Our college textbooks are filled with the case studies of Ebay, Amazon, Yahoo, and Google. The few translated internet books displayed in the bookstore are also full of successful US websites stories about how user friendly their product is and how advance their technologies are. However, we see complete difference in reality: US websites are usually quite inadequate in their China development. They are generally unsuccessful. In the mean time, those successful Chinese competitors have never followed any US-style routines. As the matter of fact, they even often do business in the complete opposite way.
Although China press world began to question the general failure of
these US websites, their analysis are shallow, vague, and
ineffective without touching the root cause. I have partied with
many marketing people from top US internet companies. Based on my
personal observation, they fail mainly because of the wrong concept
of doing things. They have good strategies, smartest staffs,
adequate cash, best product, and greatest technology. However,
without changing their business concept, there is hardly any chance
to create one single successful website in China.
- Prefer elite user's penny
despite general public's fortune v.s. sweep both white-collar's
wealth and everyone's pennies
It is a vital mistake from those US internet sharks which they haven't realized yet. All the executives are from HK or TW; all their employees are seating in the slick office building in Shanghai. Their visions are limited. White-collars and top 500 corporations are primary target customers of their product design, website style, and marketing promotions. They never consider general public nor small businesses.
Their education, aptitudes and vision lead to the exclusion of the grass root at heart. They often ignore those kids in the internet cafes, nor those internet users from thousands of small towns (Note these two groups already account for more than half of China's internet population). Even the most generally beloved TV show, "Super Girls"(the Chinese remake of American Idols), is deeply contempt by them.
They announce their elegant by knowing only gmail and msn, but not 163 nor QQ. From the bottom of their hearts, they would rather go out of business instead of making a no grade website meeting public demand.
The hope of making a mainstream website will be doomed without meeting public demand. - Rather be forgotten instead of
be hated v.s. be hated but never be forgotten
The former one is the philosophy of US websites, while the latter one is what Mr. Ma, Yun(CEO of Yahoo China) and Mr. Zhou, Hongyi (ex CEO of 3721.com and Yahoo China) believe.
US sites are afraid of negative press news. However, Chinese sites only worry about not having negative news. They believe that the best promotion is to let thousands of people "hate" you.
Getting 10 times higher salary than those Chinese rivals, the US website staffs fear losing their jobs. They'd rather have no performance instead of make mistakes. They take no risk and keep low key. They are timid, polite, and well educated, but not ready to fight. At the end, they are often bloody beaten by their energetic straightforward competitors.
(To be continued)


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US Internet companies' top 10 mistakes in China (1)
Translator:

kpak Level 1
Thanks for your translation!
03/02/2007
alvinfoo Level 1
i m thankful and grateful that such translation work is available. You guys are doing a fantastic job. There are just so much information in china that i would had loved to read. Keep up the good work....
03/02/2007
lawrence Level 8 | Blog
对于中译英的开源翻译,我有着完全不同的标准。基本上,我认为像翻疫终结者的那种做法,在目前阶段,对于中译英是没有多大意义的。不过,还是想说一下:
Our college textbooks are filled with the case studies of Ebay, Amazon, Yahoo, and Google. The few translated internet books displayed in the bookstore are also full of successful US websites stories about how good humanity they provide and how advance their technologies are.
这句里的“good humanity”,中文原文是“人性化”。其实中文 IT 语境里所谓的人性化,就是英文的 good user experience, 或者 user-friendly。Humanity 实另有所指。
03/03/2007
lawrence Level 8 | Blog
啊,还有,loser 可不好乱用哦,这个词,其实相当于中文的“窝囊废”。原文只是说美国网站“在中国基本上都是失败的典型”。
03/03/2007
YeeDing Level 8
Thanks, Lawrence. I made adjustment as your suggested.
03/04/2007
blahblah Level 1
There are more STAFF in this branch than the other branch.
<br/>
<br/>At a meeting of all STAFF it was decided to halt development.
<br/>
<br/>"Staffs" is not a word. Even the plural of the other meaning of staff (big heavy stick) is staves.
07/19/2007
LokooKy Level 1
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10/08/2007
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11/17/2007