China's top tech blogger's latest brainchild
Chinese tech blogger Lu Gang shows his creative side with his latest project, Kuukie.To the who’s who of China’s tech industry, Dr. Gang Lu (卢 刚) just might be a household name.
A leading figure and top blogger in the nation’s Internet scene, his Technode blog, already over four years old, has become a must-read for any and all in the industry.
Covering both the Chinese and broader Asian Internet and tech industry news and analyses, Lu heads up one of China’s most widely read, group-edited blogs boasting several thousand hits a day.
Shifting gears
We not only want to promote the Chinese independent artists to the Chinese and the global market. We want to find a way to both promote and monetize the artists' work.— Lu Gang, founder of Kuukie
Far from slowing down and evolving like the industry he embraces, the past year has brought a new challenge of entrepreneurship to Lu and his team.
“After over four years as an 'unprofessional, professional tech blogger,' I just didn’t feel right offering up advice to entrepreneurs," says Lu. "Who was I to give so much advice if I myself didn’t have start-up experience?”
As an established networker -- co-founder and organizer of Open Web Asia -- social marketing seemed the logical choice, but that alone wasn’t enough.
Deciding to take a bite of the cookie instead, Lu launched Kuukie (pronounced “cookie”), his start-up brainchild that's a custom, digital print house with a social media edge, which made its maiden online appearance in 2010.
Just one year on, Lu and Kuukie’s novel-yet-simple approach to personalized printing -- two-sided printing -- and unique take on social marketing of Chinese arts, has already gotten them a slot as one of China's leading online printing platforms.
“Business cards are important in China, and they can express one’s personality,” says Lu. “Be it for business or personal use, we want to encourage our users to ‘exchange their brand’ face to face -- and develop that brand with us online.”
But he didn’t stop there, Lu went one step further combining high-tech printing with an artistic touch.
Making the creative connection
Defying all stereotypes of the elusive tech geek, Lu, a longtime lover and supporter of the arts, joined forces with creative collaborator NeochaEDGE, to put an extra “edge” to his online printing service.
Part webmag and part creative agency, NeochaEDGE, a bi-lingual, Shanghai-based portal, has made a name for itself in China’s creative community in just a few years.
Acting as an online link between Chinese artists and their consumers, their site showcases and promotes the nation’s independent artists throughout the Mainland and abroad.
Going beyond your everyday printing service, this artsy alliance between NeochaEDGE and Kuukie offers clients the option to customize their own products and print with a bit of artistic muse -- pulling from designs of NeochaEDGE's Chinese creatives.
With NeochaEDGE's artists posting their work for business and people across China to use as they network, a new medium has organically developed for people to support the country's arts community.
The system is simple: visit the page displaying local creatives' work and drop and drag the image to the cards you want, and your new identity -- or at least the cards for it -- are delivered to your door within days.
It’s that simple.
“Most consumers -- including businesses -- want to be creative and love the idea of having art on their card, but usually don't know where to start. This is the service Kuukie provides," says Lu.
Once people order, though -- that's where the social media aspect of the project kicks in.
“The way we market our service is very high-tech," explains Lu.
"When users receive their cards, we encourage them to have a strong online presence,” he continues. The site is built so people can interact with other users and the artists they're supporting.
Adding a new spin to online marketing, everyone including local artists of all fields -- including those outside of the mainstream -- can now build their own platform to promote their work, and even more importantly, get paid.
“We not only want to promote the Chinese independent artists to the Chinese and the global market," says Lu. "We want to find a way to both promote and monetize the artists' work."
