[UPDATE: View the Hamish McKenzie Storify for a recap of the live Q&A]
What’s happening in the Asian tech and mobile space? According to Hamish McKenzie, author of Beta China, A LOT!
“…there’s a confluence of factors that suggests China’s Internet industry has now reached a point where it is ripe for innovation. A maturing ecosystem bolstered by serial entrepreneurs, savvy angel investors, smarter big companies, and money in a mergers and acquisitions market that will encourage entrepreneurs to take risks on building startups – all these factors, together with the massive shift of Chinese Internet users to mobile, present a new paradigm for Internet business.
The country’s startups finally have some shoulders to stand on. And with China, you can never forget the demographics. It is already the world’s largest smartphone market,and many Chinese have never owned – and never will own – a desktop computer.
Affordable handsets running Google’s Android operating system are finding their way into the hands of even the rural poor, creating new user demographics and market opportunities that are unique to China. Increasingly for Chinese people, the Internet is something that lives in their handsets.” [bold emphasis added] (McKenzie, Hamish (2013-06-02). Beta China (Kindle Locations 605-612). PandoMedia. Kindle Edition.
If the Asian tech community is completely new to you, then join us Wednesday, October 9th from 9-10pm ET via #MobileChat on Twitter as we do live Q/A with Hamish.
Hear how China is working to overcome the “copycat” tech stigma and create a future as a legitimate entrepreneurial tech culture, which is being propelled by the global mobile revolution.
