May 2008
China's Search Market Evolves - eMarketer
by kuroyagi"Tencent, with its QQ.com portal, for example, has a business model vastly different from its US counterparts. The company has built its business on its dominance in instant messenger (IM) services. Tencent reports that as of Q4 2007 it had 300 million active IM accounts. Analysys International data shows that Tencent commands nearly 80% of the IM market.
Tencent has leveraged this dominance in IM to build three major lines of business: Internet value-added services, mobile value-added services and online advertising. Essentially, its IM platform is the cornerstone for community-based communication on both the PC and mobile phone."
September 2006
1
(2 marks)