As summer progresses, temperatures continue to rise across the country. But for domestic social networking sites, the long summer vacation did not bring popularity, but it brought a bit of coolness. In early July, the 360 Circle website announced its closure. On July 15, the real-life community website Ant.net was unable to continue due to a broken capital chain. Operations, the website will be closed on July 30. Regarding the successive closures of SNS websites, some people in the industry believe that domestic SNS websites have developed slowly from being popular in the past to the present, and the SNS craze is gradually fading. According to other news, Sun Shoushan, deputy director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, said that the General Administration of Press and Publication will formulate and issue departmental regulations such as the "Internet Game Approval Management Rules" and the "Internet Literature Publishing Service Management Measures". Among them, detailed and strict regulations have been made on the approval conditions and procedures for various categories of online games, especially SNS online games and children's SNS games.
On the one hand, the fatigue of community websites is showing, and on the other hand, the search giants are "eyeing eagerly". The SNS industry seems to be at the "crossroads" of industry reshuffle and new divisions.
SNS websites are "hot on the outside but cold on the inside" and are now in a weak state
It has been several years since SNS websites appeared and entered China. Especially driven by the strong development of foreign SNS websites such as Facebook, Chinese SNS websites have gradually been recognized and loved by netizens, and have even developed into a popular Internet phenomenon in recent years. In terms of gathering popularity, SNS websites have achieved remarkable results.
According to CNNIC estimates, by the end of 2009, the number of Internet users in China using dating and social networking sites will reach 124 million. Yu Ming, a senior analyst in the Internet industry at Wanrui Data and an Internet expert, once said: "The large user base has attracted the capital market's strong interest in SNS websites, making both the SNS website itself and the related fields of SNS websites have potential. Huge investment opportunity.” However, the seemingly prosperous appearance failed to change the trend of cooling down or even “cooling” within SNS.
Surveys show that many SNS websites are currently in a state of loss, and more than 80% of domestic social games earn only a few thousand yuan in monthly income. The lack of a clear profit model has become the focus of the industry's attention to the future development of SNS community websites. The "shutdown wave" set off by many social networking sites also shows that today's SNS sites are already in a state of exhaustion. According to reports, the closure of Ant.com was due to a break in the capital chain. If the development of social networking sites has reached the point where it needs to be supported by continuous capital investment, then we can conclude that there are big problems with its profit model.
The 2009 China SNS Industry Development Research Report released by Wanrui Data analyzed that the products provided by SNS community websites, such as components, applications, entertainment games, etc., are only used to enhance user stickiness. This is the current SNS community website An important manifestation of competition staying at the operational level.
At present, the market competition is fierce and the user market is not yet mature. At this stage, any membership fees, virtual item purchases, etc. will have an impact on the current key goal, which is "encircling users." Some functions or services provided by SNS community websites are all in the operation stage to improve user experience and loyalty. From the perspective of the SNS community development stage, the time to transform from operation to profit model is not yet mature. Lacking an effective profit model, the weakness of SNS websites is both helpless and reasonable.
Is the domestic SNS industry entering a reshuffle period?
On the one hand, some domestic SNS websites are collectively showing signs of fatigue, but on the other hand, many domestic Internet celebrities and investors are favoring social networking sites. According to the "Economic Information Daily" report, in early July this year, the homepage of Tencent's new SNS community - Friends Community was exposed. Ma Huateng made it clear that Tencent's strategic focus for future development lies in SNS. It is worth mentioning that because of the support of a large number of users, most people in the industry also sing favorably about Tencent's relevant measures.
In addition, many search websites are also eyeing SNS. News of Google's entry into the SNS field is still unclear. Domestic search giant Baidu has also reported that it is recruiting people for the establishment of an SNS division. Facebook seems to be unwilling to lag behind others. News that it will enter the Chinese mainland market this year is also very popular.
If you don't make a profit, you can't afford it early. Whether it's an Internet giant or a search giant, the biggest driving force for entering the SNS industry is the huge market potential of social networks. Analysys data shows that it is expected that by 2011, the number of domestic SNS registered users will reach 510 million. In 2009, my country's SNS market revenue was 387 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.7%; it is expected that by 2011, the SNS market size will reach 979 million yuan. It’s no wonder that such a huge market is so attractive.
"Some websites will be eliminated, and some websites will stay and survive better. The era of SNS website reshuffle has arrived!" an analyst from Softbank SAIF Investment Company in Beijing asserted.
The competition to upgrade domestic SNS sites is imminent, and a number of SNS websites have also begun to break through. "Communications World Weekly" reported that in mid-May, Kaixin.com announced that it would officially launch a third-party application platform and began to explore a cooperation model with third-party development teams. The diversified model will become Kaixin.com's future direction. 51.com followed closely, formulating a high-quality route for platform mini-applications, and began to get involved in the Weibo business. Some SNS websites have launched group buying websites or Weibo as a breakout strategy, and some websites are preparing to move overseas...
The Eight Immortals cross the sea and each show their magical powers. It is still unclear who will have the last laugh. In the new round of SNS war, the industry is waiting to see who will have the last laugh.
E-commerce + SNS may become a new nugget
Shuffle, new industry pattern... Adjustments are inevitable, and the development of the SNS industry will not stagnate after all. Seizing new opportunities after industry integration is the last word for survival and development.
Chen Xinxiang, chairman of the China Electronic Commerce Association, believes that the combination of SNS and e-commerce will become a future direction. Chen Xinxiang said that in modern society, online trading has become a trend. SNS has natural advantages in developing e-commerce. As a social platform, it has a huge social network and popularity, which will be more conducive to developing e-commerce. In particular, the segmented SNS communities will be more targeted. The combination of social networks and e-commerce will fully tap the commercial value of social networks.
Can e-commerce + SNS become a new nugget? On this issue, the world's first experience trading platform "Weiba" has given the best answer. "Weiba" is a new experience trading platform that integrates SNS and e-commerce. It is also a platform that quickly turns "experience" into money. This experience should be said to be a reasonable "repair" and development of traditional community websites that focus on entertainment.
Secondly, the "Coolpei.com" B2B e-commerce + SNS community model based on matching information is also quite promising. B2B platforms provide merchants with a place for communication and exhibition. At the same time, the popularity gathered through SNS is also conducive to promoting e-commerce. For SNS community users, the B2B platform is like a trade fair at their doorstep. There is a lot for business, entertainment and life.
Thirdly, "Groupon", a group buying model that has recently emerged in the United States, seems to have found development opportunities for the SNS community. The characteristic of this model is that only one discounted product is launched every day, and users enjoy ultra-low discounts through group purchases. This cooperative sharing model of gathering popularity online and driving consumption through offline activities can be used as the content of the charging module of SNS community websites, which may bring new profit growth points to the SNS community.
In addition, the combination of online virtual network life and offline reality can also promote user activity on SNS community websites. However, while the SNS market is rapidly expanding, some regulatory issues have also emerged. In order to focus on solving the problem of SNS business content, the State Press and Publication Administration and the Ministry of Culture will jointly issue policies on SNS website approval and SNS community game supervision. This lays the foundation for the healthy and orderly development of SNS.
All in all, social networks are not a short-lived buzzword, nor are they an add-on to the currently known networks. People are increasingly hoping to get more actual interaction and practical value from them, and this demand has also brought SNS into a platform. In the application era, whose application can conquer more users and customers will be able to stand out and be proud of others.
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