Tudou Collabo???

If there's one thing that Tudou.com knows about, it's content quality and convenience. Now, Youtube.com has software commonly known as YouTube Downloader which is used to, "allow users to download videos from YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo Video, and many others and convert them to other video formats...and to convert downloaded videos for Ipod, Iphone, PSP, Cell Phone, Windows Media, XVid and MP3" (youtube.altervista.org). Tudou also has a similar software known as Tudou Downlader which is a, "convenient freeware to download flash from video from Tudou.com...it can download several video files simultaneously, and show the real download URL" (freedownloadmanager.org).

Just as Youtube's software has allowed it to work more conveniently and efficiently with other online programs/sites such as the ones mentioned above, Tudou also has a similar opportunity to link with other Internet services. Because Tudou is still in its structuring stages in terms of it's relationship with the Chinese government, it is hard to say what other programs/sites Tudou would mesh well with, but the potential to monetarily capitalize on this capability is tremendous. Maybe we'll be seeing a collabo coming soon!

Tudou the Tiger

According to Chinese zodiac, 2010 is the year of the Tiger and also the year Tudou expects to break even. The Tiger is characterized as an adventurous leader and risk-taking animal, and I think that is an accurate description of Tudou's chosen business ventures. "Tudou announced it will invest 100 million yuan (US$14.75 million) in content and expects to break-even next year, thanks to the booming advertising income and expanded mobile business" (ShanghaiDaily.com). Tudou will probably be the first online video-uploading site to turn a profit in the highly competitive Chinese video market.

Chinese Internetional Relations

In case any of you missed CNN's coverage of President Obama's visit to Shanghai China's Fudon University (where I participated in a debate while studying abroad in Shanghai) you can check out some of Obama's views of the upcoming World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China's Internet censorship regulations, and Chinese Twitter use. These topics bring up questions of whether social-video uploading sites like Tudou have potential to lead to international Internet relationships (Internetional Relations) that can stiumlate economies with the lifting of existing restrictions on Chinese Internet. Also, with the potential free use of these sites for Chinese financial gains, how or will there be an adverse effect on Chinese regulatory and privacy laws. The Internet really does have the ablility to change the social structure and business models of nations. Below, check out some of Obama's answers to some Chinese Internet specific questions...Let me know what you think!


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Bandwidth Bandit

Tudou.com, similar to television, has gone "HD" in attempts to make their video content clearer, crisper, and easier on the eyes. However, Tudou, as a video uploading site has gone one step further to better the experience for their online video viewers by changing bandwidth formats. For those of you who don't know what bandwidth is, basically, video bandwidth is a monitor's ability to refresh a computer screen, and high bandwidths allow more information to be shown across a display in a given amount of time, which translates into support for higher resolutions and greater refresh rates (CNET.com). Tudou "will migrate from Sorenson Spark format to On2 VP6 as their default codec [to] create Adobe Flash content. In addition, Tudou will standardize on the On2 Flix Engine software to encode all incoming videos to the site"(Reuters.com).

This switch delivers a greater amount of bandwidth savings, requires less computing power to replay, and avoids potentially expensive MPEG-LA licensing obligations. Micheal Zhao, the Chief Technology Officer at Tudou said, "[s]witching from Sorenson Spark to On2 VP6 we estimate a reduction in our bandwidth overhead of up to 40%, without lowering the quality of our published videos. The encoding speed of On2 Flix Engine also enables a greater throughput for video transcoding" (Reuters.com)). Tudou understands the importance of adapting and evolving in an Internet environment that is constantly changing technologically. With better video quality, efficiency, and speed, Tudou will attract more consumers and increase video and ad space...Bandwidth Bandits!!!

Our Own Ownership

As previously discussed in my posts, Tudou.com is increasing in size, wealth, video-consumers, and maybe most importantly, content. With mergers like Tudou-China Mobile, an expanding broadband width, and addition of advertiser platforms, the next endeavor Tudou will embark on is becoming "the Content King" of Chinese video uploading sites. Anita Huang, the VP of community and marketing at Tudou said, "[w]e will still work with the mainstream entertainment provider partners to buy their content and work on revenue sharing models with our partners, but we are expanding our footage to more co-production and joint-funding productions with other entertainment partners" (Media.asia).


Tudou has begun producing original content including a TMZ reminiscent entertainment news show and a “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” reminiscent reality show it co-produced with Noki. As just mentioned, Tudou has partnered up with another media giant, Nokia [a telecommunications, Internet, and computer software company based in Finland] for production purposes. "The Nokia show cost some $500,000 in US dollars to produce and thirty million [viewers] tuned in for the six live shows, where contestants could use friends or search engines on their Nokia N97s to help get the answers" (TechCrunch.com).


Tudou-Nokia exemplifies blatant product placement, advertisement, and profitability along with strategic marketing, and a foundation for creating Tudou in house productions. By creating their own content, Tudou will increase their credibility in the online video-uploading world and stream revenues into their own pockets from advertisers who decide to purchase ad space during their shows = Our Own Ownership...

"Hello, this is Tudou calling, may I speak with China Mobile please?"

Youtube.com isn't the only one partnering up with media giants! As we mentioned in class, it is becoming increasingly popular for online media giants to partner up with each other in hopes of attracting more users, making their services more convenient, and adding unique features to their sites. An example of this is Facebook using email to update and alert Facebook users, and the sites we're simultaneously using now, Blogger.com and Gmail. This "partnering" strategy seems to be smart and profitable for both parties involved as it increases user presence and usually adds features to both sites. Tudou has recently taken this route as it partnered up with China Mobile which is one of the largest cell phone services in China.


According to ShanghaiDaily.com, "Tudou has signed with China Mobile to launch video content on handset[s] for more than 700 million Chinese mobile phone users." This combination is genius, as it not only allows Chinese China Mobile cellphone users, and Chinese Tudou video users to easily access Tudou's video uploading features on their mobile devices, but also, with the "video" feature on many cell phones (that allows cell phone users to record video footage at any moment) to instantaneously upload video footage, therefore increasing the video uploading and viewing traffic on Tudou. This will have a beneficial impact on Tudou's website user presence and profitability of their advertising space. A simple, yet effective conversation...

Tudou.com: $ubdomain$

Upon further exploration of Tudou.com I discovered something it has that it's American counter-part Youtube.com does not explicitly offer; multiple models of $ubdomain$. While Youtube is moving in this direction with its Youtube.com/movies that allows users to watch select full length movies (from what I gauge to be older and unpopular films) categorized by genre and their Youtube.com/music that allows users to watch full length music videos categorized by genre that have been uploaded by other users (predominately music companies themselves), it has not mastered subdomains as creatively as Tudou. Tudou not only offers content of specific topics on their website, but goes as far as to allow each topic, such as gender, sports, music, education, cartoons, video games, "channels," and high-definition footage its own subdomain website page. This allows advertisers to narrow their advertisements to a more specific area of the vast video uploading site, while also reaching a broad enough audience to effectively reach targeted groups. This new super categorization reflects a similar dilemma that TV advertisers face: whether to purchase ad time on more specific and narrowed T.V network shows or on shows that attract more diverse and fragmented audiences. O what tudou what tudou : )