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Correspondence with Jeremiah Owyang - November 2008


Jeremiah Owyang was formerly a senior analyst at Forrester Research, specializing in social computing. He has since moved on to become a Partner at Altimeter Group.

Hig blog, Web Strategy, discusses how web tools enable companies to connect with consumers.
 Jeremiah Owyang


Email correspondence:

Dear Mr Owyang,

I am a student at Singapore Management University, and my team is creating a public wiki on Social Media in Japan. We have been following your blog regularly and have become very interested in your insights and opinions. Can we please request you for an interview (written / skype / phone) on the social media landscape in Japan?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks and regards,
Shivya

 ...Read my latest posts on Japan. Those pretty much sum up everything that I observed.

jko
Jeremiah Owyang
Web Strategist



Excerpts from Jeremiah Owyang's blog, Web Strategy

Field Report: How Culture Impacts Japan’s Adoption of Social Technologies in Business and Life

Japan is global technology leader, yet when it comes to social computing, culture is the strongest influence –not technology.

On Japan’s high tech industry and its impact on culture Despite the high adoption and leadership of technology (esp mobile) in Japan, some locals expressed to me that technology optimism within Japan is actually very low. Some expressed to me that individuals are less social in real life as they tend to communicate via mobile devices.
On Japanese Social Technographics Despite the advances in technology from any country, it’s important to note the impact of culture on social media. In fact, social media marketing is more like psychology or sociology than it is about marketing –in fact, technology is just a trigger point –and not much more.

I’m told that Japan’s group think culture can cause pressure that gives individuals a desire for self-expression. These tools can enable just that, and I’ve learned that many Japanese have multiple profiles to allow them to traverse in public, with friends, or speak their mind anonymously.
On the reluctance of corporations in adopting social media I expect social media adoption to continue to increase among citizens, consumers, and the public, yet we’re still a few years off from seeing a mass movement of corporations adopt these tools, unless there are some ‘punkings’ that spur corporations out of hesitation and start to react then be proactive. I heard case studies of companies like Nissan and Sanyo using social technologies to reach customers, but although I can’t confirm it, some blogging initiatives don’t enable comments. Even with that said, experience shows that successful social media efforts require corporations to truly be transparent resulting in the rich history of Japanese corporate culture to change.
On how corporate and social pressures increase perceived risk of social adoption I spoke with bloggers, corporations and colleagues and confirmed that Japan’s top down management approach make it difficult for a Groundswell to be accepted within corporations. Furthermore, senior leadership may be removed from being adopters of these new technology –furthering the understanding gap. Although all brands are fearful of failure and risk, within Japanese corporations this resonates even louder. The ‘fail quickly and iterate’ mentality of silicon valley isn’t a virtue shared within Japan’s long time pillars of business.
On internal corporate adoption as a predecessor to external social media adoption Perhaps the first place to look for corporate adoption isn’t within the marketing and PR departments, but within the internal enterprise. I met with a few companies who expressed that internal usage of communities and social networks are already underway. Given the strength of the Japanese culture that can act collectively (although may be more top down than bottom up) the opportunity for group think collaboration may be high.

Across the globe, power shifts to the participants of the social web. To reduce risk and become more connected with customers, Japanese corporations should prepare to engage with social technologies. Given this untapped approach, savvy brands who yield the traditional command and control approach can seize an opportunity before their competitors.
Advice to corporations for successful social marketing I’m echoing what Johnathan Browne has posted, read his full post to get more context.
  • Let go off the “command and control” Public Relations mentality
  • Focus on PEOPLE, not on technology
  • Empower young Japanese employees as innovators
















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