5 Lessons from China's Internet Companies

-Most fascinatingly, Yidui takes one of the most private (and, often, most awkward) life experiences—going on a first date—and turns it into a widespread community activity.

-When you watch a Presidential Debate or NBA final, how often are you checking live reactions on Twitter or internet message boards? Bullet commentary embeds that community directly into the product, letting you tap into the hive mind and find camaraderie through your screen.

-In China, there’s a fascinating dating app called Yidui. Yidui users go on a video date chaperoned by a matchmaker, who helps guide the conversation and keep the date on track. At the same time, viewers—often thousands of them—can livestream the date. Viewers type in the chat and suggest conversation topics, give reactions to how they think the da... See more

-Chinese tutoring companies are among the largest, as 43% of urban Chinese household income goes toward supplemental education. In the U.S., it’s closer to 2%.

Building friction into community ensures best-in-class retention: ~85% of Bilibili users retain after 12 months.

-Bilibili is built around shared interests and purposefully builds friction into community. In order to join a community, users have to pass a 100-question exam. A representative question to join the Harry Potter community, for instance, is: “How many horcruxes does Voldemort have?” (Any self-respecting person should know the answer is seven.)

Tencent, Bilibili, and Kuaishou all rely heavily on “value-added services”—things like micropayments and subscriptions and virtual currencies. More Western companies will turn to VAS, particularly if Apple and Google reduce the 30% tax they take on every digital economy. Already, Discord and Clubhouse have eschewed ads and Facebook, Snap, and Amazo... See more

-The most interesting feature of Bilibili—and the one most central to community—is bullet commentary. When you consume content on Bilibili, comments from fellow community members flash across your screen, time-stamped to when that user had that reaction. Only members of the community—those who passed that 100-question exam—can leave comments, ensur... See more

-U.S. startups are following suit. Clubhouse recommends audio rooms, often full of complete strangers. ItsMe, through its avatar interface, matches you with new people around the world. And Honk lets you discover people to chat with based on your interests.