Thoughts on Asia, China, and Digital Media [INTERVIEW]

For the most part, digital media like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs were very much originated from and were popularized by Westerners. Asia is slowly picking up the pace and this trend is unearthing a lot of opportunities for both the East and the West, especially in countries like Indonesia and India.

But to tap into these opportunities it is essential to understand Asia, to comprehend its media usage behavior and culture. And don’t forget about the mighty China which is pretty much self-sustaining as the country uses wildly popular platform like microblog Sina-Weibo or video site Youku.

Today we’re thankful to have Professor Michael Netzley from Singapore Management University (SMU) share his thoughts on Asia and digital media. Michael specializes in digital media across Asia, corporate reputation, reputational risk, leadership and learning, and… um… how to cook a great arrabiata. Besides academic successes, he has also consulted companies like 3M, Shell, and Singapore’s CPF in corporate communication strategizing.

If you’re serious to learning about Asia and its digital media footprint, Michael and his students have created a wiki that consolidates digital media-related information from all across Asia.

1. Hi Professor, it’s great to have you here. Let’s start with something a little general. What are your thoughts on Asia?

I love living in Asia. The diversity of this region never fails to fascinate and consternate at the same time. I am confident I will be calling Asia home for quite some time.

2. Can you briefly describe the current digital media scene in Asia?

In a word, dynamic. Where do we see such a mix of technologies, differing behaviors, emerging and mature markets, and people skipping fixed line Internet and going directly to mobile. There are also many exciting start-ups such as Chalkboard. The mix is quite fascinating and anyone interested in digital can learn from one or more of Asia’s markets regardless of the specific interest. This diversity, however, also presents some real challenges when it comes to regional communications and finding efficiency or scale.

3. What’s the main difference between the East and the West in digital media usage and consumption?

There is no one answer here. Take Singapore where my three year longitudinal study of this market reveals Internet users with some high end gadgets and the latest apps, yet largely reserved in behavioral terms. Go a couple kilometers across the causeway or take a ferry to Indonesia and you suddenly see a more vibrant market. I was fascinated to see similar vibrancy during the Singapore general election , but with the results now behind us Singapore seems to have returned to its very calm and largely reserved Internet ethos, in my opinion.

So the main difference is that one size does not fit most when we think about communicating in Asia. Localization is to a measurable degree much more important here than in USA, for example. Going from Cleveland to Kansas City is very different than going from Tokyo to Manila. This challenge presents itself on so may levels: picking the right platforms, language and translations, user generated versus corporate generated content, and measurement to name just a few.

4. What are the digital media trends you have observed in Asia? How can companies ride them?

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: mobile. Many of the emerging markets are going directly to mobile.