[BITList] Fwd: Open sesame

[Michael Feltham]

>  	 Alibaba’s flotation in America is the first step for a truly global technology scene Thursday, May 08, 2014	 
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> Viewing on a mobile?	
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>  	Thursday, May 08, 2014
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>  	MATT
> WARMAN
> CONSUMER TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
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> Techbriefing
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> ALIBABA’S FLOTATION IN AMERICA IS THE FIRST STEP FOR A TRULY GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY SCENE	 	 	 	 Follow Matt on Twitter
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>  	 On the first day of George Osborne’s trade mission to China last year, the assembled, travelling luminaries of Britain’s tech scene were treated to presentations from the great and the good of the Chinese web. And it was during this session, which included Alibaba, that the Chancellor himself broke off from his own schedule and dropped by.
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> Alibaba is the Chinese combination of eBay, Amazon and Groupon combined, and in a meticulously planned trip it was no coincidence that Mr Osborne gave them the attention they deserve. This week Alibaba announced that it would seek to raise $1bn by floating on the American stock exchange. It’s a figure that could rise to $20bn, just as Twitter and even Facebook are on the wane..
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> Some commentators have suggested that this is the moment that America will realise the true force of the Chinese internet, implying even that Amazon, eBay and Groupon should be quaking in their hardy, well-worn boots. They’re right to suggest that this is a major moment.
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> But it’s silly to get overexcited: Jeff Bezos will not be worrying that New Yorkers, San Franciscans and even Kansans will soon be ordering from Amazon’s Chinese rivals. Alibaba will remain a primarily Chinese concern for the foreseeable future.
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> Still, this is a key moment, when it’s plain that the world is no longer dominated by whehther US brands can crack China: a Chinese company floating on a US exchange speaks volumes about the globalisation of a technology market that will eventually see the ultimate in economies of scale. In a world where technology can break down language barriers and more, then that means global. Just as in the folk tale, Alibaba may yet say ‘Open Sesame’ to a new kind of international commerce.
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>  	 WHO TO FOLLOW ON TWITTER	 
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>  	 	Who: Benedict Evans @BenedictEvans
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> Why: Covers tech/telco banking at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz
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> Sample tweet: Alibaba did $37bn GMV on mobile last year.
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>  	LATEST TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS	 
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> Alibaba could be the tech firm that lives up to the hype
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> Alibaba has said it is seeking to raise just $1bn in its IPO, but that figure could soar to around $20bn
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>  	Tweets and social media to enter National Archives
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> The National Archives is to catalogue the social media output of UK central government departments for the first time
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>  	Tim Berners-Lee warns Facebook against web takeover
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> The inventor of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, warned the web is ‘in the balance’ as technology giants against closing parts of the web to new users.
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>  	 THIS WEEK'S OTHER ESSENTIAL READS	 
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> 4. Ascend P7 Hands-on Preview Groufies optional...
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> 5. Internet 'close to three billion users' Internationally interconnected
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>                                                  	 		 	 Follow Matt on Twitter   |   Contact Matt: techbriefing at telegraph.co.uk
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