YY is a Chinese streaming platform that has over 700 million registered users, and over 100 million active users each month. As you can see, it’s huge. The success of the site lies with the fact that they have created a virtual currency – roses that users receive when they perform certain actions on the site like performing karaoke in a video, giving someone a special badge that they’ve bought with real world dollars or posting a tutorial. Users can then exchange their roses for cold hard cash, with top performers on the site earning upwards of $20k per month.
What’s astonishing about this site is that their only revenue comes from selling badges that users give out, and some revenue from extras that can games on the site, leading to annual revenues of nearly $1 billion. As of right now this service is only available in Chinese, but can find its way easily to other markets.
There is another similar social network based in the United States called YouNow. It uses a similar idea in which broadcasters give badges or virtual gifts which cost real world money, and similar to other camming ideas, live performers who sign up to be official “partners” can receive tips. A few people who have hit it big on the site can make $1000 for a broadcast that is less than an hour.
While it’s not quite as large as YY, it does show promise and growth. The top broadcaster on the site has 1 million likes and a few hundred thousand fans. Their mobile app is currently the 77th best selling in Apple’s App Store. They even teamed up with the popular reality TV show America’s Got Talent to live stream auditions on the app and site. Hollywood agents that have noticed their talents have already approached some partners. With 170,000 streams per day and 100 million user sessions each month, it’s clear that this is a format of entertainment that appeals to people.
We are always looking for the next big thing or new solution, but lets be careful to understand our audiences and what motivates them as a community, because the next big thing lies with them!
A friend had the opportunity to work directly with Pietro Ferrero, CEO of Ferrero and grandson of the founder.
