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/creativity-productivity-and-tokyo/ http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2011/11/creativity-productivity-and-tokyo/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:50:12 +0000 Tim Ho http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/?p=4631 Japan has always been known as a creative country, country with high efficiency and clever solutions, of which are all reflected through their daily lives, from super advanced futuristic looking vending machines to crazy graffiti art at store front.
I was lucky enough to go on a Tokyo team trip with the social regional team at Ogilvy, below are 5 things I learned in these few days about their creativity.

Work life balance
If you haven’t been to Tokyo, you would probably think that it’s just another busy and stressful city. When I arrived in Tokyo, I was very surprised by how relaxed people were; slowly walking on Harajuku street, hanging out at bars and cafes with friends, and dad playing frisbee with the sons at the park, it’s just not what you would expect from one of the craziest cities in the world. People there get off work at around 6 (sometimes a bit later of course), compared to other markets (especially in Asia), where people easily get off work everyday at 12am, Japanese has more space to be inspired and have their own life outside of work, they know how to relax and keep themselves productive.

Hardworking
I was rather impressed by how hard working Japanese people are. In many markets, people spend 14 hours in the office with 4 hours of Facebooking and being distracted, the Japanese work 6-8 hours with huge focus, very much like how the French and other European countries work. I think many of us in Asia need to learn from the Japanese that hardworking doesn’t mean physically staying in office for longer hours.

Care about details
It’s the details that matter. Many cities (including Hong Kong) offer products and services that look OK or even great from the surface, but they don’t bother to investigate further to give the best, at least not many of them do anyways. For example, there are Italian restaurants in Hong Kong that look completely authentic for the atmosphere, they have great menu, with above average food, but the authenticity would stop there, while the Japanese would study and investigate the history, speak to the Italians about special dishes, figure out the correct table cloth, the perfect ingredients, the wine that’s best paired with the food, the dish presentation, the background music etc. Asian countries tend to settle to do good and above average, which has nothing wrong with it, but Japanese like to try and make things best.

Master a skill
It’s about their passion, Japanese are not afraid of doing what they love. They don’t stop doing what they love because the skill is not appreciated by school or parents. They master what they love to do and they get damn good at them. This is something many people don’t have the guts/ don’t have the chance to do in other Asian countries.

They don’t give a fuck
We were there during Halloween, and it was the best time to see how they just don’t care about how people see them. Halloween is not the only reason for them to be open-minded, they were born with it and they generally just like to enjoy their lives. When it comes to creativity, I think it’s quite important to have fun in mind to be inspired.

There are always great things to learn from other culture, but I’m honestly quite impressed by Japanese’s way of living, the creative, fun, and friendly people are what make the city charming!

- Tim Ho

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

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

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

Though often lumped together by Westerners, Asian nations are showing their uniqueness more than ever. At the same time, they are showing us that in today’s globalized world, people (and youth in particular) share many of the same dreams and aspirations. This week, several extremely different yet equally powerful pieces were released on or by Asia’s youth. Check them out.

What does it mean to be young in China?
http://www.psfk.com/2011/03/video-what-does-it-mean-to-be-young-in-china.html
This video remixes old clips that Chinese youth would recognize with modern representations of China’s burgeoning youth culture. The video shows a passion for musical events, extreme sports, and socializing.

Indonesia – the next big thing in digital media
http://www.penn-olson.com/2011/03/25/indonesia-the-next-big-thing-in-digital-media/
Several students from a university in Singapore compiled this video on why Indonesia is the “next big thing” in digital media. They cite statistics such as Indonesia’s huge amount of Facebook users, the high number of Internet cafes, and the growing Internet penetration as proof.

Sour economy and multiple new crises test Japan’s young
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/world/asia/01youth.html?_r=1&hp
Hundreds of thousands of young Japanese people resume their working lives this week, and they face a transformed Japan that will test a generation reared in affluence yet dismissed by its elders as selfish materialists.

Download this great presentation from here:

psfk.com/2010/11/which-nation-is-the-most-innovative.html

Japan leads in terms of total patents granted, but it’s the Republic of Korea that is the most efficient in its innovation – each dollar spent on research is likelier to result in a patent.

Tencent Profit Increases 52% on China Online Games Sales, Advertising Surge

bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-10/tencent-profit-rises-52-on-china-online-games-sales-update1-.html

The company had 636.6 million active user accounts for its QQ instant-messaging service at the end of September, compared with 612.5 million three months earlier, it said. The online- chat program had 18 times more subscribers than Microsoft Corp.’s MSN service in China at the end of last year, according to research company Analysis International.

How Baidu Won China

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_47/b4204060242597.htm

The company has a 73 percent share of the world’s largest Internet market by users, and has the fifth-largest market capitalization ($38.3 billion) among the world’s pure-play Internet companies. It’s now 57 percent bigger than Yahoo!.

Baidu’s stock price has more than doubled since January, when Google first disclosed … “a new approach” to China, with the company saying it would no longer censor search results.”Every once in a while a gift is handed to you. We handed one to Robin,” says Eric Schmidt CEO of Google.

Social Media Booming in Indonesia and India

While you weren’t looking, Indonesia became Facebook’s second largest market, Twitter’s fifth largest market, and the number ONE Foursquare nation. The social media boom in Indonesia is also spreading its influence to other Asian nations.

techcrunch.com/2010/11/06/hey-facebook-twitter-and-foursquare-zynga-and-i-are-in-indonesia-where-are-you/

The mobile social network Mig33, which boasts over two million Indian users, has just secured US $8.9 million, most from an Indonesian entrepreneur.

watblog.com/2010/11/09/mig33-raises-8-9-million-from-indonesian-entrepreneur/

India’s Challenge to Facebook

bbc.co.uk/news/business-11525627

Ibibo is making a good challenge on Facebook by developing a range of local relevant games. Those games include “The Great Indian Parking Wars”, where users collect points by parking “legally or illegally” and – in a very local touch – removing idle cows. Like its home base of Gurgaon, which has turned from a village near Delhi to a shining new city in a matter of years, Ibibo has come seemingly out of nowhere. Since it was set up in January 2007, Ibibo has massed 3.7 million users, making it the largest locally based social network in India.

Kik, the Skype of Text Messages, is Registering 250,000 New Users a Day

venturebeat.com/2010/11/05/kik-sms-growth/

(Thanks to Rohan Deshpande for the link)

Fashion Forward in China’s Booming E-Commerce Market.

bloggerinsight.com/blog

Chinese business to consumer fashion e-commerce has grown by 100% in the past three years. TaoBao controls 76% of China’s eCommerce, but increasingly growth will be driven by more sophisticated offerings that can differentiate on service and style. With Gap joining established Chinese forces such as VANCL and Taobao, the industry is poised to grow even more.

Bain & Co on Luxury in China

What luxury goods to Chinese consumers buy? Bain and Co. have just released their new study of the Chinese luxury market. Research points to a new generation of luxury shoppers. 67% of the growth in 2010 is from new consumers. Also, luxury interest in expanding from Tier 1 cities to China’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

bain.com/bainweb/PDFs/cms/Public/China_Luxury_Market_Study_2010.pdf

Let’s start with the numbers: in recent months Facebook has slain mighty 
giants Yahoo and Google to become the number one site in virtually every SE 
Asian country (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and rapidly growing in Japan and Korea). This 
staggering growth has happened in the past nine months. Indonesia is 
Facebook’s second largest market in the world with 30m users (3m in the 
last month alone), with Philippines the sixth largest with 17m users and 
India with 15m and poised to explode. Most Asian markets are growing 10-15% 
every month. Hong Kong has one of the highest penetration rates of 48% of 
the population; Indonesia has 100.3% penetration of people online. Facebook 
users tend to be 16-30, spending about 30mins online every day, and no 
surprise that the Facebook audiences the more influential one – therefore 
the one that brands need to engage with most.

Never again can we talk about digital not being mass media. There has never 
been such a penetrated concentration of humankind in a single media or 
social entity.

Check out the stats below:

http://www.facebakers.com/facebook-statistics/?interval=last-6-months#chart-i…