6 Chinese Tech Companies You Need to Know

China’s economy, the second largest in the world, is increasingly powered by technology — just like the rest of us. But because China essentially has two Internets, its tech companies have had relatively unchallenged access to 632 million (and growing) Internet users. These six companies may soon be in your (virtual) backyard.

Qihoo 360

Expertise: Search Engines, Antivirus Software

CEO: Hongyi Zhou

Size: $11.42 billion estimated valuation; 3,000–5,000 employees

Recent Moves: Taking on “China’s Google,” aka Baidu, is no easy task, but Qihoo has begun to erode Baidu’s 70-percent market share, which has slipped to 58 percent. Meanwhile, the company known for security software has grabbed a 25-percent slice in a few short years. But future battles will be staged in the mobile arena, as an estimated 1 billion phones will be sold in 2014 (440 million of those smartphones). In addition to launching a mobile version, Qihoo recently solidified a partnership with Alibaba to migrate the e-commerce giant’s most extensive product search engine, eTao, to Qihoo 360. All of which could spell trouble for the Google-slayingBaidu.

Alibaba Group

Expertise: E-Commerce

Executive Chairman: Jack Ma

Size: $150–200 billion estimated valuation; 24,000 employees

Recent Moves: China’s online retail giant is much more than a marketplace for sellers. Alibaba has a large wholesale operation and a cloud computing business and is involved in an electronic payment system, Alipay. Think Amazon meets eBay with a sprinkle of PayPal and a dash of WhatsApp … with extra sauce on the side. Alibaba is going public in the U.S. — recent reports suggest around September 1 — and by conservative estimates will break Facebook’s largest IPO for a tech company at $16 billion. Other forecasts have Alibaba surpassing Visa’s record $20-billion launch in 2008. After tripling their net revenue last year (from $1.36bn to $3.7bn), recent investments in Quixey, Shoprunner and Tango appear to be just the beginning of their long-awaited arrival on the world stage.

Xiaomi

Expertise: Mobile Phones

CEO: Lei Jun

Size: $10 billion estimated valuation; approximately 3,000 employees

Recent Moves: It’s the world’s fastest growing mobile phone maker in the world’s largest mobile phone market. Already the third largest in China, the 4-year-old Xiaomi raked in $5.3bn during the first half of 2014. Everything from its smartphone design to CEO Lei Jun’s black turtleneck and jean getup is fashioned after Apple, garnering its nickname, “the Apple of the East.” Though their iPhone-inspired models sell for a fraction of the price, Jun believes his products are better than Apple’s, “even our color white is whiter.” After recently bringing in former VP of Android Hugo Barra, Xiaomi is poised to launch in 10 countries by New Year’s. And if it can build on a die-hard following that would rival any J-Pop posse, be afraid.

Jiayuan

Expertise: Online Dating

Founder: Gong Haiyan

Size: $21.6 million net revenue (Q1, 2014); 110 million users

Recent Moves: The online dating site has a stranglehold 50-percent market share, making founder Gong Haiyan China’s most proliferate cupid, with 12.3 million matches. There’s no cost to join; users can send unlimited emails for free and then pay a nominal fee to receive replies. Unlike Momo (aka Tinder), Jiayuan is a serious ring-on-finger business where one-night stands aren’t in demand. Fulfilling the original goal for the site, Gong married soon after its launch … and was later rewarded with $70 million. Win-win.

Tencent

Expertise: Social Media

CEO: Ma Huateng

Size: $150 billion estimated valuation; 27,000 employees

Recent Moves: The world’s fifth largest Internet-only company (after Amazon, Google, Facebook and eBay) is a relative unknown outside Asia. But on the continent, it owns QQ and WeChat, two messaging services with a combined user base of approximately 1 billion. However, it’s been via video games that Tencent is going global. After scooping up a majority share in Riot Games in 2011 for a cool $400 mil, Tencent snatched 40 percent of Epic Games for $330 million and is now ushering Activision Blizzard (maker of Call of Duty and World of Warcraft ) and EA (maker of FIFA ) into a burgeoning Chinese market. With a valuation of over $150bn, it’ll be one hell of a housewarming party.

Sina Corporation

Expertise: Social Media, Cloud Computing

CEO: Charles Chao

Size: $3.9 billion estimated valuation; 6,400 employees

Recent Moves: Sina’s flagship social networking site, Weibo, is the Chinese offspring of Facebook and Twitter and the rising star of the hugely popular microblogging market. Conceived in the wake of the Twitter ban in 2009, Weibo surpassed 500 million users last year, steps ahead of Twitter’s past trajectory. After recently launching an e-commerce venture with Xiaomi, Weibo began trading publicly (NASDAQ: WD) this past April, testing the water for Alibaba’s upcoming mega-IPO.http://kaushaltomorrow.blogspot.in/Socialhttp://kaushaltomorrow.blogspot.in/Social

What internship at Facebook is really like

Elizabeth Gregory, a former product design intern, says working at Facebook is like joining a "coalition of startups." You hardly notice you're one of thousands of employees.

In some ways, Facebook's Menlo Park campus feels like Disney World, with lots of shops and people everywhere.

But it's not all about the cool bonuses: Facebook treats its interns like full-time employees, which means it also expects you to work like a full-time employee.

Interns work on real projects that are on Facebook's roadmap -- not busy work designated for interns.

Hyla Wallis, Facebook's university operations lead, said the company views internships as an evaluation programme of sorts.

"(It's) an opportunity for us to get to know our interns and for our interns to get to know us," she told us.

Three former Facebook interns told us what it's really like to temporarily join the biggest social network in the world -- an internship that career site Glassdoor says is its highest rated this year.

It's also one of the highest-paying gigs a college student can land. Facebook interns get paid about $5,600 per month on average. That's $25,000+ more than the average US citizen.

Facebook gives interns a lot of responsibility and independence. Elizabeth Gregory is a former product design intern who worked for Facebook last summer.

She says working at Facebook is like joining a "coalition of startups." You hardly notice you're one of thousands of employees.

"Each team is working hard on a particular project, and it doesn't really feel that big," she said.

Patricia McKenzie, a recently-hired software engineer who interned at Facebook last summer, agrees. She used to book conference rooms and share them with five other interns to collaborate even when they'd been given different assignments.

"It's a really open work environment," she said.

"I worked harder than I ever had before," another former intern said of his time at Facebook.

While Facebook might not feel large from a team perspective, its Menlo Park campus is expansive. It's decked out with bike lanes, cafeterias, coffee shops, ice cream parlors and barbers.

"It totally felt like a college campus on steroids," she said. "But it was so much more fun and well kept."

"They had a bartender come in and make cocktails"



As much as Facebook prioritizes work, it encourages fun, too.

McKenzie, who interned in Facebook's Seattle office, said that she's still friends with a lot of the people she worked with last summer. There's a Facebook group for those who work in Facebook's Seattle office called "Seattle Social," where employees post open invitations for events.

Facebook organizes its own community-building activities, too. One former intern referenced an outing to a baseball game, and McKenzie described her experience playing dodgeball in a company tournament.

"I was able to be on a dodgeball team with my manager, and I don't think a lot of other people can say that," McKenzie said.

Facebook also offers free meals for interns and employees daily, possibly the internships greatest perk. The company brings in bartenders for special happy hour celebrations on Thursdays.

"Every Thursday they had cocktail time," one intern said.

"Mark Zuckerberg had a desk that looked exactly like mine"



Facebook's billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg doesn't hide away in a luxurious office during the work day. He sits with other Facebook employees and kindly greets workers -- interns included.

"Mark Zuckerberg has a desk that looked exactly like mine," Gregory said. "Same computer, same everything, so that was really nice... He was a really nice guy, and he always said hi to me walking around even if he didn't know exactly who I was."

As an intern, Gregory said she got to sit in on a meeting with Zuckerberg.

"I was just observing, but it was cool to see what Zuck was like," she said. "It was very intense because he just spews wisdom at you."

In addition to the weekly Q&A meetings on Friday, where Zuckerberg and other executives hold town halls to address employee questions, female interns got to attend a special meeting with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

"All the female interns got to meet Sheryl and talk to her," McKenzie said. "She gave this presentation with a few other female managers and engineers about not just being a woman in tech, but it any field that's underrepresented."

What Facebook looks for in its interns
Internships at companies like Facebook are competitive and selective, but Wallis says the company generally looks for candidates that can "tackle really hard problems." If you're applying for a software engineering internship, experience participating in hackathons is a bonus.

"If they can display things that they've been working on over time, like apps, those are the things that we'd want to see."

And, previous experience isn't always the most important thing.

"(We) definitely look for the skills that they have maybe more so than some of the experiences they have," she said.

PM Narendra Modi reaches out to his twitter followers through DM

NEW DELHI: In a unique way to directly reach out to people on social media and micro-blogging sites, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent 'personalized' message to all his followers, sharing details of the Centre's works in past 12 months, on first anniversary of his government on May 26.

In direct message (DM) to his 12.5 million followers on twitter, Modi said India was rapidly transforming under the NDA government. He also shared details of works through 20 info-graphs, ranging from outcome of his foreign trips to various decisions in social, economic, health, education and infrastructure sectors.

A web-link attached to his DM on twitter is also carrying a comparative (Then and Now) figures, highlighting how the initiatives, taken in first year, would lead India to a development path by breaking the policy paralysis phase of the previous regime.

Interestingly, his personalized 'signed' message uses different language for different people while addressing them using first name. His choice of language to write first name of individual recipient depends on the location of his twitter followers.


The web-link (Saal Ek Shuruaat Anek) also has language choice for readers if they want to read the details of government's works in any of the recognized Indian languages or English.

The PM prefers to use his personal twitter handle (@narendramodi) to reach out to his followers. Since he has more 'followers' on his personal twitter handle than the official one (@PMOIndia) of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), his choice of his personal twitter handle to send personalized message will reach him out to more number of people both in India and outside the country.

His DM became instant hit on twitters as his followers started sharing it on social-media sites instantly, making his reach wider through this experiment in the digital age.

Google I/O: Here's what to expect

The star of Google I/O is likely to be the company's Android operating system, especially if it unveils the next version of the software, dubbed Android M.

It's Google I/O time again, the time of year when the internet giant holds its annual developers' conference in San Francisco, showing off the cool stuff its army of engineers have been working on for the past 12 months.

The event, which will take place on May 28-29, draws thousands of attendees, all eager to hear from Google's top brass — CEO Larry Page gave an impassioned and much-discussed talk about the state of the tech industry in 2013 — learn about the latest products, and get their hands on the free swag that Google typically doles out (last year, attendees got two free Android Wear smartwatches).

Google hasn't said who will be speaking at this year's event, though it's a safe bet that senior vice president Sundar Pichai, recently promoted to be Google's head of products, will be leading the show. And while Google hasn't discussed which products will get the spotlight, we've put together a likely list.

Android M
The star of the show is likely to be Google's Android operating system, especially if Google unveils the next version of the software, dubbed Android M.

(Android versions are named in alphabetical order, with the current L version more commonly known as Android Lollipop. M could stand for any dessert — our bet is on Marshmallow, Milk Shake, or Mentos.)

Buzzfeed reported it could include a fingerprint unlocking feature, which could allow Android smartphones to match the iPhone capability that allows users to unlock the phone just by putting a finger on a special sensor.

The new Android could also provide users with more control over the personal information that individual apps access, enhanced support for voice commands, and built-in support for one-tap mobile payments through a new Android Pay feature, according to press reports.

Google could fold some of the new features into an update to the existing Lollipop version of Android rather than launching the brand new M version. A reference to Android M was spotted in the description of a session on the Google I/O calendar, but was promptly removed after news reports spread.

Hello Brillo The Internet of Things is a goofy name, but as a technology trend it's hot right now. The idea is that PCs and smartphones are not the only things that should connect to the internet. Your fridge, washing machine, car, and even the lights in your bathroom could all be so much better if they were hooked up to a network so they could exchange data and be controlled remotely.

Google wants to help define this new interconnected world. Google purchased Nest, the maker of smart home appliances for $3.2 billion last year.

But according to The Information, Google has another Internet of Things play up its sleeve called Brillo. Basically Brillo would provide a common platform for electronic devices to interconnect. The technology will be especially well-suited for low-powered electronic devices that don't have a screen, according to The Information.

Competition to control the emerging Internet of Things is going to be tough: Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung are all working on technology too.

Mystery bluetooth device — Glass 2.0 or something else? 
Google likes to take the wraps off new gadgets at I/O. Some turn out to be big hits, such as the $200 Nexus 7 tablet launched in 2012.

Others, not so much. Witness the orb-shaped Q streaming media player, unveiled with great fanfare at the same 2012 conference, and then killed before ever landing on store shelves.

Glass is another interesting example: Google unveiled the device with an over-the-top skydiver/BMX bike sequence at I/O in 2012. But Glass never caught on with the general public and in January, Google halted sales of the consumer version of Glass, noting that it was time for a "strategy reset."

So what's this year's surprise gadget?

One tantalizing clue can be found in an April filing that Google made with the US Federal Communications Commission. The filing is for a product identified only as "A4R-CAP1" and refers to a "Smart BLE device," which means a smart Bluetooth low-energy device. Most of the information in the filing is redacted.

But one detail that bloggers have homed in on is the description of the device's e-label. Some noted that the description for accessing the table — users swipe left-to-right and bottom-to-top to access certain information — sounded a lot like the way Glass is used, theorizing that this could be the first sighting of Glass 2.0.

Business Insider recently reported that the Glass team now appears to be working on traditional eyewear as well as "other related devices." So the mystery Bluetooth device could be one of various potential new products created by the Glass team.

Or, given that Google also has initiatives in TV, virtual reality and other gadgets, A4R-CAP1 could be something else entirely.

Virtual Reality Google made waves last year with its Cardboard virtual reality headset. As the name suggests, the product is actually a just cardboard shell that houses a user's smartphone. With special software on the phone, the cardboard-smartphone combo becomes a makeshift VR headset. It's a simple trick that gave Google a foot in the emerging VR market, which could become increasingly important for gaming, entertainment and even shopping.

But with Facebook's Oculus now set to release its Oculus VR headset in 2016 and Microsoft pushing forward with HoloLens, Google may decide it needs to make a bigger push into virtual reality. A Wall Street Journal report in March said Google is working on a special version of Android for virtual reality.

Cars
Google and Apple both have their sights set on the ultimate mobile device: The automobile.

Google's Android Auto had its coming out party at last year's I/O, with partnership announcements with carmakers and demos showcasing its capabilities. Android Auto currently requires that a driver plug their Android smartphone into the car to access all the features, but Google also wants to embed Android directly into the car. The Google I/O calendar has a couple of developer sessions focused on the car, such as "Designing for Driving" and "Getting your app on the road with Android Auto."

Android Wear
The battle for the wrist is now underway, with Apple's recently released Watch challenging the first crop of smartwatches based on Google's Android Wear.

The Android Wear watches, which began shipping last summer, have not made a huge splash in the market and Apple's entry into the business means the pressure will be on Google to jumpstart its wearables effort. New hardware partners, better battery life and enhancements to the Google Fit health-tracking software are among the expected improvements, according to some reports.

Another interesting theory is that Google could make a version of Google Now, its personal assistant technology, for Apple's Watch.

Photo sharing, minus the Plus A new online photo sharing and storage service may be in the offing, according to a recent report in Bloomberg. The new service would apparently be separate from Google+, the struggling social network that has until now served as the hub for many of Google's photo sharing and storage features.

In fact, Google+ has been something of a question mark since the group's boss Vic Gundotra left the company in 2014. In March, Google's Bradley Horowitz announced that he was leading Google's "photos and streams products." The launch of a standalone photo service will raise more questions about the future of Google+.

We'll be at the show on Thursday — the first keynote kicks off at 9:30 am local time (PT) — and Friday, so check back then to see all the news.

How Not To Be Smartphone Boor

Today, smartphones have become an integral part of our lives - they have entered our homes, workplaces and classrooms. With almost an omnispresence in our lives, there is an urgent need for people to practice some smartphone etiquettes. 

Here are 10 tips you can follow to avoid being a smartphone boor.

Don't speak loudly on your phone, in public or at workplace. It disturbs and distracts others who are unlikely to be interested in your shopping list, homework of your child or disagreement with your wife.

Keep your voice low, particularly when you are using Bluetooth (or earphones). People around you may mistakenly think you are speaking to them.

Don't leave your phone lying around in office when you are away or simply put it on mute. Your ringtone - that song you find catchy or quirky - may just irritate others.

Pay heed to other road users and give them way. Often car drivers on a phone neither accelerate, nor give way. Using the phone while driving, of course, remains a big no-no.

Don't text while walking or driving. You can bump into a pole, collide with another street user or crash your car.

Don't use your phone when you go to the cinema. Step out if you have to. The glare from your screens is very disturbing and your conversation even more.

Not every occasion is for taking photographs or recording videos. Respect the privacy of others and enjoys the moment.

Don't send unsolicited pearls of wisdom, religious stuff and publicity material to people on WhatsApp or email etc. They may not block you out of good manners but they will surely clench their teeth.

When looking at a photo or a message on someone else's phone, do not take this as an opportunity to scan other photos and messages without the owner's approval.

Don't scan your phone aimlessly while at a social gathering. Take a break, try to engage and imagine life without technology.

What ten years of YouTube show

The rampant sharing on YouTube quickly attracted a massive audience that loved watching what they wanted when they wanted, even if much of the material was being contributed by amateurs.

SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube's legacy extends beyond its pioneering role in the internet's video revolution. The 10-year-old site provided a stage for exhibitionists, narcissists and activists to broadcast their opinions, show off their talents, expose abuses or just pass along their favorite clips of movies, TV shows, music, cute kittens and other interests.

The rampant sharing on YouTube quickly attracted a massive audience that loved watching what they wanted when they wanted, even if much of the material was being contributed by amateurs.

YouTube's rapid rise demonstrated that influential media hubs could be built around free content supplied by an internet service's users. Other companies that went on to embrace a similar strategy included Facebook, which limited its online social network to college and high school students until opening up the service to anyone 13 or older beginning in September 2006. That was just before YouTube's whirlwind success culminated in its $1.76 billion sale to Google.

In the spirit of sharing popularized by YouTube, here are a few moments to remember from the site's first decade:

Major milestones

YouTube's potential to transform people's viewing habits became apparent during the autumn of 2005 when a Nike soccer shoe ad called 'Touch of Gold' became the first video on the site to be watched 1 million times.

The dance video 'Gangnam Style' became the first YouTube video to surpass 1 billion views in 2012. The clip from South Korean rapper Psy still reigns as YouTube's most-watched video at 2.3 billion views. The only other video to break the billion barrier so far has been 'Baby' by Justin Bieber, but YouTube expects clips by singers Katy Perry, Shakira, Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor and Miley Cyrus to eventually join the exclusive club.

In 2007, about six hours of video footage was being transferred to YouTube every minute. Now, about 300 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube each minute, or about 432,000 hours per day. That means it would take about 49 years to watch all the videos posted on YouTube on a typical day.

Video villians

Most TV and movie executives initially reviled YouTube, contending the site's early success stemmed from its lax controls against video pirates posting copyrighted clips. Even Google initially viewed the video site as a "'rogue enabler' of content theft," according to internal documents that surfaced in a copyright lawsuit filed against YouTube.

YouTube steadfastly denied wrongdoing and, as a defense, pointed to its policy of removing pirated video whenever asked by a copyright holder.

Shortly after being bought by Google, YouTube built an automated detection system that prevents most unauthorized clips from appearing on its site.

The big windfall

In need of additional computing power and legal protection against the pirating claims, YouTube's founders decided to sell in 2006. They negotiated the Google deal in a series of meetings in a Denny's restaurant in Palo Alto, California, instead of YouTube's dinky office located above a pizza parlor in nearby San Mateo. The purchase price was originally set at $1.65 billion in Google stock, but the value of the shares had climbed by the time the deal closed in November 2006 to set the final price at $1.76 billion.

The biggest winners were co-founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim , who collectively received nearly $700 million in Google stock. Hurley now runs a mobile video site called MixBitApp. Chen is an entrepreneur-in-residence at Google's venture capital arm. Karim is financing and advising startups at Y Ventures.

YouTube employed fewer than 70 people at the time of the sale, and at least 18 of them became millionaires. Other early investors in the site who pocketed smaller windfalls included TV talk show host Maury Povich and former network TV news broadcaster Forrest Sawyer.

What it's worth now

Google has never disclosed how much money YouTube brings in or even if the site is profitable. The research firm eMarketer projects YouTube will sell about $4.3 billion in advertising this year, after subtracting commissions and licensing fees. That would translate into about 7% of Google's projected revenue of $60 billion this year after subtracting advertising commissions.

If it were an independent company, YouTube likely would be worth at least $20 billion, based on investors' assessment of Netflix - the internet's leading video subscription service. Netflix currently has a market value of $37 billion, or about five and half times its projected revenue this year.