By Annie Sun

Shanghai. November 22. INTERFAX-CHINA - A new business model that involves a Web-based system through which users can share and sell specialized information and services has not only caught the attention of entrepreneurs and investors but also economic researchers, who believe the model has great growth potential in China over the next few years.

As China is renowned for its long history, cultural heritage and wisdom from Chinese philosophy, modern Chinese people, who are not only proud of their wisdom, can now make money by sharing their knowledge online.  

Today, Interfax spoke with Liu Feng, general manager of WitKey.com, a Web site that allows companies to post queries for Internet users to solve. He is also a researcher for the China Academy of Sciences Research Center on Data Technology & Knowledge Economy. Liu spoke about the current state of witkeys, challenges facing the witkey model and possible development opportunities for China s emerging witkey communities. 

In this interview, the term "witkey" is used to refer to all witkey sites, while WitKey.com is used to refer to the Web site of which Liu is the general manager.

Interfax: Can you describe what witkey operators do and who they are targeting?  

Liu: Under the witkey model, companies post a query or request online with the hopes that site users with the relevant knowledge and social resources will respond. The person who offers the best solution will be financially rewarded.  

Very early examples of this model in China were the Q&A communities focusing on daily issues such as Baidu Knows (Baidu Zhidao). Under these sites, people ask questions online and others answer them. There is usually no reward or payment involved because the questions are quite simple such as road directions or general knowledge.  

The more mature witkey business models aim to fulfill more complicated needs such as logo design, advertising slogans or IT solutions. Based on my research, there are two kinds of goals that those posting queries aim for.  

One is what we call witkey marketing. Companies post questions online and invite other users to answer them. Often the task is along the lines of an advertising slogan or logo design. The main goal of the company is not really to find a solution from the participator, but to make their products or services known to more users via the Internet. The best solution provider gets a reward, but other people also enjoy participating in the competition. It is a good way for companies to market their products and services, which is why we call this model "witkey marketing". 

The other kind of query is online problem solving. In this case, companies posting questions online are very serious about getting the best answer and the participants are usually professionals that have the skills and expertise to solve the problem. Competition to win the reward for best answer can often be very intense. The task may be the translation of a very hard document, or solving a mechanical problem at a chemical factory.  

Interfax: What are the obstacles facing China s witkey sector?  

Liu: Currently, many witkey operators use the same platform to operate the witkey marketing and the online problem solving businesses. However, those posting queries under each of these categories have very different goals. The single platform is a bottleneck to meeting their needs.  

One problem is the payment system. Many witkey operators charge money to companies that post questions, and place other restrictions such as how long the post remains active and how many questions they can ask. There is no possibility of getting a refund.  

This works well with the witkey marketing business because companies aim at promoting their products or services. However, for the online problem solving sector, companies are really looking for a good solution. If no solution is offered, they will want a refund. There should be some kind of guarantee system to these companies, such as vetting participants. For example, a company asking for the translation of a difficult document may need participators to show they are qualified translators.  

Interfax: What could the solution to this be?  

Liu: I think the future trend is that witkey business operators may consider separating their businesses to develop different channels to target on different groups of people.  

For example, sites can set up different channels such as a translation witkey channel, an IT solution witkey channel and an architectural witkey channel. There could also be a separate channel dedicated to companies wishing to market themselves through witkeys. The operator can then combine all these channels into a portal. People with different specialties could go to different sectors to user their knowledge. It is also easier for companies to find their right target group.  

Secondly, the advancement of online video, online chatting and calling services can be combined with the witkey platform. For example, a chemical company discovers a technical difficulty in production. It can shoot a short video of the problem and describe it briefly. With a vivid picture of the problem, it will be easier for participators to understand what they are supposed to be solving. If a professional thinks he or she has the expertise to solve the problem, they can chat with or speak to the company via the Internet to talk over ideas. This way allows more interactive communication between the problem posters and participators. 

Furthermore, I think an area that is currently untapped but worth exploring is high-end technical solutions. The China Academy of Sciences has pooled a lot of technical expertise but there are still some technical problems that require industry professionals to solve. These high-end problems are usually complicated and cannot be explained easily. Witkey companies can provide platforms to group professionals from various industries together find solutions. I believe the high-end market will be a valuable area to explore in the future.  

Interfax: How could witkey operators protect the intellectual property (IP) rights of high-end technical solution providers? 

Liu: Witkey provides a platform for people to share their knowledge and social resources. Witkeys will be a good way for companies to find the right person who has the ability to solve the technical problem. The professional is not necessarily the person who has the solution to the problem, as usually complicated technical problem cannot be solved by a single person, but the respondent shows that they have the skills to contribute to solving the problem. Then the company finds the right person. If it comes to a high-end technical problem that may involve IP rights, companies can contact the person off-line to discuss the details further. But what s important here is the online resource platform offered by witkey operators that links the companies with the professionals.  

Interfax: How will the witkey model influence other industries?  

Liu: One industry that probably stands to benefit most from the witkey business model is the cartoon industry. Creativity is the key to the development of China s cartoon industry, and I don t think China lacks the technologies and skills to make cartoons. What makes our cartoon industry lag behind Japan and the United States is probably the lack of innovative ideas. The witkey model would provide a route for lots of professionals to contribute their ideas to the industry. Sometimes amateurs may also have good ideas. With all this knowledge combined through the witkey platforms, I think the cartoon industry will develop faster.