Adventures with Social Media:

Five Stories from Asia’s Internet

Dr. Michael Netzley, PhDhttp://twitter.com/communicateasia

Twitter & Queenstown

How I Got in the Media Business

CommunicateAsia.Asia

Digital Media across Asia

“Innumerable confusions and a feeling of despair invariably emerge in periods of great technological and cultural transition.”

Marshall McLuhan

Media (R)Evolution

Asia Leads the Charge

22% 21% 19% 18% 17% 16% 16% 15%

29% 29% 28% 27% 26% 26% 25% 25%

34% 35% 38% 39% 40% 41% 42% 43%

9% 9% 9% 9% 10% 10% 10% 10%

5% 6% 6% 6% 7% 7% 7% 7%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

North America Europe

Asia, Asia Pacific, and Oceania Latin America and Carribean

Middle East and AfricaPerc

en

tag

e o

f W

orl

dw

ide O

nli

ne P

op

ula

tio

n

Source: JupiterResearch Worldwide Internet Population Model

(3/08)

Steven Noble, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research. Presented Ad-Tech,

SG

ICT Development Index (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 1 7.50 1 6.05

Korea (Rep.) 2 7.26 3 5.83

Denmark 3 7.22 4 5.78

Hong Kong,

China

11 6.70 12 5.10

Japan 12 6.64 18 4.82

Australia 14 6.58 13 5.02

Singapore 15 6.57 16 4.83

Malaysia 52 3.79 50 2.74

Thailand 63 3.44 70 2.17

China 90 3.11 73 1.95

43% Growth in South Asia

ICT Access Subindex (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 1 8.67 1 7.68

Korea (Rep.) 14 7.48 9 6.82

Denmark 8 8.33 2 7.47

Hong Kong,

China

3 8.53 7 6.86

Japan 27 6.89 20 5.93

Australia 19 7.24 19 5.97

Singapore 11 8.06 13 6.54

Malaysia 60 4.14 52 2.73

Thailand 63 3.99 81 1.74

China 64 3.87 71 1.95

ICT Use Subindex (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 3 5.48 3 2.89

Korea (Rep.) 1 5.85 1 3.21

Denmark 7 5.10 6 2.60

Hong Kong,

China

13 4.64 7 2.45

Japan 4 5.41 18 1.96

Australia 12 4.68 15 2.00

Singapore 10 4.83 14 2.01

Malaysia 40 2.26 27 1.09

Thailand 73 0.78 63 0.26

China 71 0.81 74 0.17

ICT Skills Subindex (2002-07)

Economy Rank 2007 IDI 2007 Rank 2002 IDI 2007

Sweden 9 9.17 3 9.14

Korea (Rep.) 3 9.63 6 9.07

Denmark 5 9.26 9 8.74

Hong Kong,

China

62 7.16 65 6.85

Japan 26 8.60 28 8.31

Australia 13 9.05 2 9.17

Singapore 66 7.07 56 7.02

Malaysia 96 6.15 86 6.07

Thailand 50 7.65 67 6.83

China 94 6.21 99 5.53

Literacy

“No skill is more

crucial to the future of

a child, or to a

democratic and

prosperous society,

than literacy.”

Traditional v. Digital Literacy

UncertaintyInsufficient or

missing information

OverloadMasses of data at

the push of a button

Tan Siok Siok: Filmmaker

http://www.twittamentary.com/

Twittamentary

Interview with Siok Siok

Interview: episode #479

Key Points

• Like print centuries ago, or television and

computers in the 20th century, digital

media changes how we work and play

• Digital media is rich with opportunity for

innovation and creativity

• Example: crowdsourcing

Presence

“Be Here Now.” Baba Ram Dass

The Colonel of Oz: KFC on Facebook

June 13, 2009: KFC Announces

Facebook Campaign for Cayan Grill

Thanks to Thomas

Crampton, Ogilvy

Facebook Stats (screen capture)

Facebook case

study

Insert KFC story here

Sunday 6/13: announced

Tuesday 6/15: 17,500+ fans

Sunday, 6/20: 50,000+ fans

KFC Page Stats (screen capture)

Facebook

case study

KFC Page Stats (screen capture)

Facebook

case study

Key Points

• Current Web 2.0 conversations often

reflect a Western bias

• Ecosystems and online behaviors differ

• We should invest in market data if we wish

to spot the opportunity and correct channel

• Make data-driven decisions

Takeaway

Take the best from the West….

adapt to the rest

Innovation

Lenovo Olympic Blogging

The Challenge

How do you position Lenovo as a company

providing solutions…as something more than

just providing computers to the Olympic

Games? How do you deliver this message

across 25 countries, numerous languages,

and varied ecosystems? Once you have fans,

how do you keep them engaged with the

Lenovo brand throughout the Games?

Lenovo Feeds for Japan

Campaign Results

10.4 million Impressions

1.4 million visits to

Lenovo Site

202 Blog Mentions

1500 Athlete Blog Posts

8000+ Comments

On Site

Lessons from Lenovo

• Asia’s diverse ecosystems can be bridged

• Interesting and timely content helps you to

engage people

• Staying away from a specific celebrity

broadened the reach—and lowered risk

• Question: why not host at Wordpress,

Blogger, Facebook, or My Space?

Internet Blocking and

Communication Risk

Takeaway

Asia offers many leading

examples…find them and learn

from markets similar to our own

Change

South Korea: A Beefy Debate

2008 Decision to Resume U.S.

Beef Imports

April 18: South Korea Announces Decision

April 24-28: Rumors and speculation regarding MCD spread on-line

April 29: PD Notebook airs controversial news episode

Quotes from South Korean Blogs

April 24

The first locations that mad cow disease

meat will go into are the schools and army

camps. An unprecedented human experiment

in the history of mankind will take place

against the youngest and brightest of this

country.

- ID (kuankuseo12)

Quotes from South Korean Blogs

April 28

Our people (Koreans) have the genetic makeup

with the highest propensity of being infected with

mad cow disease in the world…. While only

38% of Americans are known to have the MM

genes, an astounding 95% of Koreans have the

MM genes. Koreans also have a culture of

consuming high danger parts such as the head,

intestines and spine. - ID (gyunnam)

More Rumors (all are false)

• BSE is carried through knife or cutting board that

touched infected meat. If you wash those things in water,

BSE virus will survive in the water -- even through water

treatment -- and will eventually infect the drinking water.

• There are 5 million Alzheimer's patients in the U.S., and

roughly 250,000~650,000 among them are suspected

cases of BSE.

• American slaughterhouses are mismanaged and allow

unsafe SRM to be sent to Korea.

May 2: Protests Begin

South Korea’s Information Society

• World’s #2 information society

• High Internet penetration

• High broadband subscription rates

• High Internet speeds

• 55% of population had wireless access (08)

• World’s #3 society for skilled information

workers (07, ITU)

May 22: President Lee Apologizes

Lessons from South Korea

• Mainstream media can be too slow in an

information society

• Emotion spreads effectively, while rational

discourse presents a greater challenge

• Emotion rapidly galvanizes support

• We must update our media strategies to

account for digital channels

Takeaway

Communication

becomes trans-

media

H1N1 in Singapore

Search: How People Find You

But, search has grown up

Case: Google Search “H1N1 & SMU”

Case: Google for “5th H1N1 & SMU”

SMS Update

Case: Twitter Search “H1N1 & SMU”

Real Time Search: So What?

Morning

vs

Lunch

vs

Day’s End

Printed Paper…the Next Day

Takeaway

Search is essential in a trans-media

world. Through search you find

information, and people find you

Obolo, SG

Michael Netzley, PhD

All Details of this case were collected

from public records.

The Obolo StoryIt all began in 2003 when architecture graduates Mac Woo

and June Lee started baking from home for families and

close friends out of interest and passion. After forming

Obolo, an online patisserie specializing in gourmet

cheesecakes and chocolates in 2004, word of mouth

spread quickly about their highly-acclaimed creations.

In June 2007, Obolo launched her flagship “Boutique de

Pâtisserie” at Joo Chiat, a well-known Mecca for good

food in Singapore.

http://www.obolo.com.sg/

http://media.photobucket.com/image/Obolo/ladyironchef/obolo/DSC_2170.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3471/3184420802_49f42fe922.jpg

http://singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=40605

Song of a

Frustrated

Foodie

“I admire those who follow their passions

and make their dreams come true. Imagine

looking forward to work and creating lovely

pastries everyday because you love it! I

wonder if I’ll ever be that lucky.”

“Just the average

praline cake with

chocolate mousse and

genoise which was far

too sweet and rich.”

The blackcurrant filling in Cassis was too

sweet and jam-like; Chocolate Hazelnut

was slightly better with a bittersweet

ganache.

The Siren’s Final Alarm

I really wanted to like Obolo but

its creations didn’t impress me

enough. After awhile, the law of

diminishing returns sets in and

everything becomes cloyingly

sweet. Definitely a case of sugar

overload! (Oct 2, 2009)

Blog Disclaimer: All opinions/comments you see here are based on

personal taste/preference, and my mood/craving for that day. I'm an

extremely fussy eater so what I don't like doesn't mean others won't be

impressed. Trust my readers to exercise their own judgement, please.

There is ZERO intention to irritate/anger/influence anyone in any way

whatsoever.

As an avid food blogger, I share my dining

experiences (whether good or bad) with my readers.

Sometimes, I would also send an email to the

restaurants…That was what I did after visiting a local

pastry boutique. I praised X on its boutique decor and

also commented that the desserts….

The next day, I was shocked and disappointed to read

X's reply. To cut a long email short, the gist is that she

has referred my blog url to her legal consultant and

wanted me to remove my post within 24 hours to

avoid any legal proceedings, if any. I was appalled by

this and hence, decided to write to this forum…

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC091012-0000206/Online-Only---You-mean-bloggers-cant-speak-their-minds

74 Blog Comments

Nature of Information Societies

• Networks are critical (Siok Siok)

• Media destinations are not equal within a

market; we must adapt to new reality(KFC)

• Examples of successful Web 2.0 can be

found in our own backyard (Lenovo)

• Trans-media consumption is a reality (Beef)

• Search is critical to success in a rapid,

trans-media world (H1N1)

``If you don't like

change, you're going

to like irrelevance

even less'‘

- Gen.Eric Shinseki

Hat tip to Mitch Joel

My Business Card

Thank You

I would like to thank John Bell and Thomas

Crampton at Ogilvy for their kind support. I would

also like to thank Tan Siok Siok and encourage

everyone to visit her Twittamentary site. Finally,

Steven Noble is a star for sharing his stats.

The Lenovo video and Did You Know video are

available on YouTube.