"Lessons from Asia for Tech Sector" by Benjamin Joffe

HatTip to Patrick P. Didn't know that Benjamin Joffe, who co-organizes the Open Web Asia Conference with me, put up these slides. Pretty cool, Benjamin.

Lessons from Asia for Tech Sector -

Mark Suster, who blogs at Both Sides of the Table, has his take aways here:

1. Wacky, weird and low cost: Before diving into what I learned in the deck I want to share something crazy. Motorola gave us in the US the RAZR (before they stopped innovating). But China literally gave us the Cell Razor. Benjamin brought in a cell phone where the bottom pulls out and you have an electric razor. No joke.

2. Film innovation – If Benjamin’s analysis is right – even many of our most successful films have been adaptations from Asian films. I knew some were but the scope was surprising. Especially Star Wars & The Matrix.

3. Internet users in US – 225 million, mobile 260MM. China Internet: 340MM, Mobile a staggering 650MM. Don’t bet that China won’t innovate in mobile. (slide 29)

4. 70% of Korean population has Internet speeds > 5mbps (and avg = 15 mbps) – don’t bet that the Koreans won’t innovate on online content (slide 30). Larger online game market ($1 billion) than Japan despite 1/3 population and 1/2 GDP per capital (slide 99). Way ahead of the US on mobile gifting.

5. More than 90% of Japanese mobile subscribers are on 3G networks (vs. 20% in the US) (slide 30), More than 50% have mobile TV & NFC chipsets (slide 87). Mobile ARPU = a staggering $110 / month for content and commerce alone (slide 88). Massive fall-off in ringtone and massive uptick in full songs (slide 89) —> still think we shouldn’t be watching what’s happening in Asia? Sales of avatars in social games nearly 50% of total revenue eclipsing revenue from affiliate transaction, ads or paid games (slide 97). Mobile game content revenue > PC game revenue (slide 98)

6. China’s leading social network (Tencent, who’s product is QQ) already does more than $1 billion in revenue. That’s 2x Facebook estimates. Tencent market cap on public market is $21 billion, Facebook’s is a theoretical $3-15bn (slide 52). China is innovating in many of the categories that the US is trying to solve now including mobile couponing, vertical social networks, Internet TV, etc.

7. Free-to-play gaming with micro transactions has become huge in Asia with very nice profit margins. EA and others in the US are copying this success (slide 71)