A few things I learned from the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, China

1. The word “world” is relative and subjective. I saw BAT (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) there, but not the GAFT (Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter).
2. Strictly speaking, it’s not really the Internet. For what we know, it’s an intranet, or at least regional net.
3. Security was extremely tight. Think of the tightest security you have been to in a tech conference, and times three. But it’s understandable because we had President Xi and other top leaders in other countries. As CCTV put it, it’s not that normal for the heads of state to attend tech conference, even if it’s World one. However the fact that Pres. Xi attended, with invited guests from other key alliance states, kind of making a statement to the world – perhaps there is new virtual world can be created (or already being created as I’m typing this). And you know who is keen to lead, or at least to be a big part of this it, in a harmonious way.
4. You see the big names like the B.A.T, IBM, Microsoft, China telecom and Bloomberg etc, but also some startups that sells fruits via taobao with a charitable concept to help the remote rural communities. A very mixed delegate list. The good thing was, I did see a new bread of Chinese tech that’s innovative in its own way and evolving in a very fast pace.
5. Internet+ and Big Data are two main keywords. But you do people interpret them in different way. There is not lacking of startups that leverage them with a sole goal to attract VC money rather than creating a valuable service or product that can solve problems or fill gaps.
6. Lastly, Wuzhen (乌镇) is a beautiful small town that’s not far away from Shanghai. You should visit if you ever travel to this part of the world.

That concludes my brief thoughts on this event three weeks ago. And, this is my first post written in mobile. Love Medium! Sorry for any typos.