May 11 2007
China — The Next Great Blogging Frontier
Chinese, is already the third largest slice of the blogosphere language pie (8%), as reported by Technorati’s most recent State of the Blogosphere report. Japanese #1 (37%) and English #2 (36%) are by far the largest languages of the live web.
Acknowledging the growth potential in China, Intel Capital announced and as covered by InformationWeek, that it’s investing in 51.com, China’s largest social network. The network already has 60 million users, and is adding five million users a month (a month!).
While this story received light press coverage, I would hazard a guess that we will be hearing a lot more about 51.com in coming years. In fact, Reuters wrote yesterday that 51.com is already looking at a possible IPO in three years and is targeting a NASDAQ listing.
With roughly 20% of the world’s population speaking some form of Chinese; as more people in China network online, the conversation, regardless of the topic, is only going to grow.
Did anyone see where I put my Rosetta Stone Mandarin CDs?
there are some projections that China will shortly become the largest English speaking country in the world…so while we worry about Spanish speakers in the US, they are speeding ahead
Hi Vinnie,
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if those projections were right.
BTW, Wishing you were here with us in Vienna! Keep in mind the TechEd events this fall (Las Vegas, Munich and Bangalore.) While they are developer oriented, I’m sure we can make the trip worth your while.