For example, let’s imagine that the agency behind the iconic Old Spice ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ campaign had put the kybosh on that idea. If they’d said it was ‘too risky’. None of us would have been able to enjoy one of the most memorable campaigns to come out of social media perhaps eve
r. Granted it’s still a young industry, but it can’t be denied that the campaign remains one of the most important social media executions the industry has seen.

For me, the inherent risk involved in it is what makes it so impressive. It could have backfired. But it’s the faith that the brand had in it that made it so pervasive. You could see it in the production value and the effort they’d gone to. That in itself was admirable, regardless of how successful it turned out to be.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that our focus should be putting faith into good work that we’re proud of and taking a chance to make something truly unique instead of regurgitating things that have worked in the past. Sure, traditional social media tactics have their place in our work but it’s not what’s going to win awards.

This post is a bi-product of stumbling across the above video where an agency took the idea of the ‘social media case study’ and completely flipped it on it’s head. The video shows that they know exactly how to conduct a social media campaign yet they convey it in an amusing, cute and affable way.

They’ve created a possible viral video just by promoting themselves and, like the Old Spice videos, you can tell that they’ve put the effort into something unique, albeit on a smaller scale…

In case you missed it, a Twitterstorm erupted Down Under this afternoon over a customer service (I use that term loosely) email from clothing retailer GASP. You can get all the juicy details here:

Exhibit A: The Complaint Email

Exhibit B: The Response from GASP Online Customer Care

Outrage over the email quickly gained traction and GaspGate soon burst into the Twitterstream with the hashtag #GASPFAIL  in the top 5 most trending topics in Sydney, #GASP taking spot number two on the national list.

The GASP Facebook page was the scene of a brand massacre with people expressing their disgust at GASP’s treatment of their clientele and inviting a response, apology, anything….

Whilst this PR disaster unfolded, there was one noticeable guest who did not come to the party, GASP. The only official response from GASP came through deleting Facebook posts from their wall before finally doing away with their brand page altogether.  #GASPFAIL indeed.

Here are some of the comments before the masses were silenced:

Aside from investing in staff training and development, what could they have done to better to manage the crisis? Well, quite a lot.

Like all businesses operating in this brave new world of always on here are some of the crucial mistakes made by GASP this afternoon:

1. Removed complaints from the Facebook Page
2. Remained silent
3. Removed the Facebook page completely
4. Still silent…
5. Twitter, which is a more prominent feedback channel during a crisis, was going off, yet the Gasp Twitter Handle remains, yep, you guessed it…silent (and barren to boot).
6. Links are being circulated to personal Facebook accounts of GASP staff, showing rather unsavoury comments (whether related or not to the customer service email). This shows you just how far consumers will go if wronged.

So, what could they have done?

1. Not handle the customer complaint the way they did first and foremost. They wouldn’t  have this issue had they handled that situation more wisely.
2. Listen and monitor. Once the issue erupted, they should have set up social media listening immediately for brand mentions. This would have provided many insights on what was happening and how the issue was escalating; this in turn would have provided critical information that the PR and management team could have built a plan from. Had GASP been monitoring they would have seen a spike in mentions which would have alerted them to the impending brand massacre.
3. Have a crisis plan in place. When things go wrong it is crucial that there is a clear escalation process and employees know what to do. You have to act with speed before the problem escalates and gets out of control.
4. Admit you’ve made a mistake and rectify it. Don’t stick your head in the sand and pretend there isn’t an issue, address the issue and address it publicly using your social media channels.
5. Be authentic. Don’t throw a canned response or token apology and expect it to change sentiment, it won’t.
6. Never EVER remove negative feedback from your social channels.  It’s social media 101. As GASP has learned, your community does not appreciate being silenced.
7. Have a social media policy. If your employees are active in social and identify themselves as an employee of your business,  they should have clear guidelines on what is and is not appropriate in social media

Crises happen all the time and we know how quickly they escalate with user generated content and social media as the accelerant. A combination of planning, preparation and process is your best defence. Have you got a crisis plan in place?

By Lucie Snape (@LucieSnape)

View “#GASPFAIL” on Storify

China

Microblog saves desperate melon farmer
http://www.china.org.cn/china/2011-06/07/content_22728263.htm
A farmer in China turned to Weibo.com to voice his frustrations about a lack of sales following stories of exploding melons (due to growth chemicals). He said, “The reports of bursting watermelons have brought a miserable life for us. We have tens of thousands of jin (one jin equals half a kilogram) of watermelons waiting to get rotten in the farmlands.” Seven hours after his first post, Fu said in a new post that his melons were almost sold out, but his neighbors were also in need of help.

China’s Sina to launch English microblogging site
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_677126.html
Sina has announced plans to start an English version of its hugely popular microblogging site by the end of the year. It will pursue this venture with foreign partners. There is some speculation that Facebook could possibly partner with the Chinese giant.

Sina Weibo – competition for Twitter?
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/06/08/sina-weibo-competition-for-twitter/?mod=WSJBlog
While Sina’s English site could be a viable competitor for Twitter, Sina appears likely to police user posts on the English version of Weibo just as it does on the Chinese version, where it filters messages for sensitive content to comply with Chinese regulations.

Chinese “cyber attacks” – are they fallacies?
http://the-diplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2011/06/07/china-cyber-attack-fallacies/
Reports surfaced last week saying that China was behind a hacking campaign. The proof to support the headline was that Chinese IP addresses were involved. What both Google and Siobhan Gorman, who reported on the story for the Wall Street Journal (which we featured in Digerati last week), failed to disclose was that other countries IP addresses were used as well, including South Korea and the United States.

China’s global reach (map)
http://www.npr.org/2011/06/07/136930746/chinas-global-reach
A fantastic resource for tracing China’s foreign investments. Between 2005 and 2010, China invested more than $319 billion overseas, funding projects in energy, agriculture, finance and more. The top countries that China invested in were Australiua ($33.9 billion), the USA ($28.1 billion), Nigeria ($15.4 billion), Iran ($15.1 billion), and Brazil ($14.9 billion).

China increases Internet control, takes down hundreds of websites
http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/06/08/china-increases-internet-control-takes-down-hundreds-of-websites/
Under the new controls, more than 700 pornographic and copyright infringing websites have been shut down. Individuals have also been banned from registering domain names ending in .cn, which is now now limited to registered businesses in China.
(Thanks to Pete Mitchell for the link)

Other Asia

Korea’s Got Talent – a Korean orphan stuns the audience
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BewknNW2b8Y
Sung-bong Choi, a Korean laborer who grew up as a homeless orphan, supporting himself in the streets by selling gum and beverages, stunned the audience of Korea’s Got Talent with his trained tenor singing voice.

More Korean talent – Lip-synching, badminton-strumming schoolgirls!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaNj-3cwB38&feature=share
In addition to showcasing fine lip-synching talents, these girls use bushy eyebrows and facial hair to entertain Korea (and YouTube) with hilariously over the top performing.

Media offices receive mysterious coffins in the mail; advertiser arrested
http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/06/indonesia-mystery-coffins-advertising/
The sender of these coffins was listed as “Rest In Peace Soon”. Police have raided the sender’s address and found it to be the offices of Buzz & Co., an advertising agency. The company’s CEO, Sumardy Ma, was subsequently arrested. He explained that the coffin delivery was a marketing strategy to launch a book entitled “Rest In Peace Advertising, The Power Of Word Of Mouth Marketing.”

Chunghwa Telecom sets foot in mobile advertising biz
http://news.cens.com/cens/html/en/news/news_inner_36550.html
Chunghwa Telecom recently announced that its online software-download store, Hami Apps, has set up mobile-advertising operation named In-App Advertisement, becoming Taiwan`s first telecom carrier to enter the subcategory of mobile marketing.

Sofitel in Bangkok to unveil Apple-based digital hotel entertainment

http://www.psfk.com/2011/06/apple-based-digital-hotel-entertainment-at-the-sofitel-so-bangkok.html

Each of the hotel’s rooms will be equipped with an Apple Mac mini, which will function as a multimedia center, offering guests digital TV, radio channels, movies, music library, DVD and CD player, and the ability to play your personal iPod, iPhone and iPad

Mobile

Mobile payments to reach $50 billion by 2014
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-07/mobile-phone-payments-to-reach-50-billion-by-2014-report-says.html
Consumers worldwide will spend about $50 billion using their mobile phones through a technology called near field communications by 2014 as the payment method gains popularity. North America and Western Europe will account for 50 percent of the total spending, surpassing the Asian market (which is still dominated by Japan).

The Social Web

Top ten luxury brands with highest Facebook IQ
http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/06/06/what-are-the-top-10-luxury-brands-on-facebook-with-the-highest-facebook-iq/
The top ten are: BMW, Clinique, Audi, Lexus, Bare Escentuals, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Johnny Walker, Belvedere, and Tory Burch. They were ranked on: size and velocity, programming, engagement, and integration.

100 examples of corporate social media policies
http://www.kokasexton.com/word/100-examples-of-corporate-social-media-policies/
Check out the ways in which companies such as BBC, GM, FedEx, ESPN, IBM, and more treat social media in the work place. This contains great examples from companies of nearly every discipline and would be an excellent resource for any client hoping to write a social media policy.

Creative

Perrier: The more you watch, the hotter it gets (Ogilvy)
http://www.youtube.com/perrier

Ogilvy Singapore celebrates quitters with anit-smoking drive
http://www.campaignsingapore.sg/Video/259924,ogilvy-singapore-celebrates-quitters-in-anti-smoking-drive.aspx

Dove’s Digital Body Language (Ogilvy)
http://apps.facebook.com/dovebodylanguage/

McDonalds’ McFriends
http://vimeo.com/20306234
(Thanks to Sascha Engel for the link)

Nike SB: Support Your Local
http://www.psfk.com/2011/06/nike-sbs-support-your-local-2011-video.html

Hong Kong Death: Clean Air Flash Mob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz0zQcpzj38

Social media sandals – a “step” too far?
http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/twitter-inspired-innovation

Augmented reality – String ‘Wonderment’
http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2011/06/augmented-reality-string%E2%84%A2-wonderment/

And Finally…

The World’s Most Exclusive Website
http://theworldsmostexclusivewebsite.com/index.php?e=v
This site allows levels of access based on how many Twitter followers a user has. To enter “Room 1,” you need to be a “verified” Twitter user. To enter Room 2, you need to have at least 5,000 followers., and so on. Most users won’t even be able to get through the front door and will be re-directed to the Olive Garden website.
(Thanks to Soohan Han for the link)

If you don’t make it in based on your following, see what is inside here: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-most-exclusive-website

This week we decipher a series of terms from China’s bureau of riddles: financial spin masters describe the current internet bloated IPO valuations as a “good bubble”; cryptic shenanigans with China’s three mobile operators under scrutiny in an affair over RMB350m of “illegal” money; Xinhua hits back at Google’s “chimerical complaints” of cyberattacks emanating from Jinan, China.

China

China embraces its inner tech bubble

http://blogs.forbes.com/ericjackson/2011/05/31/china-embraces-its-inner-tech-bubble/

Tech industry leaders in China seem to agree that a “bubble” is currently underway in their country. Rather than dread the inevitable fall, however, the executives are focused on the golden age of development that they are currently in. As one leader said, “We’re in the midst of a bubble but a good bubble.  It’s going to create a flight to quality.  The bad companies will lose momentum or die. The market will shrink to a small base of companies.” Soon investors will stop and companies will go under, but the industry as a whole (in China) is focused on the positive.

Western view: Chinese hackers use fake Gmail site to steal activist data

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/01/google-hacking-chinese-attack-gmail

Google has revealed that it had been the target of a phishing campaign seemingly originating in Jinan, a mid-sized Chinese city (six million) known mostly for exports, [72 fresh springs, its muslim population and its status as the IT capital of China twinned with Bangalore, India]. It was aimed at gaining access to the accounts of senior officials in the U.S., Korea and other governments, as well as those of Chinese activists.

China view: “Google’s Chimerical Complaints”… against local chefs making cider-snacks cyberattacks

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-06/02/c_13907875.htm

It was the second time that Google arbitrarily pointed its finger at China. Last year, Google groundlessly accused the Chinese government of supporting hacker attack against it and pushed China to abandon legal regulations on the Internet by threatening to withdraw from the Chinese market. The chimerical complaints by Google have become obstacles for enhancing global trust between stakeholders in cyberspace. However, it was too imprudent for the online giant to lash out at others without solid proof to support its accusation. Last year, Google invited the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), a spy agency, to help with its inquiry into cyberattacks against it… they traced the attackers to computers at Chinese Shanghai Jiaotong University and Lanxiang Vocational School.. The report amused many Chinese at that time since Lanxiang Vocational School enjoys a good fame at training chefs for local restaurants. It is really hard for people with common sense to understand.

Ma might bite Yahoo – Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma on the Alipay affair, Yahoo and loving employees (video and transcript)

http://allthingsd.com/20110601/alibaba-group-ceo-jack-ma-live-at-d9/

Jack Ma reveals several insights in this interview, including his thoughts on employee training (which he feels should all be done internally), cultural trends in China (customs, people, and government) and business trends in China (mobile, gaming, and search), and Yahoo (which he’d love to buy some day).

New Sina Weibo profiles leak reveals vitual goods, eCommerce integration

http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/06/02/new-sina-weibo-profiles-leak-reveals-virtual-goods-ecommerce-integration

A leaked screenshot caught reveals more details on what seems to be Sina’s new “QWeibo” profiles, which feature virtual goods and eCommerce integration. Sina has been adding features to the Weibo platform in an attempt to turn it into a complete social network experience instead of simply being a microblogging platform.

10 reasons why China is different

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/roach5/English

This report singles out strategy, commitment, delivery, saving, rural-urban migration 316 million Chinese are expected to move from rural to urban China over the next 20 years), consumption, services, foreign direct investment (China is a magnet for the investment of multinational technology companies), education (1.5 million engineers and scientists graduate in China every year), and innovation (China’s aggressive pursuit of patents and new technologies is what sets it apart) as the main differentiator between China and other nations.

China’s seizure of China Mobile leads to wider corruption probe

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-01/china-s-seizure-of-china-mobile-executive-leads-to-wider-corruption-probe.html

All three of China’s major mobile carriers (China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom) are now under investigation following the arrest of a China Mobile executive in March. The investigation is a probe of more than 60 people that may involve 350 million yuan of “illegal money”.

Other Asia

Indonesian president responds to defamation in social media

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/01/indonesian-president-defamation-social-media/

The Indonesian government has been facing criticism on social media platforms like Twitter, blogs, in text messages recently. Last week the political world in Indonesia was turned upside-down by the emergence of a specific SMS text containing allegations of corruption against the nation’s government. The SMS spread far enough for the president to comment on it, saying, “I think with the development of information technologies — such as SMS, Twitter, websites, and Blackberry — as well as all types of online media can improve our lives in this nation. But, for those who are not knights, those who use (these media) for character assassination or verbal abuse. That is freedom of speech, [but] when it comes to defamation then it must be accounted for.”

Malaysian to tweet apology 100 times in Twitter defamation case

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/02/malaysian-tweet-apology-defamation

A Malaysian social activist will apologise 100 times on Twitter in an unusual settlement with a magazine publisher in a defamation case. The penalty has sparked debate among internet users about the pitfalls of social media in Malaysia, where authorities have warned people to be more cautious about what they write on blogs, Facebook and Twitter.Fahmi Fadzil, an opposition politician’s aide and respected commentator on social issues, claimed on Twitter in January that his pregnant friend had been poorly treated by her employers at a magazine run by BluInc Media.

Vodafone India sues customer for defamatory Facebook statuses

http://thenextweb.com/in/2011/06/01/vodafone-india-sues-customer-for-posting-defamatory-facebook-statuses/

Vodafone India has sent in a legal notice to a man who has complained about its services on Facebook, asking him to take down the ‘defamatory’ posts. This case is interesting because if the court gives an injunction, it could become a precedent for other popular brands to start sending legal notices against other microbloggers.

Playstation Network coming back online everywhere except Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/31/us-sony-network-idUSTRE74U07A20110531

Following the closure of the service after information was stolen from 77 million accounts, Sony has announced that it will re-launch the service in every market except for Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Sony has declined to comment as to why they are excluding these countries. Around 10% of the affected PSN users are in these countries. Sony has hinted, however, that services will return to these Asian nations only a few days after the others.

The Social Web

Zynga to launch new game – “Empires and Allies” in Indonesian, Chinese, Malay, and Korean

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/zynga-launch-new-game-empires-193468

Social gaming developer Zynga has announced the global launch of Empires & Allies, its first strategy combat game – a release “that includes more social features than any of its other games.” It is debuting in 12 languages, including Indonesian, Traditional Chinese and, for the first time, Malay and Korean. Zynga has more than 250 million monthly active users and is the developer of games such as CityVille, FarmVille, FrontierVille, Mafia Wars and Cafe World.

Facebook close to 700 million users

http://www.socialbakers.com/blog/171-facebook-is-globally-closing-in-to-700-million-users/

The top country (in terms of growth) in the last month was Brazil, which added 1.9 million new users. The rest of the top ten included Indonesia (up 1.5 million), the Philippines (up 1.3 million), and India (up 0.9 million).

Mobile

Intel Ultrabooks are front and center at Taiwan IT expo (Computex 2011)

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/computex-2011-intel-unveils-ultrabook-talks-medfield-tablets/6004

The first ultrabooks, which will be available later this year, will be based on Intel’s second-generation Core processors, measure less than 0.8 inches thick and cost less than $1,000 US. The size, performance and features of these ultrabooks will evolve over the next two to three years as Intel introduces new processor technology.

Location-based marketing hits Colombo

http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2011/06/location-based-marketing-hits-colombo/

Marketers are beginning to use location-based marketing in the Sri-Lankan capital. They are mainly targeting the “New Urban Middle Class” – a new, small social category. Smartphones aren’t nearly as prevalent as feature phones in Sri Lanka, so ambitions are still tempered.

(Thanks to Asia Digital Map)

Long Reads

Bigerati: May’s most explosive stats

http://www.slideshare.net/OgilvyAsia/bigerati-ogilvy-asia-pacific/

Digital Life: today and tomorrow 7mins state of the world overview

http://youtu.be/iG8KaWxr2gs

Creative

Turkcell Twitter campaign

http://www.simplyzesty.com/twitter/brilliant-twitter-campaign-case-study/

(Thanks to Supavadee Tantiyanon for the link)

LG Loves Indonesia

https://www.facebook.com/LGLovesIndonesia

(Thanks to Dhanushree Sant for the link)

Kitty and Lala: Chinese bloggers take center stage as Intel unveils global campaign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFbUbAWbB-s & http://www.campaignbrief.com/asia/2011/06/chinese-bloggers-take-centre-s.html

& Finally…

Take a minute to focus on yourself with these social media visualization tools…

Intel’s Museum of Me

http://www.intel.com/museumofme/r/index.htm

Link this to your Facebook account and embark on a tour of your Facebook world, complete with exhibits showcasing your photos, friends, and statuses.

(Thanks to Alexandra Mecklenburg for the link)

The Social List

http://www.the-social-list.com/

See your “worth” on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Foursquare

In defense of his friend, social activist @fahmi_fadzil  tweeted in reference to the HR policies by a local publishing company for “giving her so much s*** because she was preganant” This went on for a number of tweets with responses by angered folks on Twitter with word such as “angry” and “retarded”

*Screenshot taken off Malaysiakini.com

In a twist of fate, legal action has been issued by the publishing company with a most idiosyncratic pronouncement. Fahmi was sentenced to tweet an apology 100 times a day for his act of defamation along a total of 3 days to his 4,300 odd followers.

What is happening now is a stream of media attention directed at the company with more severe name calling and messages. Social media has started to react.

The term in the last few hours to use is “#defahmi” (An obvious wordplay between fahmi’s name and defamation). The question to bear in mind is “what kind of statement was the ‘defamed’ trying to get at?”

 It definitely now has more attention than it cried out for when most Twitter uproars in the country are a “let bygones be bygones” and usually quelled downed in a day or two (unless there is persistence of course). A situation that could have been kept off the radar if it now isn’t repeatedly tweeted 100 times a day.

With new media laws still being freshly popped in and out of the oven, legislations and settlement forms for platforms such as Twitter are still unclear for now. Defamation itself too is a loose belt of the law that’s hard to justify and find evidence for.

 It’s becoming plain to see though, that some parties should consider the reaction of the hyper-reactive Social Media stream before hitting the “Send Tweet” button.

For Twitter-holics like myself (where tweeting is like verbal diarrhea), this serves as a reminder to pay careful attention to what is being tweeted.

Fahmi is now an International sensation (with 400 new followers since appearing in the headlines), appearing on the 7th Twitter trending topic, and is one case that would be interesting to continue to observe.

China – Facebook reaches deal with Baidu

The Social Web – A map of the world’s social networks

The New New Thing – “The Future of Real-Time”

Long Reads – Spotlight on women in commerce and gaming

Creative – Extra Time from Durex in Thailand

& Finally – Cloud girlfriend!

Spotlight on India

ESPN’s Cricinfo scores record global traffic during Cricket World Cup

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/espncricinfo-scores-record-global-traffic-during-wc/646059.html

Here are some mind blowing statistics from the recent tournament, proving what a force mobile is already on the subcontinent. Fans consumed more content from ESPNcricinfo online and on mobile device than ever before, shattering all previous records logged by the website. At its peak during the India-Pakistan semifinal match, ESPNcricinfo’s share of ESPN’s total global audience was 36.1 percent online and 63.6 percent on the mobile Web, the most of any other ESPN digital platform that day. Their mobile website alone recorded more than 45 million page views, accounting for 45 percent of all page views logged during the final between India and Sri Lanka at Mumbai on April 2. It also set one-day records on March 30, logging more than 1.9 million visitors and 52.4 million page views, up 2,166 percent compared to the daily average for all of 2010, a record year for the site. ESPNcricinfo, across all digital platforms, logged 1.8 billion page views and 4.43 billion total minutes during that during the 43 day event.

Mobile broadband expected to expand further in India

http://www.outsourcery.co.uk/news/?story=mobile-broadband-set-to-expand-further-in-india&id=2385

Businesses in India may look at using the advantages of mobile broadband after the government and several groups agreed to help connect people through the medium. It is set to boom across India in the coming years after two leading organizations said that they will help develop growth in the technology.

The World Economic Forum claims that India and China are closing the tech gap

http://blogs.wsj.com/tech-europe/2011/04/12/china-india-closing-tech-gap-says-world-economic-forum/

Information and communication technologies are still most effectively used in industrialized countries, where the ready availability of the Internet, computers, mobile and fix-line phones help economies to grow, but countries such as China and India are catching up fast, according to The WEF’s 10th Global Information Technology Report. The report also states that Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Switzerland, the U.S. and Taiwan, topped the list of 138 countries.

China

Facebook reaches deal for China site with Baidu

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-11/facebook-reaches-deal-for-china-site-with-baidu-sohu-com-says.html

Facebook has signed an agreement with Baidu to set up a social-networking website in China. It is speculated that the China website won’t be integrated with Facebook’s international service.

Four things Groupon’s Andrew Mason needs to learn from Mark Zuckerberg

http://blogs.forbes.com/ericjackson/2011/04/11/what-groupons-andrew-mason-needs-to-learn-from-mark-zuckerberg/

Forbes instructs Groupon to take a page out of Facebook’s book (pun intended). Their four tips are: to identify what is and is not important, to not delegate what is important, to not try to be funny when you’re not, and to show respect for others.

(Thanks to Chris Reitermann for the link)

Interview with Baidu’s Kaiser Kuo (video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LydH9h3LL4Q

Kuo , director of international communications of Baidu, claims that Baidu’s social plans go beyond their announced partnership with Facebook. He says there are ample opportunities for search and social media to work together and create better value for both users and advertisers. According to Kuo, social media – along with Baidu’s products in search, community and mobile – have created a search-centered ecosystem that captures users’ media time.

China’s online gaming market surges; set to top $8 billion by 2014

http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/12/chinas-online-game-market-surges-set-to-top-8-billion-by-2014/

China is is rapidly becoming the world’s leader in the online games market. According to a new study, the online games market in China will exceed $8 billion by 2014. The report predicts that China will make up a quarter of the industry’s total global sales by 2014, with the U.S. falling to 22 percent.

China’s luxury consumers grow up

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/04/chinas_luxury_consumers_grow_u.html

The Chinese market for luxury products has been booming recently. In 2010, sales across categories such as jewelry, leather goods, and upmarket ready-to-wear clothing rose by 20% to reach $12.4 billion. By 2015, luxury goods sales will touch $27 billion, around 20% of global sales, making China the world’s largest luxury market. That’s not to say that marketers do not still face challenges in China’s luxury world. Chinese consumers are increasingly favoring subtlety in their luxury purchases. Also, given the piracy problem in the country, relying that a product is authentic is more important than ever.

Mysterious deaths, famous prostitutes, big fires, and an important anniversary. – see what’s “trending” every day in China

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/culture/daily-trending-topics.html

The top Baidu search terms and Sina Weibo trending topics, reported every day with pinyin, English summaries of the stories, and photos/videos where applicable.

The Social Web

Map of the world’s social networks (Infographic)

http://www.penn-olson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/social-network-map.jpg

The New New Thing

PSFK’s “Future of Real-Time”

http://www.psfk.com/future-of-real-time

PSFK’s researchers have identified key trends that are emerging around the capture and transmission of real-time information streams. These trends include human sensor networks, personal census, social sentiment, instant texting, mobile communities, instant mapping, context cartography, timeline narratives, intelligent infrastructure, networking nature, and the democracy of data.

Google sets its sights on Duolingo – which encourages people to learn new languages

http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/12/duolingo/

It is estimated that there are over 1 billion people learning a foreign language. So, a team at a Carnegie Mellon University is developing Duolingo, which will be a 100% free language learning site in which people learn by helping to translate the Web. That is, they learn by doing. Google already has plans to invest/acquire the site.

Long Reads

Women dominate the global marketplace – here are five keys to reaching them

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663594/the-whole-her

Women control 65 percent of global spending and more than 80 percent of U.S. spending. By 2014, the World Bank predicts that the global income of women will grow by more than $5 trillion. In both emerging markets and developed nations, women’s power of influence extends well beyond the traditional roles of family and education to government, business, and the environment. This report includes tips for appealing to the female consumer.

Women in games – the history of women and video gaming

http://asia.gamespot.com/features/6308305/index.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=picks&tag=picks%3Bstory%3B3

A brief history of women in storytelling transitions into an examination of what it will take to make games appeal more to female audiences. The general consensus is that the game-development world, which is very male-dominated,  needs to hire more women in creative and business roles in order to start appealing to women and girls.

Creative

OgilvyOne Bangkok: The Pizza Company Mobile Ordering App!

http://www.pizza.co.th/#/promotion?cmd=3&pdid=67

Burberry to join China’s digital revolution with fashion bash

http://www.jingdaily.com/en/luxury/burberry-to-join-chinas-digital-revolution-with-beijing-fashion-bash/

(Thanks to Supavadee Tantiyanon for the links)

Censorsh*t – an innovative play on Thailand’s censorship policy

http://asiancorrespondent.com/52276/interview-with-the-thai-student-behind-hit-censorsht-video/

Durex – the third ref plugs Extra Time

http://mediacafe.com.au/CustomContentRetrieve.aspx?ID=820654

And Finally…

Cloud girlfriend – design your perfect girlfriend on social media – sign up now!

http://cloudgirlfriend.com/

To contribute, contact: Barney.loehnis@ogilvy.com (@barneylo) & Michael.mcclelland@ogilvy.com

There are more than 30,000 non-executive members of company boards across Australia. If you are one of them, what are the questions you should be asking about how the business you manage is handling social media?

We’ve put together five “starter” questions that corporate board members should ask to gauge how well the companies they oversee are managing the risks and taking advantage of the opportunities presented by social media.

What other questions should board members be asking?

Here’s a clip from our interview…

1. Mountains and Mona Lisa - Samsung >> this has limited application as an emerging media I admit, but I offer it firstly because I was bought up on Wales, but more importantly because it was the precursor to the second idea – which is much more applicable:

2. Monuments and masses – Samsung 3D projections>> 3D projection will grow and grow as a brand experience format. These two ideas  in tandem create quite an interesting space that Samsung is beginning to own – innovation with LED and lighting -  similar to the Crowdsourcing ideas in Liverpool Street and Trafalgar Square that T Mobile had so much success in. There are lots of examples of monumental 3D projections – one most recently by BMW in Singapore. I adore this sort of creative work, because it is the true fusion of physical and digital. It creates both a physical and digital Theatre for the Brand in which consumers co-exist and co-create. Developing these “sustained conversations and dialogues” is core to building brands and emotions between them and consumers.

I also really enjoyed Google Chrome’s browser speed test. In a world full of complications I think it is a good example of how to make an intangible USP, more tangible. Until your competitor, the Opera Browser,  responds with their own  repost the Opera’s Speed test. Both ideas are sort of traditional “advertising stories” but neither will ever pay for media on TV.

A week would not be a week without some passing mention of an iPad, so here are two explorations of the iPad on the left side of leftfiled – the first is the iPad magic show from Japan; the second a low tech adaptation to make the hi tech, better: Velcro + iPad

Also several bookmarks on data visualisations and info-graphics this week – helping creative and data minds meet, or not:
David Armano’s excellent visualisations of our communication and social world: and a few others from Hubspot’s 22 social media Diagrams: and finally a good collection from Nowsourcing .

I’m pretty sure this viral is an ad for Peugeot: Why would such an event be caught on camera – and in HD? Why does the driver leave her car roof open? Why do the hushed voices mention the exact model of the car? I could go on.

This is not the first car-related viral to get a huge view count in China: a clip where a woman forces her husband to buy her a Buick now has 3,984,556 views. Similarly, a video of a Chevrolet towing away a tow truck has been viewed 1,384,215 times.

Granted, these ads — if that’s what they are — create buzz; in turn, discussion as to their authenticity creates further buzz. Such ads can also be memorable ways to communicate a car’s features: in this case, it is the Peugeot’s automatic fold-away roof.

Yet the response from viewers is often negative: a large amount of the comments simply say “fake” or “ad”; many give reasons for their suspicion. In my opinion, associating “fake” with a brand in this way is not a good way to build the trust necessary to persuade someone to buy a car.

I’d really like to know what others think about this kind of video? Are they ever a good idea?