Highlights of GMIC's first day: The big guys are absent and robots become the highlight

Although various industry conferences have become so frequent that they are held on a weekly basis, and although none of the bigwigs such as Robin Li, Ma Huateng, Jack Ma, Lei Jun, and Zhou Hongyi showed up, and although the security has been so tight that one cannot even enter the gate without a ticket, this year's GMIC still had red flags flying and huge crowds of people.

Who did the participants come for? This is not important. What is important is that this conference, which was absent from all the big names, still provided enough highlights.

Absentee: Things have changed and people have “flew”

Compared with last year's GMIC, in just one year, some companies have changed and some people have also "flown away".

Let's first look at which guests from last year didn't come this year. Ma Huateng's absence is not surprising. He was not present at any of the major events, including the two sessions and the recent IT Leadership Summit. Lei Jun was busy with the May 15th launch. From Xiaomi to Redmi, from mobile phones to routers, from office buildings to industrial parks, Xiaomi's expansion this year is obvious. Lei "Buss" has gone from a big boss to a big shot, so his absence is also a matter of course. However, since Lei Jun is still the chairman of the Great Wall Club, the organizer of GMIC, Zhou Hongyi is not coming out to clean up Lei Jun's booth. However, the plight of some big bosses who didn't come is regrettable.

Last year, Chen Nian talked about the performance of Vancl's mobile terminal at GMIC . Subsequently, Vancl encountered problems such as poor payment, inventory backlog, large-scale layoffs, and relocation to reduce costs. After going through all the hardships, Chen Nian has no time to show up in public now.

Last year, Hu Zemin, then CEO of 91 Wireless, talked a lot about 91's distribution volume and penetration rate at the conference. He then experienced the glory of being married to Baidu at a high price, as well as the loneliness of rapidly declining traffic and being fully taken over by Baidu. Hu Zemin gradually faded out of the scene during this ups and downs.

Two others who "flew away" were Zynga China General Manager Tian Xingzhi and DeNA China General Manager Wang Yong, who had a high-end interview at GMIC last year. From the acquisition of Seapede by Zynga to his resignation due to the business adjustment of Zynga China, Tian Xingzhi's departure brought many regrets in the intersection of time and situation.

As for companies, AutoNavi has been completely owned by Alibaba, UC has also launched a series of major moves to revitalize Alibaba's browser and search resources, Dianping has joined Tencent, Kingsoft has changed its name to Cheetah Mobile and embarked on the IPO road, and Touch Technology is also trying to become China's second mobile game concept stock. It can be said that being associated with a giant is a mixed blessing, and the road to a successful listing is difficult.

New tricks: What does intelligent robots mean?

What is different from last year is that there are many more showgirls at this year's GMIC, which makes the conference have a bit of the flavor of ChinaJoy; however, no matter how cool the beauties are dressed, they are ultimately overshadowed by the female intelligent robot displayed by Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Research Institute of Osaka University.

Robots are not new, but it is the first time that they have appeared at the Mobile Internet Conference. This lifelike robot can talk to humans, sense human movements, and even imitate human emotions.

Ishiguro suggested that domestic developers use the Android system to conduct robot research, and there will be a new type of small robot-like smartphone in the near future.

Associate Professor Tomotaka Takahashi of the University of Tokyo also demonstrated an intelligent robot, Robi, on site. More than 100,000 units of this product have been sold in Japan.

Will smart robots bring new inspiration to Chinese smart hardware entrepreneurs who are addicted to bracelets, watches, routers, and light bulbs?

Taking over 360: UC uses Shenma to challenge Baidu?

360 challenged Baidu on the PC side, and UC took over the baton on the mobile side. At the same time, Yu Yongfu also took over Zhou Hongyi's baton and continued to "bombard" Baidu.

After the release of Shenma Search, keywords such as UC Browser disappeared from Baidu's APP distribution system. When searching Baidu Tieba, Zhidao and other content through Shenma, Baidu will also pop up a half-screen high prompt to guide users to use Baidu Search.

Yu Yongfu was "surprised" by the high-level treatment given to a product that had just been launched for a few days. However, it also played into Yu Yongfu's hands. Baidu used a fierce way to support UC and Shenma Search. Just like Baidu Navigation, which took advantage of the fight with AutoNavi to gain popularity, Baidu also gave "Shenma Search" the opportunity to gain popularity by fighting with Baidu.

"Baidu's crazy reaction gave us the opportunity to slap it in the face." Yu Yongfu, who always appears as a "gentleman", fought back against Baidu with fierce words.

At the same time, mobile search has also brought about subtle changes in the relationship between Internet giants and quasi-giants. Baidu has become the biggest rival from a previous partner. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In this regard, UC and 360 are allies to a certain extent. However, just as 360's search did not defeat Baidu but defeated Sogou, the biggest threat to Shenma's rise may not be Baidu but 360. Yu Yongfu used the word "co-opetition" to describe the delicate relationship between Shenma and 360.

Trend: Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp

In addition to general trends such as smart hardware and Internet finance, NetEase Technology also discovered some industry trends and opportunities during conversations with guests.

1. O2O sub-sectors. Recently, Dianping.com invested in the food ordering platform Ele.me. Dianping.com co-founder Long Wei said that it is difficult to achieve an O2O closed loop by relying on one company. Next, Dianping.com will select excellent companies in various links of the industry chain for investment or acquisition. 58.com CEO Yao Jinbo said the same thing. In the next 3-5 years, 58.com.com will invest 1 billion in investment and acquisitions, with housekeeping, chauffeur services, car rental and other O2O sub-sectors as the main direction.

2. Native advertising. This is not a new concept, but this trend has become a consensus among mobile advertising platforms this year. Integrating advertising into information flow or placing embedded ads in products will become a more acceptable way for mobile advertising. However, Zhang He, president of Duomeng, said that native advertising is not a standardized product, which limits its scale and it will take some time to achieve scale.

3. Mobile game IP. Mobile game publishers are busy introducing overseas products, channels are busy going overseas, and developers are busy expanding their distribution business. In addition to transformation, the biggest trend is that mobile game IP is becoming more and more popular. Song Xiaofei, CEO of Moyou Century, believes that if a mobile game does not have an IP, it may be difficult to promote it among channels this year.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.