Tech Experts Call for Third-Party Measurement
Marbridge, 5/23/08
At the second day of the CHINICT 2008 high tech forum in Beijing today, technology industry leaders emphasized the need for robust third-party monitoring and measurement platforms to accelerate the healthy development of China's wireless and Internet service industries.
Speaking at the conference, Chinese Internet industry veteran Tom Melcher, whose online media firm Blue Bamboo Ventures was acquired by Global Sources in August 2007, said that rampant exaggeration of traffic figures by Chinese Internet firms has made potential advertisers wary of buying ad space. "Everyone used to rely on Alexa ratings, but then it became clear that these were frequently being manipulated in China. Any company could pay a service firm RMB 3,000 to have its Alex rating boosted into the top 100. Later many people turned to iResearch, but talking with iResearch, it turns out their figures are based on Alexa ratings." To regain trust, Melcher suggested that Chinese Internet firms actively seek cooperation with third-party measurement firms.
In a separate panel earlier in the day, Associate Director of Intel Capital, Richard Hsu, also emphasized that the development of Chinese ad-based wireless and Internet businesses would be greatly aided by the emergence of more reliable third-party monitoring firms that could better assess ad campaign effectiveness.
Keywords: Alexa Richard Hsu Blue Bamboo Tom Melcher CHINICT 2008 Global Sources Intel Capital Internet iResearch ratings third-party monitoring wireless
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