Live data from Hacker News

All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

qz.com

31–40 of 109 posts

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#31
post #2

So who's buying the IPO? Seems much better investment than SV companies with little or no profit. I wonder how it will affect YHOO -- Probably worth buying Jan 2015 $40 calls since Yahoo owns 24% stake, maybe even short AMZN on day of IPO.

I was thinking the same thing. Is it even possible to buy anything on the first day? I was under the impression it's hard to buy because it's typically reserved for the big spenders.

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#32
post #5

I love this article. Despite the multitudes of news sources telling us about how commerce is now global and business is no longer tied to a place and the internet is changing the world, there is still an ocean of enterprises of which we US-based-or-english-speaking technologists are ignorant. Take a moment to think about this: Alibaba is a huge company, growing in an absolutely enormous market, providing a pile of se…

> there are millions if not billions of people who are on the cusp of becoming your target market

My favorite quote in this regard is by William Gibson: "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed"

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#33
It might "be the Amazon of China", but I don't trust most of the companies. I really wanted to like this company, but the communication is terrible(which is understandable), and the quotes I get from suppliers are for the wrong request, or appear to be counterfit goods? There's a huge need for an independent verification system for Alibaba sellers; maybe located in a western democratic country? Right now-- trust is really my problem with their site, and their suppliers.

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#34

online payments ---- google wallet cloud services ---- google cloud platform mobile apps ---- google play mobile OS ---- android maps and nav ---- google maps physical retail ---- ? no google product shopping deals ---- google offers cloud storage ---- google drive instant messaging ---- google hangouts car service ---- uber (via google ventures) c2c ecommerce ---- ? no google product travel booking ---- google fligh…

For e-learning, there's Google Helpouts. https://helpouts.google.com/

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#36
post #27

Although Alibaba is a huge company that does a ton of different things, I feel like this article went out of the way to avoid mentioning that companies like Google and Amazon (as well as Microsoft and Apple to a lesser extent) come close to checking all of these boxes. The other thing to point out is that Alibaba owns stakes in many of these companies and doesn't really own them outright. As others have already point…

Also Amazon and Google does a lot of stuff Alibaba does not do.

* Self-service warehousing and distribution (Fulfillment by Amazon)

* Package Delivery (Google Shopping Express, AmazonFresh) TV setup box (Amazon FireTV)

* Search Engine (Google Search) Web Browser (Chrome)

* Laptop/Desktop OS (Chrome OS)

* Wearable Tech (Android Wear, Google Glass) etc.

Also for many offerings like Aliyun and Aliyun OS pale in comparison in the features offered by AWS or Android.

I went to an Alibaba presentation in the US awhile ago. They want to pursue the same strategy as Google and focus deep on big data and Machine Learning rather than building out huge logistic infrastructure like Amazon. This is probably a good idea since the margins are better.

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#37
post #5

I love this article. Despite the multitudes of news sources telling us about how commerce is now global and business is no longer tied to a place and the internet is changing the world, there is still an ocean of enterprises of which we US-based-or-english-speaking technologists are ignorant. Take a moment to think about this: Alibaba is a huge company, growing in an absolutely enormous market, providing a pile of se…

>I hope this article opens peoples' eyes to the fact that the US-based-or-english-speaking countries are soon going to be a relatively small portion of the world. We need news sources like this to practice the globalization sermon they all preach.

LOL. I don't get how your comment is at the top. People in technology field know about it.

Your question should be how China is blocking out other tech companies unless they are willing to share their user info or join a state-owned venture so they can learn your technology, process and know-how then push you out. You make it sound like no one from U.S. want China or other market.

The FACT TO THE MATTER is how other countries is either making it extremely difficult for U.S. tech company to enter or corrupted to hell that you have to pay out of your ass in each and every step of the way to do business with them.

This comment is the most retarded comment there is. PEOPLE IN TECH KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#38
post #27

Although Alibaba is a huge company that does a ton of different things, I feel like this article went out of the way to avoid mentioning that companies like Google and Amazon (as well as Microsoft and Apple to a lesser extent) come close to checking all of these boxes. The other thing to point out is that Alibaba owns stakes in many of these companies and doesn't really own them outright. As others have already point…

You know, you could have just gone the extra step and simplified to 2/3. Then you'd have had a lock on that age-old aphorism

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#39
post #5

I love this article. Despite the multitudes of news sources telling us about how commerce is now global and business is no longer tied to a place and the internet is changing the world, there is still an ocean of enterprises of which we US-based-or-english-speaking technologists are ignorant. Take a moment to think about this: Alibaba is a huge company, growing in an absolutely enormous market, providing a pile of se…

> I hope this article opens peoples' eyes to the fact that the US-based-or-english-speaking countries are soon going to be a relatively small portion of the world. We need news sources like this to practice the globalization sermon they all preach.

Agreed. It's not just in the tech sector, and not just in the commerce sector either. The US (and many English-speaking countries) tend to be incredibly US-centric and euro-centric in their worldview and news coverage.

For example, right now, the world's largest democracy is holding the largest democratic election in the history of human civilization[0]. In the US, you'd be hard-pressed to find people who even know the names of the candidates[1]. Most people I talk to aren't even aware that it's happening - which is delightfully ironic for a country that has a history of proselytizing the gospel of democracy by using its military to install "democratic" governments abroad[2]!

[0] For those interested in reading up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_general_election,_2014

[1] Sort of a trick question in parliamentary systems (as opposed to the presidential system in the US), but my statement applies whether you ask about the names of the two major parties or the names of their leaders.

[2] Iraq is the example that most people are familiar with, though this tradition goes back a century or more.

Re: All the Western companies you’d have to combine to get something like Alibaba

#40
post #5

I love this article. Despite the multitudes of news sources telling us about how commerce is now global and business is no longer tied to a place and the internet is changing the world, there is still an ocean of enterprises of which we US-based-or-english-speaking technologists are ignorant. Take a moment to think about this: Alibaba is a huge company, growing in an absolutely enormous market, providing a pile of se…

[deleted]
Post reply on HN