A teacher introduces the knowledge of wild animals via livestreaming class on the internet at No. 10 elementary school in Zhangshu City in Jiangxi Province, east China, on March 2, 2020 (XINHUA)
Along with a growing awareness that one needs to pay for knowledge online, people's attitude toward its consumption has changed. Instead of subscribing to as many courses as possible, they now make demand-oriented decisions in a more rational way, opening their wallets only for quality content.
Successful companies such as popular audio-sharing platform Ximalaya have expanded their business, targeting consumers' needs, from audio and video courses to content with entertainment features, such as Internet games. But this experience is not suitable for startups. They should carve a niche in the market based on their own strengths.
Quality content does not mean specialized academic courses alone as people hope to learn with ease and pleasure. So platforms should design products to meet the needs of different user groups. It is a test of platform operators' business acumen and requires communication with users.
This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published in Economic Daily on January 25
(Print Edition Title: Choosing Knowledge Rationally)
