Moat is not enough. Social responsibility is better.

Internet & tech companies are facing increasing pressure from regulators across the globe.

Moat is not even a good word now – as it may imply reduced competition. Lawful practices don’t mean they won’t attract criticism.

What’s a better strategy?

1/ Being socially responsible for the future by investing in R&D seems to be a good choice. Ali Cloud is even more important to Alibaba now than its e-commerce business.

2/ Being socially responsible for the current by providing services for free and improving them overtime, e.g. Tencent’s chat apps. Although sometimes”free” is part of the business model, it does create value for users.

3/ Being socially responsible for the unmet demands. It seems to me that ByteDance’s education business is falling into this category.