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New number for GUANXI

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mat

Board Royalty

Joined: Apr 26, 2004
Posts: 6937
Location: Loooooooooooose!
Status: Offline

Posted: June 13, 2007 - 10:48 AM
Post subject: New number for GUANXI

Guanxi got messed around by their service provider, so there is a new number. Here is the message i got.

OUR SERVICE WAS HIJACKED LAST MONTH BY OUR OLD SP. WE NOW HAVE A NEW SMS NUMBER 9588 2929 IN CO-OP WITH MINFO. SAVE IT. DON'T NEED TO ADD 2 IN QUERY ANYMORE. DONT USE OLD NUMBER ITS NOT GUANXI. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER LAST 5 YEARS. KIRK.

So everyone change the details in your phone to this new number.

For those of you who don't know guanxi, text name of the bar/restaurant you are trying to find to the above and you will get the address returned, and then you also can reply to get it returned in chinese.

Very handy service.

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bougie
Board Buddha

Joined: Nov 20, 2004
Posts: 13292
Location: Wuhan Hubei China

Posted: June 15, 2007 - 07:05 AM

Mat what patch of software do u have to see chinese charaxcters?

littlefish123

Barker

Joined: Mar 20, 2006
Posts: 138

Status: Offline

Posted: June 15, 2007 - 10:34 AM

Guanxi is a service where mobile users can text message the name of a venue to their number and it automatically gives you the phone umber and address either in Chinese or english, ONLY if the venue is an ADVERTISER.

I found this out the hard way as I was trying to reach a few companies that were initially listed but suddenly were no longer. (mind you I started using teh service many years ago) Did some digging and found out that they make charge the listing venues for each time someone looks them up AND us for looking them up. Seem like they should just charge a fee for the listing and then charge us for the inquiry. Otherwise it would be like Enjoy Shanghai charging advertising to include a venu in a coupon book, then in addition to charging the end-user for membership, charging the venue again from accepting the coupon. Just my 2 pence.

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yu888
Board Deity

Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17973
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH

Posted: June 15, 2007 - 02:39 PM

Actually, Guanxi was recently acquired from Mailman, by a mobile search company calles mInfo based here in Shanghai. In doing so, I trust the SP issues and many techincal issues involving REAL "guangxi" may get better as its a well supported Shanghai local company already in the business of data platforms.

Personally, i hope it works out for everyone as I found it to be a good tool, especially when i first arrived here in Shanghai. Too bad about the double-dipping. Who knows, maybe the change of management may just work out for everyone.

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ArsenyVyacheslav

PopStar

Joined: Jan 17, 2007
Posts: 1179

Status: Offline

Posted: June 16, 2007 - 02:28 PM

i used the guanxi to find xujiahui. but i live there.

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mat

Board Royalty

Joined: Apr 26, 2004
Posts: 6937
Location: Loooooooooooose!
Status: Offline

Posted: June 16, 2007 - 02:32 PM

YU, i may be wrong but i don't think that is correct.

Guanxi was HIJACKED by an SP provider that Mailman used to use, they have since moved to MINFO. They are still having some issues, but looks to be slowly getting back to what it used to be.

In regards to LITTLEFISH's comments, i don't think that is really accurate. You do not have to be an "advertiser". Advertiser in what? Guanxi does not have any publications. As a business, you have the option of either paying a fee to be included in the directory, or you can get in for free if you display either the mailman postcards or the mailman posters (on the bathroom doors). Most restaurants and bars will display the cards or posters and will be in for free. Not much to ask. In response to your comments about the business being charged for every text, also not true. You can opt to "buy" search codes. eg, if you want your venue to come up everytime someone sends "wine" you pay for that.

I think it is a good service and it is very inexpensive for a business to be included.

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yu888
Board Deity

Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17973
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH

Posted: July 04, 2007 - 05:51 PM

I got this press release awhile back. Now working in location based products means that I have to read all this stuff...bleh. Of course Guanxi caught my eye. Wink

mInfo Acquires Guanxi SMS to Extend Lead in Chinese Mobile Search
PRNewswire
(00/13/2007 12:00 PM EDT)

SHANGHAI, China, June 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- mInfo(R) Inc. ( http://www.minfo.com ), a leading Chinese mobile search provider, announces acquisition of Guanxi SMS, the most popular mobile search service for foreigners in China. The combined company takes a dominant lead in the China market by integrating the local market prowess and resources of mInfo with the proven revenue model, brand recognition and loyal user base of the Guanxi service.

"Adding Guanxi to the mInfo family is all about value creation for our users and customers," said Alvin Wang Graylin, CEO, mInfo Inc. "By combining forces, we are solidifying mInfo's lead in the marketplace and expanding mInfo's reach into hundreds of thousands of high-valued expatriate users and thousands of partner merchants around the country."

mInfo is the leading mobile search service provider in China, and the only company offering mobile search services via SMS, WAP, IM and embedded client with support for natural language queries in Chinese pinyin and English. Since its founding in 2005, mInfo has extended to over three dozen life oriented mobile search services and has expanded geographical coverage to 59 of the largest cities throughout China. Guanxi has been the preferred mobile search service for foreign expatriates in China since 2002 offering local directory services using English and Chinese in 20 major cities in China via SMS. As a benefit of this transaction, Guanxi will now have a new unified SMS code of 95882929 across all four mobile carriers in China.

"We are truly excited about this deal with mInfo," said Kirk Jobsz, CEO, Mailman Media Group. "We've been the leader in English mobile search in China since 2002 and always had aspirations to offer much more. Now with the backing of mInfo we can realize Guanxi's true potential. It's definitely a win-win for both companies as well as for our current users and advertisers."

With the Summer Olympic Games approaching in 2008, the English content and search capabilities offered by the Guanxi service will be invaluable to ensuring an enjoyable stay by the masses of foreign visitors expected to arrive in China. ''With the Guanxi acquisition and the breadth of mInfo's mobile service offerings (ie. sports scores, news, venues, entertainment, travel, etc.), we will certainly be well prepared to meet the needs of even the most demanding Olympic visitor next year,'' said, Mr. Graylin.

About mInfo Inc.

mInfo Inc. is the leading provider of natural language mobile search services to China's 450 million wireless subscribers and a leading mobile advertising platform for branded and SME advertisers throughout China. mInfo delivers over 30 categories of search content, and its services are available at no cost nationwide on both China Mobile and Unicom via SMS, WAP, kJava, Pushmail and IM. mInfo's free mobile search services are based on numerous patent-pending technologies making its services truly intuitive to use and its search results highly relevant. mInfo was founded in early 2005 and headquartered in Shanghai, with offices in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu. For more information on mInfo, please visit http://www.minfo.com .

About Guanxi Mobile Search

The Guanxi SMS service was launched in early 2002 and has been an indispensable part of expatriate survival in China ever since. The Guanxi service was a business unit of Mailman Ltd., a recognized pioneer in the alternative media industry. Kirk Jobsz & Mailman Ltd. have created and operate a plethora of well known companies and brands in China, Sri Lanka and Australia including: Guanxi SMS, postKard, plaKard, Kommune, REDdot, BlueCasting.com and others. For more information on Mailman Ltd., please visit http://www.MailmanChina.com .

For more information, please contact: mInfo Press Contact Yu Shi Tel: +86-21-6439-2200 Email: yshi@minfo.com

CONTACT: Yu Shi of mInfo, +86-21-6439-2200, or yshi@minfo.com

Web site: http://www.minfo.com/ http://www.MailmanChina.com/

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