IT-firms: great in applications

compelling picture by Shanghaiist

The other day I was called by a journalist from a US-based technology magazine who was looking for Chinese companies ("they do not have to be big") that had developled great new IT-stuff.
That was a tough challenge. There is no shortage of Chinese companies who have done great things in applying existing or even rather simple software into great applications. But investing stuff, I could not come up with a good example. 't Does not mean that Chinese firms only act as copycats of US inventions, but are really creative in using them in a new way,
Fortunately, Venturebeat.com comes with a review of Diangping.com that has made really new use of basically existing applications.

One of Diangping’s most popular features, for example, is a way for users to vote and discuss their favorite dish at a restaurant. This is specifically important in China, because there are literally thousands of dishes; some restaurant menus are books, with more than 100 pages of options. A basic review of a restaurant is hardly good enough for a first-time diner because one wants to know what to order besides, say, the kung pao chicken. Check this article out for an English-language summary of some of Diangping users’ favorite Shanghai dishes, like these delicious-looking fried buns pictured.