BBC Research On Internet Habits In Southeast Asia

I’ve noticed little coverage of a recent BBC World Service poll which concluded that “four in five adults questioned regard internet access as their fundamental right”.

From an Asian stand-point the research is interesting. Asia is well represented, of the 26 countries included is a healthy Southeast Asian presence in the form of Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.

Southeast Asian trends

After looking at the findings I’ve collected the points below from the three Southeast Asia countries. Internet users in each are…

– concerned about content

– big users of social networking websites

– comfortable using the internet for dating – particularly in Philippines and Indonesia

– more likely to say they can cope without the internet, opposite of China, Japan, South Korea

The conclusions for each of the three Southeast Asian countries are below in full.

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Thailand

While Thai web users believe very strongly that internet access should be a fundamental right (91%), they emerge as somewhat more wary than average about expressing their opinions online—58 per cent disagree that the internet is a safe place to do this, compared to a little over two in five who agree (42%).

It seems likely that Thailand’s lese-majeste laws (an example of which is here) are the primary cause for Thai concern over expression opinion online, particularly compared to opinions in Indonesia and Philippines.

A higher proportion than average (83%) agrees that the internet has increased their freedom.

This is consistent across all three countries.

Social networking sites are also more popular in Thailand than in many other countries—two-thirds of Thai web users say they enjoy spending their spare time on such sites.

As discussed before social networks rapidly growing in Thailand, and Southeast Asia, so much so that it is Facebook’s second fastest growing country.

Fraud is the main public concern relating to the internet across the 26 countries, violent and explicit content is clearly the greatest worry for Thai respondents (42%).

Concern for web content in Thailand is interesting.

On one hand, it could be argued that lese-majeste and the country ICT ministry’s over-zealous internet controlling has developed this worry, planted the seed. Alternatively, the fact that Thais worry can be said to justify the MICT’s actions.

I tend to go with the former argument given that I don’t know anyone who supports the MICT and its policies.

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Philippines

The main internet-related concern among respondents in all countries surveyed is fraud (32%), followed by violent and explicit content (27%). But the picture among Filipino respondents differs dramatically, with 71 per cent citing violent and explicit content as their main worry: this rate is much higher than in any other country surveyed.

This suggests that Thailand’s concern over content is not as heightened as first assumed.

Users in the Philippines are similar to those in Indonesia in citing the internet’s usefulness for communicating and interacting with others as its most valued aspect (48%).

Again, coupled with Thailand and Indonesia, this conclusion falls in line with the huge growth of social media in Southeast Asia. See below more.

They, like Indonesians, are enthusiastic users of sites like Facebook or MySpace (88%), and—like users in Pakistan, India and Indonesia—are more likely than average to agree that the internet is a good place to meet potential romantic partners (42%), and that it is a safe place to express opinions (65%).

Along with internet users in Pakistan, those in the Philippines are much more likely than others to agree that they could cope without the internet (79% vs the overall average of 55%)

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Indonesia

The ability to connect with others is the most appreciated aspect of the internet among Indonesian users—46 per cent, a larger proportion than in most other Asian countries, say communication and interaction with others is what they value most.

Consistent with this is the above-average popularity of social networking in Indonesia: 85 per cent of Indonesian web users say they enjoy using sites like Facebook or MySpace. In this, they resemble users in the Philippines.

The theme of social networking runs across all three Southeast Asian representatives

Internet users in Indonesia, along with those in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, are more likely than average to agree the internet is a good place to make romantic connections, and that it is a safe place to express opinions.

Indonesian users attribute less-than-average importance to the internet, are more likely to say they could cope without it, and less likely to agree it is a fundamental right.

This is the distinct opposite to East Asian countries where the internet is faster and more reliable.

While fraud is the number one concern overall, Indonesians (44%) are more likely than other nationalities, including other Asian groups, to cite this as their most pressing concern.

A PDF of the BBC report can be downloaded here.

[Via http://jonathan-russell.com]

Not really. Really?

Wanna know why social networking is not the downfall of society? My brother found a woman’s wallet and keys on the DC metro and sent her a facebook friend request to try to get them back to her. She accepted a week or so later and is now overjoyed to have her stuff back, several states and an area code away.

Wanna know why social networking is the downfall of society? Because now even more f—ing people think my brother is the world’s best human and I have no way to subvert that perception. I mean, who comes off as the petulant a–hole for claiming the whole thing was a hoax and he’s just doing facebook p.r.? Exactly.

[Via http://naptimewriting.wordpress.com]

Hilltoppers Attend PRSSA National Assembly in Hometown

This week seven St. Edward’s University students will attend the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) National Assembly.  For the first time, the National Assembly will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Austin.

The PRSSA National Assembly will host students and elected Chapter delegates from 248 universities nationwide. PRSSA members will receive leadership training as well as vote on the National Committee representatives. The conference will include a Day of Competition sponsored by the CW network and numerous keynote speakers.  The Assembly begins on Thursday, March 11th and continues through Sunday, March 14th.

“We are very excited to have the National Assembly hosted in our hometown, because it provides our chapter with a greater opportunity to send students who want to participate and get involved,” said Ally Hugg, St. Edward’s PRSSA Chapter President.  

Local PRSSA Chapters at The University of Texas, Texas State, and St. Edward’s University , along with the Austin PRSA Chapter, will be hosting a “Networking Bingo” that will give students a chance to meet each other and network with Austin area communication professionals. This opportunity will allow students to work on interviewing skills, and discuss recruitment opportunities following Assembly activities on Friday, March 13th at 5:30PM at the Hyatt.

The St. Edward’s University Chapter will be live Tweeting from the Assembly and the “Networking Bingo” from @SEUPRSSA and from personal Twitter accounts. Students will also be posting information on the Chapter blog and Facebook account.

                                                                                                                                              

Contact:

Courtney Medford

St. Edward’s PRSSA Secretary

cmedfor@stedwards.edu

[Via http://stedwardsprssa.wordpress.com]

Facebook Measures Up

Everybody loves Facebook, right? Or at least almost 440 million active users, as of the latest stats available. That is, except big time professional advertising entities…

Until now.

Just this past week, Facebook and Omniture announced that they would soon be working together. This announcement created relatively little press fanfare as most of us do not know who the heck Omniture is. However, marketing professionals, particularly those involved with major companies placing advertising in the new media, recognize that this is a quite a big deal and are salivating over the actual launch of this partnership.

According to their site, Omniture “is a leader in online business optimization service software”. They provide software that:

• Measures customer behavior
• Compiles this behavior for real time stats and also for trend reporting
• Automates online processes

This company also offers services that provide even more capability, but the above are the big three. The company serves top tier corporate and service provider clients, and is now owned by Adobe. This is a big, big deal!

According to the Associated Press, as reported on seattlepi.com: “Using Omniture’s products, companies will be able to measure how effective their ads are on Facebook. They will also be able to use Omniture’s search engine marketing management tool to buy Facebook ads. And they will be able to compare how well their ad campaigns do on Facebook compared with other outlets.”

Suddenly, Facebook won’t be for experimenting and testing anymore, as far as big companies and their agencies are concerned. All the objections and reservations that had to be explained to someone’s boss suddenly go away. Automated buying and measurement: Ease of placement and analytics. What more could any Fortune 100 marketer want?

It is my expectation that this one move will noticeably change the face and pace of Facebook. Is this for the better? I await your opinion.

[Via http://mtietbohl.wordpress.com]

The Lines of Digital Communication

I am not an expert in communication or what is considered standard communication etiquette. What I do know is how I interpret the communications I get. Which in most cases I do it wrong. It’s a gut feeling based on the the information I have at hand.

In this modern digital age we have many forms of communications between texting, facebook, email, and ect. Yet in all these instances I feel they are impersonal. They take out a very important part of the process. That part is hearing and seeing an instant reaction or the infliction of voice. On the digital front no one sounds exactly as they seem. We are allowed to craft a response that is unnatural. There is only so much one can “write” before it becomes meaningless.

Yes I will admit I am guilty of this, but I also know when to call up a friend to talk to get them to come out for a bit. I prefer the phone call to a text message or of facebook message. When I see my friends are having a bad day through facebook or AIM messages I’ll cal them up. I feel that a familiar voice is worth more than a few bytes of a text or other electronic message. In this day and age it also sends a message that you think they are important to reach out to.

I think it more comes down to balance. We have to know when an electronic interaction is good and when to pick up the phone to call. In this digital age it will get more difficult to make that decision as new forms of communication comes out. The younger generation will be growing up with this new technology and this will be standard for them.

It’s weird that I am in the IT field and yet part of me fells like I miss the days when you had to call someone to get in contact with them. I guess I’m old school like that and will probably continue that trend. I’ll embrace new technology and communications, but I’ll always know the value of a phone call or a nice get together with friends. It’s something that I feel is priceless.

[Via http://josephmunizjr.com]

3rd Sunday Check-Up

Well, its Sunday and that only means one thing- its time to check how many notifications I am up to. My Facebook is starting to act real, real screwy. I think once you reach 99 it starts counting funny. So, anyway, this is what Facebook mobile has told me has occurred on my Facebook since Ash Wednesday: 13 new notifications, 7 friend requests, 27 inboxes, 17 other notifications, and 2 pokes. I remember some of those tallies being higher before, so I don’t know what really is going on. Well, plenty of work to do before I back home for Spring Break on Friday. Until then..

[Via http://40daysnofacebook.com]

Facebook As A Branding Strategy

By Lindsay Dicks

Once you are logged into Facebook, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Advertising,” and then click “Pages.” There is some great information here about fan pages, so take a moment to read through the information, when you are ready click “Create Page.” As you go through the set-up process, remember that in any branding and marketing it is important to categorize your company in the right area to help people find you. So choose carefully.

One of the great things about Facebook is the ease of set up navigation. From here, setting up a fan page is really about following the prompts. Rather than point out each step, let’s look at the important ones to get your personal branding going.

1) Photo – Before you do anything else, make sure you have the perfect photo for your page. Maybe your logo is the best photo for your page, but maybe not. Think about other branding materials you have, maybe something seasonal. Obviously, you want your fans to see your photo and recognize your brand – that’s the goal. But if you have a creative image that is also recognizable, it might help your fan page attract fans with an element of fun.

2) Write something about your company – See the little box under your picture that says “Write something about your company” this is very important because this is one of the items that is visible on every tab of your fan page. This is your elevator statement in 250 characters or less. Be sure to include a link to your website here, and in order to make your link clickable, don’t forget the http:// before the www. (Note – this statement can be changed at any time, so it is a great place to highlight a promotion or other important happening for your company.)

3) Wall Settings – Another important tool in the set up of your page are the wall settings. You have to decide if you want visitors to be able to post messages for everyone to see or if you only want your own messages shown. Unless you have a super controversial company, I recommend starting with allowing everything. It will help you build your wall faster because people like to post messages. If the posts become out of control or unflattering, you can always delete individual posts or turn off the setting all together later. (You will find “Wall settings” under “Edit page.”)

Once you fill in all of the basic information, you have successfully created a fan page. Don’t forget, it is easy to change if something changes, so don’t sweat it.

Now you are ready to take your page live, it is important for you to let people know about your page. This is where having an already active personal profile comes in handy because if you already have a lot of “friends” who are interested in your company, you can “suggest” your new page to them.

Alright you have a page, you have suggested to all of your friends, now what? Now you start the real work. Marketing and branding takes time and attentiveness. You can’t just set up this page and hope people find you. If there is nothing on your page that interests people, no one will become a fan. Social media is fun – your fan page should be too. Post interesting things about your company, but don’t be afraid to post something fun too. Try posting open-ended questions (to entice responses from your fans) such as “What is your favorite XYZ?” “What do you plan to do for the XYZ holiday?”

Posting links and/or photos are also a great way to get people interested, plus they are more visually appealing so people are more apt to pay attention. Posting links to your website has the added benefit of pushing people to your site to find out more. Try posting on your fan page every time you update your blog – “Check this out” and attach a link to your blog.

Remember, the most important reason you have a Facebook fan page is to use it as a branding strategy to promote your personal brand. So, if your company is very “green” conscious, share tidbits about being green. If your company is all about marketing and branding (like us), you might post pictures of events, links to blog posts and information about the companies you help brand.

Those are the basic features of a Facebook fan page, but once you get going you will realize that there are many more things you can add to your fan page such as customizable apps, connect the page to your Twitter feed, and much more. But you can’t do any of the fancy things until you get started with the basics, so for now create your page and start building your fans. Oh, and don’t forget to include a new link on your website to let people know they can become a fan on Facebook.

And that is how you can use Facebook as a branding strategy for your business.

[Via http://paulhinesmarketingvault.wordpress.com]