Guazi's Ads Are Everywhere You Look. Do You Know What They Cost?
Companies buy a “position” with blanket advertising when competition has just begun and no one has pulled ahead. That is exactly where the used-car market Guazi plays in stands now.
QDaily in English
2310 completed translations from the archive. Articles retain their original publication dates.
With Youku Tudou, Jack Ma Completes Alibaba's Entertainment Map. The "Happiness" He Wants Is Still Some Way Off
Entertainment is where Alibaba has built the most. If it can start there and pull its other businesses together, it will truly be more than an e-commerce platform.
Theatre director Edward Lam wants everyone to be "a little less unfree" | 100 People With Ideas
"I realized how much certain things bind people's freedom, so I felt I should use my work to remind everyone: stop being so unfree!"
Love Jordan Sneakers? Then Meet the Remarkable Designer Behind Them
"Right after I finished the Air Jordan 11, I showed Michael photos of the final version. The first thing he said was, 'This is so beautiful, people could wear it to their own wedding.'"
Once Singles' Day Arrives, E-Commerce's Busy Year Is Almost Over
We took stock of how China's e-commerce landscape shifted over the past year and made a few predictions about the Singles' Day shopping frenzy a month from now. Our advice: get a good night's sleep.
Square Has Filed to Go Public. What Did the Company That Invented the Phone Card Reader Do Next?
The first company to try to replace the wallet may not be the one still standing at the end
Kickstarter, the Crowdfunding Pioneer, Is Now a Public Benefit Corporation. What Has It Changed in Six Years?
So tell us: which crowdfunding projects have you backed? Did they all ship?
Where Did "Fashion Week" Come From, and What Can the Big Four Cities Tell Us About Shanghai's Future?
Regular article
Twilight Turns Ten: At Least 15 Reasons It Became a Global Mary Sue Phenomenon | QDaily Business History
Ordinary article
Jordan Turns 30: How Did It Become the Most Successful Sneaker Brand? | QDaily Business History
The advantage of having thirty years of brand history is that any slice of the story is enough to become ad material.
Two Experiments in 30 Days: Seven Questions About Phones and Us
If you're looking at your phone, are you really alone? We were asking questions like this before the experiments, and we're still asking them now.
Hollywood's New Problem in China: How to Sell Its Blockbusters More Cleverly to Chinese Audiences
Hollywood's competition in China has entered a new stage.
Open Two Days a Week: The Fixed-Gear Shop Run by Three Ad People and an Architect | 100 People With Ideas
Joe compares a bike to the bag you carry around with you — it shows the rider's ideas, personality, style, and attitude.
This Young Director Has Shot Promo Videos for a Whole Roster of Young Stars | 100 People With Ideas
Peng Youlun's career may be proof of the old line: once you are lucky, twice you are good.
We Found at Least 20 Stupid Uses of Technology in Shopping | One More List a Day
At this point, all I can say is: ??????
AI Is Supposedly Getting Closer, Yet 11 Fallacies About It Are Everywhere | One More List a Day
If your picture of artificial intelligence comes from sci-fi movies and tech CEOs' speeches, you would do well to find some other sources.
No Phone for Travel Tips, Everywhere I Wanted to Go Was Closed, and Then an Emergency | Traveling Without a Phone, Day 3
Dear roommate, please remember to charge my phone. It must be so lonely.
From Tudou Founder to *Little Door Gods*: What Wang Wei Did in 29 Months | Founders Speak
Wang Wei wants Light Chaser Animation to release one animated film every two years, and to keep that rhythm going.
IMAX China Is About to List in Hong Kong. How Did It Become the Most Successful Brand in China's Film Market in Five Years?
Thanks to *Avatar*, thanks to Wanda, thanks to the Chinese market.
A Reality Show Whose Star Is the House
Families' hard-luck stories, their run-down houses and the designers' ingenuity add up to a sure-fire ratings formula.
Alibaba's Lock-Ups Have Expired. Should Its Investors Sell Everything?
"Starting tomorrow, our journey will get harder." — Jack Ma, September 19, 2014, the day Alibaba's shares began trading
The Most Surprising Emmys Yet, in 10 Minutes: Every Highlight and Every Tear
This year's Emmys seem to have dropped a good many of their prejudices: a fantasy series has finally won Outstanding Drama Series.
Fruitday Turned American Cherries into a Hit. Can It Survive the Fresh-Food E-Commerce War? | Founders Speak
Wang Wei founded Fruitday to "change the fruit business the way books and clothing were changed." Now that it has moved into O2O, he seems to have come full circle, back to where he started.
Their Business: Rallying More Than 10,000 Hackers to Hunt for Holes Across the Internet
They are called Wooyun. You may never have heard of them, but the internet services you use have almost certainly appeared on their vulnerability lists.
Looking for the Shanghai That's Gone? This Uncle Has Spent 10 Years Recording Its Streets and Alleys | 100 People With Ideas
You're all so fond of the phrase "down to earth." What he does might actually be the earth.
Bold Red Lips Are the Height of Fashion. But Girl, Did You Know They Started Out Thoroughly Disreputable? | QDaily Business History
Red lips did take a while to win respectability — about 4,950 years.
The Man Who Sells Self-Help Thinks China Could Be a Huge "Chicken Soup" Market | 100 People With Ideas
What he preaches is nothing more than folk wisdom — "people learn fastest and grow fastest when they're uncomfortable." But he believes it, so he says it with real sincerity.
Hollywood Report, Final Part: What Is (Possibly) Irreplaceable About Hollywood?
The answer is the line we quoted before: Hollywood is in the entertainment business, not the movie business. We explain it through the story of one company.
What Are Luxury Brands Really Up To With Their Ads in WeChat Moments?
Luxury brands are known for spending carefully and keeping technology at arm's length. So why have they paid heavily to advertise in Moments?
Pandora at Ten: The Changes It Lived Through in the Music Business — and the Ones It Caused | QDaily Business History
Pandora's decade has been the decade the traditional music business collapsed. It filled the space records left behind, yet it still hasn't found a path of its own.
He Wants to Build a Mouse Made for Gamers, and His Edge Is the Countless Matches He's Won | 100 People With Ideas
From e-sports world champion to gaming-gear entrepreneur — a complete change of role.
How the 30-Year-Old Super Mario Changed the Games Industry | QDaily Business History
Mario is a star, a workhorse, and the games industry's savior
Before Yin Chao Became a Top Fashion Photographer, What Did He Go Through? | 100 People With Ideas
Yin Chao loves the fashion industry because it is about beauty. But fashion is also arrogant and cutting, forever using fierce language to exalt beauty and scorn ugliness.
Hollywood Report VI: Hollywood Has Survived Every Threat So Far. Will the Internet Be Different?
After years of fighting television, Hollywood now faces the internet. How viewers watch, how film professionals organize, and where the money comes from are all changing. This is Hollywood's new enemy.
Estée Lauder Says It Spends Money to Take Risks; P&G Says It Now Sells a Lifestyle...
At an industry summit Alibaba hosted a few days ago, Estée Lauder, P&G, a group of "Taobao brands" and Alibaba's top executives shared their views on e-commerce and on commerce as a whole. We have pulled out the parts worth knowing.
Tmall Already Dominates Online Fashion. What Can JD.com Do About It?
The fight between JD.com and Tmall over clothing may really be a fight over who rules Chinese e-commerce.
From Tribal Cultures and Hollywood Stars to Street Life: The Masters' Photographs Are All Here
Sunday is the last day of Photo Shanghai. If you can't make it, here is our detailed report.
Fifteen Years of Rock and Roll With a Band Called Top Floor Circus | 100 People With Ideas
They wrote songs in Shanghainese, stripped naked on stage, and opposed punk in the manner of punk itself — in short, the more disreputable the better. But now it's time to sigh about getting old.
Cross-Border E-Commerce Really Is Hot. So How Far Has Jack Ma's Tmall Global Come?
The iPad Pro Finally Looks Like the Computer of the Future. What Did Apple Do to Get Here?
Regular article
A Giant iPad, the iPhone 6s, a TV, a Hermès Watch: Last Night Apple Held the Biggest Product Launch in Its History
Regular article
Hollywood Report V: Did Hollywood Hand Its Golden Age to Television?
People watch sequels at the cinema and look for creativity in the living room.
Douban Keeps Trying to Do Something for Music, but It Seems Further Than Ever From Doing It Well
The advantage Douban built up in users is fading, and its music company does not have much time left.
A 40-Billion-Yuan Business and the World's Biggest Market: China's Mobile Games
366 million players, 68,000 developers, 400,000 games and a 40-billion-yuan market. How much of it came from you?
Vending Machines Look Like a Great Business for the Future. So What Is Really Going On With Them in China?
It is not what you might imagine, and the tipping point the industry is waiting for may not have arrived yet.
"Should Hutongs Be Torn Down or Preserved? I Support Neither — Is That Allowed?" | 100 People With Ideas
What Wang Shuo argues for is effective intervention in hutong renewal — renewal that answers the needs of the way people live now. "Do something that can move things in a better direction."
Hollywood Report IV: Why Has Globalization Hurt Hollywood?
You can blame Wall Street, of course. But when Hollywood's big companies make ever dumber products for a global market, they are following something close to corporate instinct: to make money, they have to make things everyone can understand.
Apple TV Took Eight Years to Return to the Spotlight. Why Is Apple's TV Plan So Slow?
Regular article
Lau Ching-wan Hasn't Made a Love Story in Years. In *A Tale of Three Cities*, He Says, He Found a Little of Old Hong Kong
"The love story I want to make is very simple: you love one person, and you just love that one person. What choices you make, and how your choices and your fate play out."
Two Malls That Remade Downtown Chengdu
Chengdu Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li and IFS may be the two templates for China's new shopping complexes. They have pushed Chengdu's commercial property upgrade to a new peak, and redefined the city along the way.
More Than 3 Million People Watched Tencent's TFBoys Livestream. How Good a Business Is Music Livestreaming?
Online concerts are booming. How should a company play this market? Here is what Tencent Live Music thinks.
The Spice Girls at 20: How Did They Change Britain and Pop Music?
The Spice Girls made "Girl Power" sweep Britain. They were less pop icons than pop stars of social culture.
[Hollywood Report III] Chinese Companies Are Bringing Money to Hollywood, but Money Isn't What Americans Want
This Chinese force has arrived in a rush, yet nobody seems to know where it is going. Everyone involved will have to answer two questions: what do they want Hollywood to give them, and what do they bring to Hollywood?
Chinese Phone Makers Are Rushing to India. We Went to See What Kind of Market It Really Is
3G, corner shops, second-hand iPhones, HTC and Sony... India's phone market today looks a lot like China's did a few years ago
Penguin at 80: How Did It Become Publishing's Odd One Out, and How Will It Find New Readers? | QDaily Business History
Affordable prices and distinctive cover design opened up a vast mass market for Penguin.
Which Companies Are the "Big Brothers" of Our Lives?
When a small company that set out to defy the powerful becomes powerful itself, it gathers up information and starts running people's lives again. Where should its limits be?
Is the Dystopian Internet Closer to Brave New World or to Nineteen Eighty-Four?
We may not notice it, but the internet we use every day is a metaphor for dystopia. Like *Nineteen Eighty-Four*, it records what we do and say; like *Brave New World*, it lets us stop thinking and be happy without knowing why.
WeChat Is Getting Into E-Books. So How Is the E-Book Market Really Doing?
E-book growth has slowed, but print books will still be replaced.
Hollywood Report II: A Powerful Agent System Holds Hollywood Together, but China Has No Use for One Yet
In Hollywood, agents are the glue. If everyone is content to stick to their own job, someone has to stand in the middle and keep the whole thing running.
The September Issue Is Fashion's Weathervane. Here's Which Way the Wind Is Blowing This Year
Gloom hangs over the whole industry, yet the big luxury groups have proved remarkably stable and resilient, and they haven't cut their advertising one bit.
He Just Wanted to Sell Line Stickers. Instead He Made That Viral "Black Pineapple" Video | 100 People With Ideas
There is also the "you've got some squid" version of *Peninsula Iron Box* (《半岛铁盒》), and the "dropped dead" version of *3 A.M.* (《凌晨三点钟》)…
Hardly Anyone Reads Anymore. So How Do You Sell a Million Print Books?
CITIC Press found Peter Thiel through a lecture posted on YouTube; Zhongnan Boji Tianjuan found Zhang Jiajia on Weibo. Here is how these miracles were made.
In 3 Years He Launched a Fashion Label, Opened a Training School, and Made His Name on a Reality Show | 100 People With Ideas
For Wen Haotian, design is only one part of the business — commercial success takes a lot of other pieces.
They Opened an Independent Bookstore That's Always Ready to Close | 100 People With Ideas
That's how independent publishing works — you can start small, put something out into the world, and then find the balance in between.
[Hollywood Report I] Why China Cannot Copy Hollywood
Regular article
Was It Her Campaigns That Made You Notice the Boutique Called Dong Liang? | 100 People With Ideas
People who shop at Dong Liang aren't buying Uma Wang or Zhang Da. They're buying the experience Dong Liang itself offers.
Before Selling Streetwear, He Decided to Open a Store That Looked Cool Enough | 100 People With Ideas
For Lewis, the store ALL SH matters for one reason only: it sells things with ideas behind them — or, put another way, it offers ideas unlike anyone else's.
The Last Day of the 18-Day Stay-at-Home Experiment | One Boyfriend Short of a Perfect Date
This is the Day 18 report. Look out for the final guide on August 22.
Big Companies Are Racing to Make "Interactive Toys." Can They Really Change the Toy Industry?
Regular article
How the Opportunist Toilet Kept Getting Smarter in Japan | QDaily Business History
To stop your toilet lid from drifting to the right, buy a smart toilet seat and free your hands.
Microsoft's Chatbot Xiaoice Has Just Learned to Talk. We Met the Team Behind Her Voice
She speaks aloud, replies on WeChat and is going global: from version 3.0 on, Xiaoice is no longer just a side project for Microsoft
18 Days Without Leaving Home, Living Only on Internet Services | Day 17: A Day With a "Kid"
This is not a contest to see who can stay home longest. The QDaily Research Lab wants to know whether the new wave of at-home services can give us a better life.
In an Age When Tech Enthusiasts Read on Their Phones, She Makes Them a Print Magazine | 100 People With Ideas
In the end, what she thinks about most is how to give readers good content.
Internet Companies Are Spending Hundreds of Millions to Disrupt the Gym. Will It Work?
Linking gyms to the internet: is this the next Uber-style disruption, or just another group-buying war?
He has renovated plenty of old hutong houses. The biggest headache is the neighbors | 100 People With Ideas
Whether he is renovating a hutong or giving a 300-year-old brand a new face, Han Wenqiang's designs almost always have something to do with traditional culture.
Chocolate Is Such a Playful Food. How Much Imagination Is Packed Inside It?
Have you seen *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*? The fairy-tale spirit of that film has been slowly seeping into our lives: online, on supermarket shelves and in real shops.
18 Days Without Leaving the House, Living Only on Internet Services | Day 15: A Day of Juice
This is not a contest to see who can stay home longest. QDaily Lab wants to find out whether the new wave of at-home services can give us a better life.
This American Company Brought Wall Street Money to the Movie Business, Tried Nearly Every Fashionable Idea, and Went Bankrupt
Picture an obscure Chinese company that suddenly shows up with piles of hot money and invests in the big studios' films, *Lost in Thailand* and the *Tiny Times* series among them. Its CEO is named entertainment figure of the year and promises to change the movie business. His only flaw is a taste for making bad films. Could such a company still go bankrupt?
After More Than a Year Chasing Entertainment Social, QQ Is Falling Further Behind WeChat
"Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple." — Steve Jobs
There Are So Many Fairy Tales — Why Has Alice's Dream Lasted 150 Years? | QDaily Business History
288 Hours Without Leaving Home: What Is It Like to Live on Internet Services Alone?
This is not a contest to see who can stay home longest. QDaily Research Lab wanted to find out whether the new wave of at-home services can give us a better quality of life.
What Is It About Convenience Stores That the Japanese Love So Much?
They have taken "convenience" almost as far as it can go, covering nearly every corner of daily life. And at night, they are a patch of light in the dark.
18 Days Without Leaving Home, Living Only on Internet Services | Day 10: Even a Dog Will Come to Your Door
This is not a contest to see who can stay home the longest. QDaily Research Lab wants to find out whether the new wave of at-home services can give us a better quality of life.
How Did One Producer Turn Two New Shows Into Broadway Hits in a Single Year?
Broadway is more popular than ever, and putting on a musical has never cost more. But if the story is good enough, the tickets will sell.
Smartphones, DJI, Even Tesla: How Lithium Helped Product After Product Upend Its Industry
Batteries have no Moore's Law, yet they are what made it possible to upend the car and phone markets
A Farewell Is a Star's Last Scene on Stage, and Only a Good One Gets Remembered
"When you say goodbye, mean it. Say one more thing, because it may be the last thing you say; take one more look, because it may be the last look you get."
The Landscape Changed Without Warning: Inside the Alibaba–Suning Deal
The contest is now "Alibaba + Suning" versus "JD.com + Tencent."
Records Are Dead and Streaming Still Doesn't Pay: Xiami Music Looks for a New Way Out | Founders Speak
"Xiami has always wanted to help musicians. Five years ago I did it mostly by promoting their work; today I do it by building a platform. The goal hasn't changed: I really want musicians to be able to make a good living."
What Is Life Like After 18 Days Indoors With Only Phone Apps? | The First 144 Hours
This is not a contest to see who can stay home longest. QDaily Research Lab wants to find out whether the new wave of at-home services can give us a better quality of life.
Fashion Design Is Just This: Design It, Buy the Fabric, Make It, Sell It | 100 People With Ideas
Ordinary article
The Coolest Thing to Do Now: Build Your Own Chair in a Woodworking Studio
Pottery and oil-painting classes had their moment; now people are flocking to woodworking studios. Experiences that sell the act of "creating" are catching on with ordinary people, and designing such an experience turns out to be a complicated, enjoyable business that says a lot about human nature.
18 Days Without Leaving Home, Living Only on Internet Services | Day 5: Ordering Flowers Is Hard
This is not a contest over who can stay home the longest. It is an attempt to find out whether the new on-demand home services can give us a better quality of life.
When One Designer Built an Office for Another Designer | 100 People With Ideas
After finishing the office, he moved into his friend's company too.
Every Brand Is Making Sneakers Now. Here Is How the Sneaker Got Here
Why are sneakers so popular, and how did they end up tied to high fashion? The short answer lies in several decades of pop culture: advertising and the rise of street culture, the influence of hip-hop and the NBA, and men's growing interest in fashion...
A Young Hacker Who Grew Up Wild Wants to Sell Skateboards to Office Commuters | 100 People With Ideas
In middle school we all knew boys like this: they drank, smoked, got into fights, worshipped rock music, ran in gangs, and never had any use for homework or exams. Chen Zhengxiang was one of them. The difference was that he could code — and he had ideas, and could build them.
Top 15: Nike — Without Liu Xiang and Li Na, What Keeps Nike Growing in China?
To build a big business in China, Nike needs events, retail, advertising, brand and a sports culture. It cannot do without any of them.
Xiachufang, the Artsy Recipe Community, Wants to Become an E-Commerce Company. How Will It Do It? | Founders Speak
But is there still room for one online store to stand apart from the rest?
Nobody Buys an Extra Ticket for the Avant-Garde. So How Did Meng Jinghui Become China's Best-Selling Theater Director?
"Whenever people mention avant-garde theater, they say, 'Hey, it's that damn Meng Jinghui, he's taken over the word avant-garde.' I think that's great. It took me 20 damn years to take over that word. It wasn't easy."
ChinaJoy Has Stopped "Selling" Cleavage, and Finally Looks Like a Normal Games Show
More and more people come to ChinaJoy just to play games, which is how it should have been all along.
How a Few Art Teachers' Small Invention a Decade Ago Gave Rise to Today's Smart Hardware Industry
Everyone is talking about makers. How did Arduino, the emblem of the maker movement, start the trend?