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/weekly-webinar-social-media-in-the-healthcare-industry/ http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/2011/11/weekly-webinar-social-media-in-the-healthcare-industry/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:20:54 +0000 Lisa Werner http://www.asiadigitalmap.com/?p=4892 Last Friday here from Hong Kong we presented a weekly training on trends in social media in the healthcare space. For those of you working with pharmaceutical companies or healthcare providers, we revealed ways to get in on the conversation and some examples of who’s on the forefront of it, especially in Asia. There are two distinct audiences in this space which are utilizing social media in unique ways:

1) The Consumer-Patient

2) Physicians/Healthcare Providers

Consumers have become increasingly empowered to take their health into their own hands via the Internet, gaining access to vast medical information portals, self-monitoring and self-diagnosis tools, and peer support social networks. In China, for example, 80% of consumers conduct online research before consulting their doctors. In Asia, bringing these tools to mobile phones has been key in increasing access to more reliable health information. This is evidenced by the rise of mobile health apps, which indulge our burgeoning obsession with ‘the quantified self.’ However, it can also be as simple as being able to SMS a network of doctors for answers to pressing questions in real-time.  SMS remains a powerful tool to connect patients and doctors in Asia (See mDhil.com in India and Buddyworks in the Philippines). As questions of trust persist in the healthcare industry, Asians increasingly refer to social networks to confirm or deny rumors or to simply look for the most credible answers. Likewise, social networks serve as a strong source of support for others going through a similar experience.

From the physician’s point of view, they have to now manage this newly empowered patient, who comes to them armed with information and data gathered online. They find they are having to make themselves more accessible via a multiplicity of channels while adhering to established codes of ethics and confidentiality (as often official regulatory guidelines about physicians’ social media conduct are lacking). Indeed doctors are now blogging and on instant messaging services, out to raise awareness as well as their own profile in their field. Eighty percent of Chinese doctors use online resources for general medical news or to stay up to date with clinical information. There has been an absolute explosion in doctors’ social networks. Check out DXY.cn in China for proof, where over 2 million doctors converse, exchange knowledge, and set up professional profiles. These networks are popular in Asia particularly where doctors don’t have access to the multitude of hard copy peer review journals as in the West. They are looking to stay current with research and cross-reference solutions for their patients. Like their patients, doctors are increasingly embracing mobile technologies to facilitate patient care and research.

All the major pharma companies have a social media presence but face intense scrutiny and increasing regulation. So what value can the pharma maker provide to the social media savvy patient/doctor?

• Curate credible and trustworthy medical information. Become a destination for reliable answers for disease management, not just a brochure of products
• Facilitate conversation and support networks. Bring those facing similar challenges together
• Give them useful tools that are relevant to your products and their lives. Breathe branded utility
• Be transparent, open and honest. Display a willingness to exchange information and care
• Gather intelligence from these forums to innovate and spur R&D

Thoughts? Questions? Additional insights? Leave your comment below or email me at lisa.werner@ogilvy.com.

As a recent Ogilvy transplant from Washington D.C. and the newest member of the APAC Digital Influence team based in Hong Kong, I knew I’d have a long list of client introductions and a few speaking engagements within my first 30 days.  As I prepared for the move, I was hyper-sensitive to the idea that I’d be a newcomer to the region and spent considerable time studying the major social sites for the APAC region.  All of this in an effort to avoid dropping the F-word when I should have said “Orkut” or “Mixi” or any one of the other social networks.  You might say I had an America Social Media Accent and I tried to loose it before I landed in Hong Kong.

Well, for those like me still learning the statistics that shape the social web in Asia, I have news for you.  Drop the F-bomb.  Drop it often.  Facebook, now more than ever, reigns supreme in most Asia Pacific regions with a dominate social network.  According to comSore, Facebook is the dominate social network for 9 out of the 12 APAC regions.   And, for markets in which the dominate social network really dominates (e.g. over 60% web penetration) the figure jumps to 7 out of 8.

Does that mean all my studying was for nothing?  Certainly not.  Every market is unique and worthy of special exploration.  While a few of the regions may share a similar social site (e.g. Facebook) that doesn’t mean there are not drastic differences in the way people consume media and share content online.  The mosaic of cultures and web behaviors that make up this region are more than any one blog post could possibly address.  Though, after 30 days of working in the APAC Digital Influence group, I can report that Facebook is alive and well in most corners of the world.  And yes, I hear the Facebook Bomb dropped on most days, just like in the US.

This report did not include China in which Facebook and most other networks are banned.  You can read up on the social networks that call China home (and all things related to mainland China) by following our Asia Digital Map China tag here. Hat tip to Ogilvy’s Daniel Brenikov for his recent post exploring Facebook’s growth across Southeast Asia.

Why Tweetup?

Some of you might have seen tweets about the Ogilvy’s APAC Digital Influence Summit lately. Ogilvy’s DI Summit is an internal event held by the Asia Pacific Regional team where all the digital experts from around the region will be attending a 3-day event in Hong Kong to exchange digital knowledge, connect and bond with other team

Although the event is not open for public, we would like to offer you a chance to meet our team, head of the global digital influence team John Bell will also be flying all the way from Washington DC! It is a very rare opportunity for you to meet all of us at once, in the offline world!

When?

Tweetup will be held this Sunday, June 27th at 7pm. Not the perfect timing for tweetup but due to the World Cup schedule, this is the only time when venues are available.

Where?

Tweetup will be held in RED Soho as usual.

Address: 2/f, Kinwick Centre, 32 Hollywood Road, Soho Central. (Right next to the escalator above hollywood road)

How to sign up?

Here

See you there!

We are yet to see an iPad here in Asia, but it is certain that going by Apple’s legacy – this newdevice will bring about a change in the way people interact with these kind of devices. Its physical design, social connotations, ease of use, price, and many other facts that we will perhaps discover only when we start using it, can potentially spawn a new economy like the iPhone did with its Applications and iPod did with iTunes.  Here is my list of what it would and won’t do in this part of the world.

iPad Will

1. Usage of ‘Apple Services’ will expand exponentially: We have all seen how iPod and iPhone spawned an entire industry of accessories around them – especially products like speakers etc that act as docking stations etc. Now visualize iTunes, App Store and iBooks as three services that are spawning a range of products that help users utilize these three services. Do not view iPad just as a product; instead look at it as a bridge to bring in more users to the world of Apple services.

By bringing a superior experience to a portable entertainment device, Apple will be able to expand the franchise for its online stores like iTunes, App store and iBooks – exponentially.  This fits in with the industry wide trend of increasing revenues from content and data services and sluggish growth of revenues from mobile devices. (See chart 1)

Chart 1

Suddenly Nokia, Sony, Samsung, LG among others look under prepared to compete with this evolving model. (Ironically enough, even Sony  – the inventor of Walkman – the first personal stereo – is also one among the long list of names making accessories for iPods and iPhones).

2. Light users will finally get a real option: Other than gadget enthusiasts and die hard Apple fans who will lap up iPads, like they have done with other new devices from Apple– iPad will give a real option to many light & mobile users. I can see frequent travelers and elders as two immediate potential user groups. The latter group would especially like the iPad for its ease of use, portability and most importantly – picture –cum-photo frame capability.

3. Will take Apple towards masses (Netbooks have a definite reason to worry!): At $499, iPad is still more expensive than most of the Netbooks and even some Notebooks. However, if the announced price comes to Asia, it will reach many more users than what iPhones & MacBooks have managed to in the past. Let us look at the approximate price gap between Apple and other products in three key categories. Observe how the price gap is shrinking continuously.

* Assuming same price as in the US

Although the price difference between Apple’s latest product and the competitors continues to be significant but the lower unit price of iPad will make it much easier for a prospect to own it.

This is a dramatic shift in Apple’s marketing stance. No more can Apple said to be a designer’s ‘designer’ choice and average Joe’s fantasy.  It is now becoming a smart and efficient choice. In this way, I see Apple becoming more like Google than continuing to be the Apple from the past. The only big difference still being, Open Vs. Closed source outlook.

This need to address a wider consumer group is perhaps also aimed at building a broader ecosystem of OS based devises as a countermeasure to Android’s increasing presence in devices beyond mobile phones. (See chart 2)

Chart 2

iPad Won’t

1. Notebooks need not worry (yet): iPad has not been designed to be a mainstream personal computing device. Lack of USB port, no CD/DVD Drive, limited memory, no LAN Port etc means that Apple does not want this thing to mess around with its own Notebook Sales.

2. Replace Kindle: Serious readers will stick to Kindle. It is not just about the battery life (10 days vs iPad’s 10 hrs) the iPad screen is better suited for watching movies and pictures than reading books. A serious reader will not hazard the strain on eyes because he wants a more beautiful thing in his hands. (But expect Kindle to respond with a better Kindle sooner than before.)

Personally, I foresee, eBooks gaining traction, movie watching coming to the lap not just in airport lounges but at home as well; Casual gaming becoming more engaging; Laptop bags making way for iPad folders; Photographs coming to life more spontaneously and in entirely new ways; Speakers and other home theatre system accessories spawning a whole new iPad ecosystem, among others.

In his presentation Steve Jobs stated “Apple is now the largest mobile devices company”, I would add by saying that Apple is a consumer electronics company that is increasingly making other consumer electronics brands look like manufacturers of ‘peripherals’.

I sincerely hope that the rise of Apple also leads to the birth of a worthy competitor.