It’s also worth noting that Japan has added 500,000 users and Korea 347,000 users in the past month – Japan has the highest growth rate (8.01%) of the top 25 countries – so we also expect to see the social media landscape changing rapidly in both these markets in 2012.

Facebook Asia – January 2012 (as quoted from Socialbakers.com).

]]> http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2012/01/india-now-worlds-second-largest-facebook-country/feed/ 1 http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2011/11/a-tablet-that-could-reach-the-sky/ http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2011/11/a-tablet-that-could-reach-the-sky/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:37:56 +0000 Vednarayan Sirdeshpande http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/?p=4640 On October 5th 2011, India launched the world’s cheapest touch-screen tablet computer, priced at just $35 (£23). Costing a fraction of Apple’s iPad, the subsidised ‘Aakash’ (meaning Sky) is a 7-inch Android tablet.

Naturally, the Aakash has limited specs because it is so cheap, but they aren’t that bad. It runs on Android 2.2, features a 7-inch resistive touch screen with 800-x-480-pixel resolution and has a 366-MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, 2GB of internal storage and a microSD slot to add more storage. It also has two USB ports for connecting accessories and a 3.5mm headphone jack for listening to music.

The Aakash also includes a 2100 mAh battery that can last for up to 3 hours. It will have some pre-loaded applications, but unfortunately it won’t have access to the Android Market for downloading more apps.

Aakash and what it means to India

While the device will not impress Indians with high-end laptops and iPads, the Aakash tablet could help less affluent Indians connect to the Internet for the first time. At present, just 8 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people have internet access and one factor preventing it is the availability of low-cost devices. Comparably, 40 percent of Chinese citizens have Internet access.

However, it’s predominately targeted at the youth. At the launch, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal handed out 500 Aakash tablets to students who will test them. He said the government planned to buy 100,000 tablets. It hopes to distribute 10 million of the devices to students over the next few years.

This is similar to the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project set up to oversee the creation of an affordable educational device for use in the developing world.

Regardless of the small number of tablets being promised to be distributed in the coming years, Aakash has the potential to explode like the “mobile revolution” in India.

The tipping point for mobile penetration in India was when both call rates and mobile phone prices started to dip. Ownership of a phone was no longer a function of who you know, but rather conforms to the conventional forces of demand and supply. Waiting lists were down and voice calls in India have become amongst the cheapest in the world. Within a few years mobile density overtook tele-density.

Similarly, making a tablet affordable to the Aam Admi (average Indian) in small town India, Aakash has the potential to provide a superior web experience as compared to the mobile phone (currently, a walled garden). There could be a situation where the first web/internet experience for many Indians could come through a tablet and not the mobile.

This will have huge implications on the current/future plans being put in place by major brands to leverage mobile as the key medium to advertise to the masses. Majority of mobile advertising monies could well be diverted to creating branded applications pre-loaded on the Aakash? Making – games, utility apps, podcasts a standard feature in every marketing/digital plan.

But, one thing is certain – A device like the Aakash is set to empower many in India and will be the best bet to get the masses connected.

When the first display banners appeared in the 90’s, they were greeted with much fan fare and significantly higher Click Through Rate (CTR) as compared to today’s CTR.  Over the years, display advertising has been the fuel that turns the Internet’s content machine and allows publishers to provide free online content to consumers. However, as online advertising developed and grew in spending and also in sophistication, CTR declined.

What caused this decline in CTR in the first place? Evidence shows that the success of online advertising has paradoxically been the prime cause for the decline in CTR performance. As more budgets were poured into display, consumers were exposed to more and more ads. However, the number of ads that a user clicked on did not catch up with the number of ads that a user was exposed to, thus reducing the overall CTR.

The story is even worse on the top social networking site in the world – Facebook. An analysis by online analytics firm Webtrends of more than 11,000 Facebook campaigns shows that ads on the social networking site last year had click-through rates which on average were about half the click-through rate of your typical non-Facebook web banner ad. The average click-through rate (CTR) for Facebook ads in 2010 was 0.051%, or about one click-through for every 2,000 ad impressions. The industry standard CTR is 0.1 percent, or one CT for every 1,000 impressions. Facebook’s CTR last year also was down from 0.063% in 2009.

Our greatest strength has become our greatest weakness:

Clients and agencies have become so obsessed with data and measurability, that they have confused the measurable with the meaningful. Click-through rates, interaction rates, open rates, download rates.  Cost-per-acquisition, -per-lead, -per-action, -per-thousand.  Engagement metrics.  Real-time optimization.  Dynamic multi-variable testing…

The decade-long quantitative orgy has led to a process built up around how ads are bought and sold, based around a media plan, and RFPs. All the good, creative thoughts get boiled down into spreadsheets. In a world of over-produced impressions, even great work by marketers is ignored at best and more commonly not even seen.

Pure focus on measuring display ads is killing desire (and Big Brand spending).

We really should be able to create desire, and desire lives in the heart not the hard drive.  It’s called the “art” of persuasion for a reason.  Without desire, there’s little to measure.  Declining register receipts will tell you all you need to know.

A new standard is born:

The world is rapidly moving towards devices/screens which function on “touch” and “gestures”, there are  some quiet clear trends for us to see –

Smartphones with just touchscreen interfaces, rather than those with screen and keypad, will become the norm by 2016, according to a new study from Juniper Research. The analyst group says that by 2016, shipments of touchscreen-only smartphones will surpass 700 million per year, or 72% of total smartphone shipments, against half of all total shipments in 2010.

A report by Gartner, the technology consultancy, forecasts that tablet sales will more than double in 2011 from an expected 19.5m units this year, and surpass 208m units in 2014.

Similarly, TV’s and gaming console’s will increasingly use “gesture recognition” to drive consumer involvement with content.

But, all this techtonic shift is guaranteed to have an impact on the current display advertising evaluation metrics. For starters we should rechristen the “click”.  I foresee the new definition of the “click” to be “touch”. “Pay per touch” how does that sound? By including the aspect of “touch”, digital creative directors will have a lot more freedom to think explosive banner units.  A crude example is to allow consumers to draw out the perfect Swoosh for Nike on a banner property.

I see “gestures” impacting the way we evaluate engagement, interaction and views. Call it the “Cost per gesture” model, augmented advertising through display ads could be a reality.

Hence, I see a future where we shift our focus from mindless measurement to desire creation, we should look forward to creating work with, literally, unimaginable creativity with the right kind of measurement model. In other words, work that works like magic for our clients’ brands, media commissions included.

Spotlight on Malaysia – Education and crime in Malaysian tech focus

Other Asia – Updated Internet stats from all over Asia

China

China Mobile makes far more money than Unicom and Telecom

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/08/25/china-mobile-makes-way-way-more-money-than-unicom-and-telecom/

In the past year, China Mobile made 61 billion RMB (about US$9.6 billion) in profits alone. For the first half of 2011, China Mobile’s profits were six times more than China Telecom’s, and twenty-four times more than China Unicom’s.

China tops US to become largest PC market

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14639021

China passed the US in PC shipments in the second quarter of 2011, marking the first time the Asian nation has done so. 18.5 million units were shipped in China during the quarter versus 17.7 million in the United States. The US is still expected to remain the largest PC market for the year of 2011 but will probably relinquish the throne to China at the end of 2012.

 Microsoft forms cloud-computing partnership in China

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2011/08/23/microsoft-forms-cloud-computing-partnership-in-china/

Microsoft has announced a new joint-venture in Beijing which will, “develop, market and sell solutions for the booming cloud-computing market in China.”

Their partner is China Standard Software, a Shanghai-based R&D company.

(Thanks to Pete Mitchell for the link)

Chinese TV alludes to US website attacks

http://allthingsd.com/20110825/chinese-state-tv-alludes-to-u-s-website-attacks/

Chinese state television has broadcast footage of what two experts on the Chinese military say appears to be a military institute demonstrating software designed to attack websites in the U.S. The evidence is far from concrete, however some experts believe it to be an example of an official source contradicting China’a repeated assertions that it doesn’t engage in cyberattacks.

Spotlight on Malaysia

Social media helps find lost student in Malaysia

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/world/asia/22iht-search22.html?_r=1&ref=technology

The hunt for a lost student in Malaysia spread from email to Facebook to a Twitter hashtag and eventually resulted in his safe return home. Malaysians connected with the student’s family in the US and organized to gather information of his whereabouts.

Government donates computers to pondok schools

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=609979

The government is helping some of the poorest schools in Malaysia move into the digital age by giving them computer equipment. At the prompting of ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan, the Malaysian government will give the equipment to five schools in Southern Malaysia. “Pondok” is the word for hut schools.

Cyber casinos busted in Malaysia

http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20110819-295158.html

The Malaysian police have been cracking down on an epidemic of corrupt cyber-casinos in the country in recent years, and this week arrested three more suspects in the city of Georgetown. The police have conducted 286 raids since 2009 on illegal gambling centers in the North-East District of Penang and confiscated 4,135 computers and gambling devices worth about RM6mil (2 million USD).

Other Asia

Asia’s Internet by the numbers

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/08/24/asias-internet-by-the-numbers/

Check out these great interactive graphs concerning the Internet in Asia. Great statistics include: 52.2% of Asia’s Internet users are in China (with India, Japan, and Indonesia combined making up 25%); South Korea has the highest Internet penetration with 81% (followed by Brunei(?!), Japan, and Singapore); and Indonesia, India, and the Philippines lead the continent in the number of Facebook members.

 New statistics show that blogs are big in Japan

http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2011/8/Japan_Internet_Users_Spend_Most_Time_on_Blogs_Worldwide

The average blog reader in Japan spends a whopping 62.6 minutes a month reading blogs (on the bog?). This makes it the number one country in the world in terms of blog engagement. Traffic to blogs is continuing to rise in the country as well, quieting murmurs that microblogging is making traditional blogging obsolete.

Social media in India (Infographic)

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/08/24/infographic-social-media-in-india/

India is a social media powerhouse. They are the third largest Facebook country in the world (behind the USA and Indonesia) with 31 million users. 100 million people are online in India, with 20 million of those coming online daily.

Help write this newsletter (please!) – If you see anything interesting send it to me at:

Barney.loehnis@ogilvy.com (@barneylo) & Michael.mcclelland@ogilvy.com

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Whatever your personal opinion is on foursquare and Facebook Places, there is no doubt that there is a marketing paradise just waiting to be tapped into.  Location-based marketing is slowly emerging with the rapidly increasing popularity of these services.  While some companies have had small stints of success in this field, we have yet to see a major breakthrough in this market.  In order know how to be successful, it is important to understand how and when users “check-in” in varied locations, along with which specific service they choose to use and why.

THE MARKET LEADER

The first location-based service to be introduced to the market and reach a height of significant popularity was without a doubt, foursquare.  Foursquare was created and introduced to the public in 2009 and it is no secret that they have gained immense popularity. In a mere two years, foursquare has registered its 10 millionth user as of June 2011.  An article from techrunch.com states that, “According to Foursquare, the company has seen 358 million international check-ins,” and at the high rate of 3 million check-ins per day, that number is sure to increase in time to come.

FACEBOOK PLACES

Facebook Places is the next major competitor when it comes to location services.  According to socialbaker.com, Facebook check-ins only average out to about 750,000 per day; well behind the 3 million that foursquare currently is raking in.  However, Facebook has the sheer power of numbers as a strong aide in this fight for control.  Foursquare’s major landmark of 10 million users is simply petty when compared to Facebook’s 500 million active members.  Another plus to Facebook’s behalf is the fact that the average user has about 130 friends, whereas foursquare’s average tops out at 5-8 people.  While the impression percentage is definitely going to be higher for Facebook Places, Dennis Crowley, co-founder of foursquare, claimed that this is in fact a benefit for his company.  “That is what we want. Facebook is like everyone you have ever made eye contact with in your entire life. Foursquare is the people you see at a bar and don’t avoid.”

THE SCIENCE OF ‘CHECK-INS’

This brings us to the interesting topic of where people are checking in and which specific service they are using while doing it.  A quick stop at socialbaker.com showed that Facebook Places’ top fifty check-ins in the world are primarily at airports.  Sporting arenas nab the second highest check-in spot but are far behind the first category.  Upon reading this list, I took to researching these airports in order find a connection between them.  In fact, there is a major factor that ties these top transit venues together.  These airports are all linked insofar as they are all hubs for major airlines such as Delta, Continental, American etc.  Foursquare’s statistics, however, yielded different results.  According to a figure they released, the top categories for check-ins on their website were food, work/office, and shops, in that order.

As can be inferred from the data, Facebook Places is primarily used by travelers and people who are broadcasting to a larger pool of people.  In Facebook, your post is viewed by all of your friends (on average, 130 people) and can be “liked” or “commented” by these people, which can be seen by all of your friends as well.  Essentially, Facebook Places is used as more of a proclamation to announce where you are; comparable to a status symbol on social media.

Foursquare is a website where individuals broadcast to a much more intimate crowd of 5-8 on average.  Dennis Crowley, co-founder of foursquare states, they are focusing on the individual’s “inner circle,” or the group of people of whose activities and whereabouts they actually care to follow and know.  These inferences are evident when examining the areas where people check in as well.  Checking into airports and sporting arenas are a way of saying “Hey look at me, I am doing something cool and I want to tell you about it,” which provides a very different implication than checking into a bar or restaurant.  These types of check-ins are more personal, as if saying “Hey guys, I am having a couple drinks at the local bar, come by and have a few.”  By posting their location they are in essence sending an inviting message to their “inner circle” whom are likely to be around them.

What it comes down to is that there is a deep-rooted psychology behind “checking in” that caters to different types of people.  Facebook has reached its level of success because it is not only based the real world, but our ideal version of it.  Also, is provides us with a system in which we get feedback for what we choose to post.  Because it has become incorporated as a norm in today’s society, any activity we add is an addition to our own identity, which is why we choose to share positive things.  According to Internet psychologist Anders Colding-Jorgensen, “people don’t share stuff because they have tried it, they share stuff that makes them look good.”  This can be translated over into the check-in system as well.  People are choosing to share things that make them look good.  For this reason, it makes sense that travelers choose to share check-ins at airports on Facebook because it makes them look prominent.  Those who are checking into restaurants on foursquare are also making themselves look good, but only feel the need to present it to their close friends.

Overall it is without question that location-based services such as foursquare and Facebook Places are changing the way businesses choose to market their products or services.  The important thing is to recognize which crowd you are aiming for and what they interests are.  Foursquare users are more likely to try products or services that are geared toward personal interaction.  Foursquare is a much more personal site where users communicate with a small group of people they consider to be their inner circle.  Facebook Places users, however, are a crowd that is more status-driven. It is a geosocial service that allows Facebook users to communicate their location with their entire social circle.  In this sense they are more likely to find interest in products or services of prominence and class. In the end it is an untapped market with the potential to prove quite lucrative to the right business model.  It is just a matter of who figures it out first.

Tencent tests microblog translation tool, opening door for Chinese sites to adopt English

http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/06/22/tencent-tests-microblog-translation-tool-paves-way-for-chinese-sites-to-adopt-english/

Chinese Internet giant Tencent has recently partnered with Kingsoft, maker of the machine translation product PowerWord, and Youdao, Netease’s online dictionary, to bridge the language gap among users of its microblogging platform by developing a microblog translation tool. The technology will be responsible for automatic translations to and from English, while Youdao will offer translations for Japanese and Korean. In addition to these two, Tencent is reportedly in talks with several other major translation companies to bring other languages into its microblogging platform.

Cartier joins other luxury brands by getting a Youku channel

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/21/cartier-lv-youku-video-channel/

Cartier has launched a branded channel on Youku.com, China’s biggest video-sharing site. It joins six other upscale brands – Louis Vuitton, Dior, Burberry, Gucci, Omega, and Mido – in opting to engage with Chinese consumers via Youku as a part of their social media strategy in the country.

Apps in Asia – China huge, Japan most expensive

http://mashable.com/2011/06/22/china-app-store-market-study/

China is now the second largest iOS apprket in the world (after the USA). Japan accounts for most of the revenue in Asia, as Japan is the most expensive in the region. The study also found that the majority of popular iPhone apps in Asia are only popular in Asia. This is especially true in China, South Korea and Japan. In countries such as India and Indonesia, app localization is less important.

Other Asia

Consumers in Southeast Asia bought over 260,000 tablets in the first quarter of this year

http://www.gfkrt.com/asia/news_events/news/news_single/008189/index.en.html

261,000 tablets spanning almost ten brands were sold across seven Southeast Asian markets* from January to April this year. Tablets operating on the Android operating system (OS) has been rising in prevalence and is today the most popular platform embraced by users. In April, almost half of all tablets (46%) purchased by consumers was an Android compared to five months before, in November, where the proportion was only slightly just over one out of ten (13%).

Taiwan-based chip developer reveals Amazon’s plans to release tablet PCs in September

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110621PD222.html

Amazon adopts processors developed by Texas Instruments, with Taiwan-based Wintek to supply touch panels, ILI Technology to supply LCD driver ICs and Quanta Computer responsible for assembly, the sources indicated. Monthly shipments are expected to be nearly a million units. The autumn launch will allow Amazon to target Thanksgiving and Christmas shoppers in key markets.

The problem with Facebook in Japan

http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/20/problem-with-facebook-in-japan/

In a survey of Facebook users in Japan, all participants agreed that Facebook is less secure, has a more complicated user interface, and is definitely not popular compared with Mixi. Many also had issues with Facebook’s real name policy. Participants also pointed out the Facebook goes against the traditioncal Japanese values of harmony and also is too literal for the very escapism and fiction-frenzied culture of Japan.

Tsutenkaku Tower to get LED lights

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110622f1.html

Hitachi will replace most neon lights for its advertisements on Osaka’s signature Tsutenkaku Tower with light-emitting diodes in a bid to cut electricity consumption by half and contribute to nationwide energy-saving efforts.

Southeast Asia to ship over 100 million smartphones this year

http://www.zdnetasia.com/sea-to-ship-100m-phones-this-year-62300828.htm

106 million mobile phones are expected to be shipped across Southeast Asia this year, marking a 19 percent increase from 90 million units last year. The number will increase to 163 million by 2015 at a compound annual growth rate of 39 percent. This region encompasses Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

South Korea – eCommerce Cannes winner for Tesco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPM4Ui6Sjfk

Sina Weibo launches a user data center as a potential revenue source
http://techrice.com/2011/06/15/sina-weibo-launches-user-data-center-a-potential-source-of-revenue-infographic/
Sina Weibo is offering their 140 million users tools to track and monitor their own Weibo accounts through data.weibo.com. The site allows users to monitor their own accounts on a weekly basis in five categories: influencer rating, followers, people followed, weekly top weibo, and top trending topics.

Renren to issue social credit card
http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/06/15/renren-partners-with-china-merchants-bank-to-issue-credit-card-with-social-features/
Renren has just announced its partnership with one of China’s leading commercial banks, China Merchants Bank, to create a co-branded Renren CMB credit card that takes advantage of the social network’s features.
This credit card program takes advantage of social, location, and mobile services, where credit card holders will be able to “check in” from their current locations to receive promotional information from any of the ten thousand Merchants Bank merchant partners who happen to be located within the vicinity.

China: Truth, rumors, and a basket of fruit
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/06/truth-rumors-and-fruit-baskets.html
China has been awash with rumours and uprisings in recent months. Part of this is due to access to the Internet. Though sites are censored and rumours are eventually erased from the public forum, authorities are still struggling to balance the release of information and public opinion.

Yahoo/Alibaba/Alipay/Jack Ma/Carol Bratz: What happened an what it really means
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2011/06/yahoo_alibaba_alipay_jack_ma_and_what_really_happened_and_what_it_means.html
Yahoo owns a part of Alibaba, which owned Alipay, the online payment business. According to Chinese law, this means it cannot be foreign owned. Yahoo alleges it just recently learned that Alibaba had transferred ownership of Alipay to a fully domestic Chinese entity. Alibaba is saying it did that so as to bring Alipay in line with the laws prohibiting foreign ownership of an online payment company.

Chinese E-Commerce Giant Taobao Splits Itself Up
http://www.businessinsider.com/taobao-split-jack-ma-2011-6?
Taobao, the biggest commerce site in China, is splitting itself up into three sites and entities. Taobao is often referred to as the “eBay of China” but it’s a much broader e-commerce platform and the split reflects that. Now there will be Taobao itself, a consumer-to-consumer marketplace (i.e. like eBay), Taobao Mall, a business-to-consumer marketplace (i.e. businesses open storefront on Taobao Mall to sell to consumers) and eTao, a shopping search engine. Despite the split, still no IPO of Taobao, on the horizon.

Chinese now spend 41% of their online time on social networks
http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/06/13/chinese-now-spend-41-of-their-time-online-on-social-networks-in-lieu-of-news-sites/
A new report reveals that the Chinese now spend 41% of their time online on social networks, which indicates a major shift in how Chinese netizens are no longer purely consumers of web content, but are now more open to communicate, share, and engage online as well.
(Thanks to Sascha Engel for the link)

Chinese Secretly Copy Austrian UNESCO Town
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,768754,00.html
Residents of the Austrian mountain town of Hallstatt, population 800, are scandalized. A Chinese firm has plans to replicate the village — including its famous lake — in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, Austrian media reported this week.

Other Asia

Ebay, Yahoo, Google, Nokia, and Skype announce Asia Internet Coalition
http://www.campaignasia.com/Article/260505,ebay-yahoo-google-nokia-and-skype-launch-asia-internet-coalition.aspx
Ebay, Yahoo, Google, Nokia and Skype have joined forces to launch a new industry association, The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC), which aims to promote understanding and resolution of Internet policy issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

Village in India named after a Groupon clone
http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/15/village-in-india-named-after-a-groupon-clone
An Indian Groupon clone has adopted a village called Shiv Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, India, and renamed it to Snapdeal.com Nagar. The one-year-old online group-buying start-up will develop the village’s infrastructure, including installation of water pumps and support of the local school and hospital.

Taiwanese newspaper pre-announces iPad3
http://allthingsd.com/20110614/taiwan-newspaper-pre-announces-7-inch-ipad-3/
Taiwan’s Economic Daily, which correctly predicted some of the specs of the original iPad well ahead of its debut, has stated that Apple has another iPad in the works and intends to launch it before the end of the year. Rumour states that it will have a 7-inch touchscreen with an image resolution five to six times greater than the iPad2.

Malaysia braces for cyber-attacks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110615/tc_afp/malaysiaturkeytechnologyinternethacking
Malaysian officials are bracing for hacker attacks on government websites by a group which sabotaged Turkish sites last week to protest against Internet censorship. Internet activists Anonymous warned on a website that they would target Malaysia’s government portal www.Malaysia.gov.my.

Singapore promotes healthy eating with apps
http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/06/10/singapore-promotes-healthy-eating-through-iphone-app/
To promote healthy eating, Singapore’s Health Promotion Board recently launched ‘Healthy Chef,’ an iPhone app that provides healthy cooking recipes for Singaporeans. The app provides over 70 recipes created by renowned chefs in Singapore with choices over Chinese, Malay, Indian or Western cuisines. A user can search for recipes based on calorie level and save them within their shopping list for future reference.
(Thanks to June Saowanee for the link)

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

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

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90872/7287763.html

Apparently in bygone days (the 1980s), “three major items” – usually a watch, a bicycle and a sewing machine – could usually secure a woman’s hand in marriage. Over time, Chinese ladies have wisened up and in the 1990s those three items became a modern refrigerator, a TV set and a washing machine. Today, they’ve had enough with three items – now many young Chinese women are demanding that their suitors purchase apartments before even thinking about getting down on one knee. Many starry-eyed youngsters thinks that all of these transactions have taken the romance out of love, and have turned to new technology to relay old sentiments – resulting in 163,000 140-character love letters appearing on t.sina.com (the Chinese microblogging site) on Valentine’s Day. Over sixty-three million Chinese people are microblogging now, so expect and even bigger number of micro-Valentines next year.

Indian website offers virtual wives

http://thenextweb.com/asia/2011/02/15/indian-website-offers-virtual-wives/

Nervous about getting married? Give it a test dive with Bharat Matrimony, an Indian website where bachelors can get a “taste” of the type of wife they would prefer as a life partner. Register, and you will then receive calls during the day with pre-recorded messages from your virtual wife. Once they give it a test, Bharat Matrimony hopes to encourage men to step forward and sign up with their Matrimonial Site, where they can find a real wife.

China: Beware of the Valentine’s Day virus (no, not that one)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/Beware-of-Valentines-Day-virus/articleshow/7492914.cms

The China National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre issued a message warning computer users not to open spam mail with Valentine’s Day messages in the subject line. Such mails may contain worms like “Worm_ Blebla.B”, “VBS_ILoveyou” and “Vbs_Valentin.A” and do significant damage to computers.

Ogilvy Group Melbourne: Puma unites lonely runners for Valentine’s Day

http://www.campaignasia.com/Article/248486,puma-unites-lonely-runners-for-valentine8217s-day.aspx

The campaign featured the tagline ‘Meet someone fit’. Participants were encouraged to wear different coloured T-shirts to indicate their level of availability. Runners had the option of following a ‘cheeky quicky’ 4.5 kilometre course or a more intense 6.5 kilometre one.

Hef’s hard drive – every Playboy issue from 1953 to 2010 on a 250 GB hard drive fro $299.95!

http://news.creativeleague.com/2010/12/hefs-hard-drive

Over fifty years of great….reading. All in one place!