Comments on: Connection points for the “connected agency” in China

By: Alan Liu

Alan Liu — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:36:00 +0000

Actually, many agencies take BBS and other social networks as kind of new media platform without any interacitve communication.

By: Sam Flemming

Sam Flemming — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:30:25 +0000

Michael,

Thanks for the kind words. I think the learning can come from realizing that the Internet has been about being social and about entertainment for longer in China and Asia compared to the West. We can at least see different paths that have been taken during the evolution of the social internet. The West may not take the same exact path in its evolution, but there is still learning and inspiration to be had in seeing different the different paths.

By: Michael Netzley

Michael Netzley — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:48:34 +0000

Hi Sam,

Another excellent post. I continue to be amazed–and jealous–of the great opportunity you have their in China and all the exciting work. I could not agree more that in many Asian countries the western model does not transport very well. This seems especially true in China and South Korea. If anything, I am wondering how transportability worls east to west? Will some of the interesting models we see here carry over to western Europe and North America? I don’t know, so I am reluctant to say that everyone shoud be looking here. But at a minimum, we can learn from each other and get plenty of food for thought. Keep up the great work. You have fans in Singapore.

By: Florian Pihs

Florian Pihs — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:50:20 +0000

Thanks Sam, it is clear that the social media ecosystem in China is distinct from what we see in the west. BBS are certainly the more active platforms for brand related discussions. If my previous comment suggests otherwise, my bad. My plan was confirming your point on blogs and how that makes them less useful as a communication channel with a business audience.
Thanks for the link to the Dell article. That was extremely useful.

By: Florian Pihs

Florian Pihs — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:58:53 +0000

Thanks Sam, a well thought out post with good pointers for us social marketers in China.
As I mentioned in my previous email one interesting challenge for IWOM marketing in China is reaching business users. While we see strong adoption of blogs in the US business community (which makes them a natural IWOM tool), the “blog as a diary” trend your described provides little interesting content for business for a business audience. We also see business influences and decision makers much less tech savvy, hindering adoption.
While we do encourage our clients to get serious about corporate blogging, given the circumstances this is an uphill battle.