Digital Music Matters 2013

For the Web Wednesday social mixer on 15th May, 2013, Digital Music Matters has generously donated a complimentary event pass (normally costs US$1,250) as a lucky draw prize!

To enter, drop your namecard at our next social mixer in Bisous on 15th May 2013 and you could be the lucky winner attending this award-winning event, making connections with 350 companies and gaining valuable insights from a stellar cast of speakers, artists and online stars during one whole week of conferences, workshops, mentoring and networking.

Also, as a valued member of Web Wednesday, you can enjoy discounted prices for a Digital Music Matters full delegate pass at US$1,000 and conference only pass at US$450. Registration is easy, simply click here or email Charmian. Please mention "Web Wednesday" in order to get the discount.

Dubbed "TED meets SXSW" by superstar Jason Mraz, Digital Music Matters 2013 returns on 20 to 24 May 2013 at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore with an outstanding roster of partners, sponsors and speakers on board this year.

Upping the ante this year, Digital Music Matters 2013 introduces the brand-new YouTube FanFest as well as Music Matters Live (both supported by HP).





With 20 YouTube stars and over 50 bands from 20 countries performing over 160 shows, the week-long event brings together thousands of industry leaders, delegates, artists and fans for 3 days of engaging conferences across 5 days of immersive entertainment.

A compelling mix of conferences, workshops, mentoring and networking, Digital Music Matters is the only event in Asia Pacific that brings the entire entertainment ecosystem under one roof. See the full programme here.

Podcast: Rebecca Fannin - Silicon Dragon and Startup Asia

Listen to the last Web Wednesday interview (17th April, 2013) with Rebecca A. Fannin, author of Silicon Dragon and Startup Asia. (Special thanks to Charlie Toller of BrandBeat Asia for the expert sound production).



For a full list of our past interviews, visit the Web Wednesday channel on SoundCloud.

Qunar - Online China Travel Boom

We're very excited to have Fritz Demopoulos, serial China internet entrepreneur and angel investor at Queen's Road Capital, speak at Web Wednesday on 15th May, 2013.

Fritz is the founder of two successful Chinese Internet companies, Shawei.com (sold to Tom.com for US$20M in 2000) and Qunar.com (sold 60% stake to Baidu for US$306M in 2011), and is now aiming to capture the next big opportunity in China's Internet evolution by deploying his own capital.

We kick off at  6:30pm with the talk at 7pm at Bisous, 9/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong.

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Given the recent investments of Alibaba in Sina Weibo and Baidu in Qunar, this promises to be a truly inspiring talk. Mark your diaries.

Here's a recent interview on China Money Podcast, where Fritz discusses his investment strategy.

Why China Will Win the Tech Race

Whilst researching for her books, Silicon Dragon and Startup Asia, Rebecca Fannin (our speaker for 17th April) interviewed several Asian tech entrepreneurs, from Joe Chen of RenRen to Gary Wang of Tudou. She has posted many of these interviews to her YouTube Channel and you can watch her favourites below.

Silicon Dragon and Startup Asia

For our 69th Social Mixer on Wednesday 17th April, we have the pleasure of inviting Rebecca Fannin, the Founder and Editor of Silicon Dragon Ventures, to share her findings on technology innovators in Asia. You can find her on LinkedIn, Twitter (@rfannin or @silicondragon) and watch her talks and interviews on YouTube.

Doors open from 6:30pm at Bisous, 9/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street and we will start the interview at 7:15pm. The entrance fee of HK$100 includes one complimentary drink, high-quality networking and the chance to learn from a well-connected and highly-informed global thought leader.

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Rebecca is the former international editor of Red Herring and is a regular contributor to Forbes (read her 10 Asian tech predictions here). Having interviewed many leading lights in the Asian tech space, she has also published two books on the subject, Silicon Dragon (2008) and Startup Asia (Oct. 2011). You can buy the Chinese version of Silicon Dragon ((硅谷龙：中国如何打赢高技术竞赛) on Dang Dang. Kai-Fu Lee wrote the foreword to Startup Asia and the book was just published in Chinese by CITIC Press. (Couldn't find the link).

Here are two highly complimentary critiques of her books:

"From tech parks in India to half-constructed offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Startup Asia is a splendidly woven narrative of leading entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who are shaping the future that is being invented in Asia and envied around the globe.” Tony Nash, Global Director, Custom Research, Economist Intelligence Unit.

“Rebecca Fannin, who caught the early waves of the Chinese Internet boom with her book Silicon Dragon, shows why we now need to be paying attention to VIC (Vietnam, India and China) in her forward-looking book Startup Asia. With diligent on-the-ground reporting and hard-won access, Fannin follows the money — the smart money of VCs who made money on both the U.S. and China Internet booms — to see where we should be placing our next bets in the world of technology.” Gady Epstein, Correspondent, The Economist.

Rebecca has generously offered three complimentary tickets to her Silicon Dragon Hong Kong 2013 Event on 18th April in Cyberport at which I will interview Vicky Wu, Co-Founder of Zaozao. Other illustrious speakers include former Web Wednesday guests, Yat Siu, Founder of Outblaze, and Anthony Zameczkowski, Head of Music, YouTube Asia Pacific.

PassKit talks Mobile Wallets at Web Wednesday

Fellow Fonista,

Thanks to Apple and Samsung, the era of rapid mobilisation is fast upon us. Smartphones will replace wallets (ok, partially) and your phone will hold digital discount coupons, cinema and airplane tickets, club memberships and, maybe even, Rugby 7s tickets! [For iPhone, read more about Passbook. For Android phones, check Google Now].

To usher in this mobile revolution, we've invited Paul Tomes, successful Hong Kong start-up and purveyor of PassKit, to speak at our 68th social mixer on THURSDAY 21st March, 2013. [You can blame the New Zealand All Blacks for scrumming us out of our usual Wednesday slot!].

Mixing starts at 6:30pm and continues until 9:30pm with the interview at 7:15pm. We've lined up a few rugby-related benefits so bring along some analog pals!

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Paul and his team have kindly set up a mobile smartpass for this event (and future ones too!). Sign up and download your pass from "pass.is/webwed". Once saved into your mobile wallet, it should look like this:

Keep the pass so that we can dynamically update you about upcoming Web Wednesday events. Let's mobilise Hong Kong together!

WeChat at Web Wednesday

新年快樂！蛇來運到！
(Happy Lunar New Year! May the Snake bring you luck!)

Join us as we slither smoothly into the Chinese Year of the Black Water Snake for our 67th social mixer on Wednesday 20th February, 2013.

Sign up and see who else is coming on Facebook.

[Over 40 people used Eventbrite for the last event, so we will continue to offer the option to register in advance via our Eventbrite page. Enjoy the ease of paying online, downloading the e-ticket into your iPhone's Passbook and expediting your check-in at the door].

We'll be talking about WeChat, China's fastest-growing messaging service, with Norman Tam, Head of the Hong Kong Office for Tencent, China's largest internet conglomerate.

We kick off at 6:30pm at Bisous, 9/F, LKP Tower, 33 Wyndham Street on Wednesday 20th February, 2013.

Download the WeChat app here and come "Shake" your booty and "Drift" a few bottles with us!

For more background on the evolution of WeChat (known as "微信“ in China), read "Why WeChat is a Chinese mobile game-changer for Tencent?", "Monetization and Overseas Quest" and "WeChat’s Quest to Become China’s First Global Internet Product".

Given the growing clout of Tencent, WeChat's publicly-listed parent company, you won't be surprised to learn that they recently invested US$63M in KakaoTalk, the Korean WeChat.

Even the New York Times has covered the miraculous growth of WeChat, which has just broken the 300 million user barrier, of which 100,000 signed up in the US in September 2011 alone (not a big figure but getting there!).