The pan-Asian Internet portal Lycos Asia launched the Chinese-language Wired News yesterday in Taipei, seeking to provide visitors to the site with the latest on trends in the international high-tech industry.
The San Francisco-based Wired News, a technology news Web site, was launched in 1996. It receives more than a million hits a month and claims to have some 600,000 subscribers.
George Shirk, editor in chief of Wired News, said the Chinese-language version of the online Web site focuses on reports about the post-Internet revolution age. The site hopes to draw visitors into discussions of what technologies influence their lives the most.
Shirk said that managing an online media business is not much different from running a traditional media company. "What you have to do is ... listen to your customers and readers, be fascinating on your beat and [don't] lock in your mind-set," he said.
Despite the rise and fall of dotcoms over the past few years, Shirk said many good Web-based companies continue to survive.
Shirk said that a tie-up with a leading Internet company is necessary for the future success of Wired News. In addition, advertising revenue and subscription income are also crucial, he said.
"But currently, I am highly skeptical of the subscription model based on our experience in the US market. I am not sure that straight news can generate revenue for us," Shirk said.
"With an advertising base, we are walking on a fine line and not letting ads damage the editorial products," he said.
While Shirk has his doubts about the subscription-based business model, Tan Yew-seng (
"Actually, we have no plan to adopt a paid service for the [Chinese-language] Wired News," Tan said. "Many Internet users are not used to paid services."
However, Tan said he doesn't rule out the possibility of adopting a paid mechanism on some specific content services -- including financial news -- which demand a lot of research-oriented effort.
Tan said that the Internet media business must still rely on the traditional business model of revenue, cost and profit.
"Those without sound business fundamentals will be eventually weeded out from the industry," he said.
Attracting ads remains a key revenue stream for Lycos Asia, Tan said, adding that the ability to gather revenue from advertising will continue to influence the evolution of the Internet media industry.
"We will find ways to use the power of Internet-based media to help advertisers reach out to consumers," he said.
Cherng Chia-jun (
Cherng said that the winners in cyberspace will be "those who appreciate the software and make good use of the software."
Citing AOL and NTT DoCoMo as models for content services companies to follow, Cherng said that the development of sophisticated content services takes time.
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