In your article here you say: "But, hope isn't a policy. It will be at least several months before we can see whether the likes of Sina, Netease and Sohu can replace their SMS revenue streams with something as profitable. Sina, Netease, and Sohu put on a bullish face this quarter, but time will tell whether it's just a face of bull."
They never used the word "hope" in the conference calls. They used the word "think and believe" So, please don't make things up. Secondly, who the hell are you can invent a new word Chortal? what is your motive? thirdly, you seem to have doubt that Sina is the Chines Yahoo? you should explaine why.SMS is still growing according to Tom.com's CEO, because the cell phone user is not saturated yet.
A.S. Chou
United States
Hello Mr. Chou,
Thank you for your comments.
Nowhere in the writer's piece does he quote any person saying that they "hope" something will happen.
Though we pride ourselves on being creative and intelligent, unfortunately we can not take the credit for inventing a new word. The word "chortal" was first used about 6 years ago. For those China Internet watchers who have been in the industry for a long time, you'll remember a Canadian gentleman first used that term in his English-language online publication called "Renao.com". The term "Chortal" has been used many times since, and a quick look on Google will show you some of the other places it can be found. Here is an eclectic group of online places the word "Chortal" can be found:
Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/2000/0228/cover.zhidong.html
BuzzWhack
http://www.buzzwhack.com/buzzcomp/indac.htm
The Feature
http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=39744
Yes, you are correct that the use of SMS is still growing in China. However there is a difference between value-added SMS services and peer-to-peer text messaging. For the Chortals, value-added services are tapering off, as seen by their warnings over the last year and quarterly earnings. But peer-to-peer messaging is still growing. The article does make this difference clear, and it points out that the Chortals do not make money off the normal peer-to-peer text messaging. Only the telcos earn revenue off this lucrative peer-to-peer service.
Just because Tom.com says SMS is growing does not mean the company will make millions of extra dollars each quarter off the growth. China Mobile, the article claims, will be the winner.
I hope this answers your questions.
Thank you,
Editor