales.

    Unfortunately, this fits in with an unfortunate evolutionary trait, that humans are hardwired to consume high energy foods. And if the consumer has paid for it, they will eat it. Expandables are considered to have driven obesity, (there is some statistical correlation in obesity levels that suggest correlation).

    More information

    Zoe Harcombe’s blog has a complete summary of the TV episode to put expandables in context.

    More related posts can be found here.