On October 14, social commerce company Wemakeprice which is owned by Namu Internet, announced their takeover of Waplestore. Waplestore has been receiving a lot of recognition for their detailed user interface and advanced technology behind their mobile applications and services. The PlaceTab app is based on the user completing certain quests, offering points and coupons which the user can earn in real-time. The app has already had great response for providing benefits to users plus effective marketing to businesses and the service is expected to improve even further through the latest takeover. Waplestore aims to be able to connect users from all walks of life through their app by integrating interests such as fashion, food and many others with PlaceTab’s SNS interface.
Kakao Talk’s New Messaging Platform
Last Thursday Kakao Talk held their second press conference for bloggers to announce some of their upcoming features. Kakao Talk has a stunning 25,000,000 users around the world and the program is now available in Korean, English and 8 other languages. While recently entering the Japanese market in July they are continuing to market their product globally. At the conference CEO Lee Jae-beom revealed two new features for the service, Plus Friend and Kakao Link 2.0. Plus friend enables users to become friends with their favorite stars, companies or brands and they can receive news and benefits via the service. This service is expected to be heavily used by companies for marketing and promotional purposes. Kakao Link 2.0 is an open platform which allows users to share multiple types of media and information including, photos, music, games and maps. Firms will also be able to make use of this service if they choose to do so.
Survey Monkey’s Progress in Korea
Last Monday
Policies for the Creative Industry
Software is now worth more to tech companies than hardware. Korea is now setting up policies in the hope of creating a company like Apple or Facebook. This is a chance for the young generation to change the way of thinking through creation and entrepreneurship. Apple’s smartphones phones were introduced in Korea three years later than other countries, slowing the smartphone revolution. In August 2009, a “creative economy” seminar took place. For the creative industry to develop and grow, major companies need to open their platforms to them. It is a paradigm change from competition between companies to competition between business ecosystems. It is important that companies begin to work together rather than compete. Small creative firms need to penetrate the larger market. It is now the time for large enterprises to create value for companies who make patents, write scenarios, and create characters but do not produce any products or provide any services. These small companies still require follow up policies but there is already a response from many that the current policies are helping the nation’s economy. With the support of The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Small and Medium Business Administration, the SOHO Association and Association for Creative Industry are playing a pivotal role with their exceptional efforts.
Startups in Korea – VCNC
Startup company VCNC’s first product is called ‘Between’. In CEO Park Jae-wook’s opinion, there are not enough private areas on social networks and Between helps users share media with those closest to them in a more private way. Primarily targeting couples, the app allows users to create their own private space where they can upload text and photos to a shared album. One other function allows users to set scheduled messages for particular dates such as anniversaries. They also plan to target close-knit communities such as churches, schools and academies. The service is currently undergoing testing and is expected to open in November.
Superstar M
Finalists from the startup competition ‘Superstar M’ which was held in May have continued to grow throughout the year. Winner of the competition UX Plus, have formed a partnership with Unicoi to develop a new instant messenger system. Other finalist Waplestore recently took over the ‘WeMakePrice’ to support their upcoming
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