Why Media Outlets Can be the Next Blockchain Wave in China?

Blockchain media will be the ones to watch in the future! On 8 April 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)(中國發改委) is currently seeking public opinion on a revised list of industries that it wants to encourage, restrict or eliminate. The public consultation period will end on 7 May 2019.

Under the NDRC’s revised list, “No. 46: Big Data, Cloud Computing, Information Technology Services and Blockchain Information Services” is one of the industries that the Chinese government would like to promote in the future. Blockchain media outlets are one of them, and this article will dive deeper on the current state of Chinese blockchain media ecosystem.

Strict Regulation Fosters the Development of Blockchain Media

Despite its known hostile attitude towards cryptocurrencies and ICOs, the Chinese government has been setting up regulatory framework on the blockchain information services industry since 2016.

In January 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)(工信部) released the 5-year plan (2016-20) on promoting blockchain information services industry. The MIIT planned to reform the economic model of internet, where blockchain media is one component under the new model.

In March 2018, the MIIT released guideline on setting standards in blockchain information services. The guideline stated that the blockchain development and information services in China should take references from the international standard for enhancement.

In August 2018, the Chinese government cracked down crypto-related Wechat public accounts. This showed a clear message that any promotional content for crypto and ICOs are strictly prohibited in China, which helps reinforcing the content quality of various Chinese blockchain media outlets.

A much detailed guideline was issued by the Chinese National Internet Information Office (CNIIO) in January 2019. This guideline detailed the compliance standard to blockchain information service industry and came into effect on 15 February 2019. There are three key messages:

1) Blockchain information service providers shall provide information to the Chinese Social Credit System. They should formulate and publicly manage rules and platform conventions in accordance with the “Network Security Law of the People’s Republic of China.”

2) If the user does not perform real identity authentication, the blockchain information service provider shall not provide related services.

3) No blockchain firm should copy, publish, and disseminate information content prohibited by laws and administrative regulations. Violation of rules can lead to fines up to CNY 30,000 and may constitute as criminal offence.

The aforementioned regulations help building a healthy system to the blockchain information service industry.

How to Evaluate Chinese Blockchain Media Outlets?

Currently there are over thousands of blockchain media outlets in China. These Chinese media outlets mainly launch their channels in their own website, Wechat official account, QQ and mobile applications. Their areas of focus include but not limited to industry and price analysis, evaluation of ICO projects and fresh market updates in blockchain.

To evaluate the performance of Chinese blockchain media outlets, here are some tips for you!

1) Wechat official account

i) Number of views per article

ii) Number of likes and shares per article

iii) Beware of fake user accounts

iv) Frequency of article updates

v) Whether this official account has been reported as spam or abusive

2) Websites

i) Number of online traffic

ii) Number of views per article

iii) Feedback in user experience

iv) Statistics from Chinese search engines such as Baidu, Sogou (搜狗), including number of bookmarks and shares in article

3) Mobile applications

i) Number of downloads in IOS, Android and Wechat Mini Program

ii) Design of mobile interface and user experience

iii) How much time is spent on the mobile application?

iv) Number of likes and shares per article

And most importantly, content is what matters in the media outlet. The content in the blockchain media should stay away from manipulation and promotional material. We believe providing unbiased and insightful content is the true value of blockchain media outlet!