DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS ASIA - Recently Updated Pages

Malaysia Mobile Penetration

lucia_santosa — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:18:48 CST

	In this section: Looking outward: international comparison 1) Mobile phones in ASEAN Countries 2) Mobile phones in 10 biggest trading partners Looking inward: national statistics on mobile phone users 1) Growth 2) Gender 3) Location 4) SMS 5) 3G subscriptions 6) Type of access

In this section:

Looking outward: international comparison
1) Mobile phones in ASEAN Countries
2) Mobile phones in 10 biggest trading partners

Looking inward: national statistics on mobile phone users
1) Growth
2) Gender
3) Location
4) SMS
5) 3G subscriptions
6) Type of access

Looking Outward: International Comparison
1) Mobile phones in ASEAN countries (per 100 inhabitants)
	85.1% of Malaysians are using mobile phones. This placed her third, only behind Singapore and Thailand, in terms of penetration rate.
2) Mobile phones in 10 biggest trading partners (per 100 inhabitants)
	Compared with her 10 biggest trading partners, Malaysia is trailing behind countries such as Hong Kong and Singapore. However, she is still ahead of Japan, USA, China, and Indonesia.

Looking Inward: National Statistics on Mobile Phone Users
1) Growth (per 100 inhabitants)
	By 2009, there are 100.8 mobile phones per 100 Malaysians. It means that each Malaysian may own more than one mobile phone. In 2000, the penetration rate was a mere 21.8%. This number shows a tremendous growth in Malaysian mobile phone market.
2) Gender (per 100 inhabitants)
	In the year 20007, there were 56.4% of Malaysian mobile phone users were male, while 43.6% were female. Both male and female showed a similar interest in the use of mobile phone.
3) Location (per 100 inhabitants)
	The highest mobile penetration rate can be observed in Kuala Lumpur, the capital. There were 91.4% of mobile phone found per 100 inhabitants in Kuala Lumpur.
4) SMS
	Usage of SMS service peaked at 1713 per mobile subscriptions in 2006. The number dropped to 730 in 2007. The number remained low at 756 per subscriptions throughout 2008.
5) 3G subscriptions
	Malaysian 3G subscriptions grew tremendously from a mere 427 in 2006, to a whopping 4366 in 2008.
6) Type of Access (per 100 inhabitants)
	84.4% of Malaysians used GPRS to access internet via mobile phone. While 16.5% used 3G, 12.1% used WAP service, and only 1.5% used EDGE.

China: Case Studies

ahmadtan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:40:33 CST

Contents
60th National Day: China Blocks Twitter, Facebook
Lancome social media marketing in China
Travel industry and China's social media puzzle
Death Blog Sparks the First Case of Cyber Violence
China Blogger Beaten
Tencent/QQ and Micropayments
Baidu vs. Google
Starbucks and the Forbidden City
Dell Computers
Xcar.com
Social Media and Personal Lending
China Youth Daily

Contents
60th National Day: China Blocks Twitter, Facebook Lancome social media marketing in China Travel industry and China's social media puzzle Death Blog Sparks the First Case of Cyber Violence China Blogger Beaten Tencent/QQ and Micropayments Baidu vs. Google Starbucks and the Forbidden City Dell Computers Xcar.com Social Media and Personal Lending China Youth Daily

People who are not competent with the Chinese language face difficulties when accessing the local internet as most popular sites are in Chinese languages. Similarly, businesses who wish to engage the Chinese blogosphere often employ the local language rather than English. As a result, they face difficulties when gathering information regarding successful examples and campaigns. Often businesses choose to ignore the local social media, given the low internet penetration rate and since mainstream media is deemed more effective. However with an uptake in social media, it is only a matter of time before businesses can attribute their success or failure to a social media campaign. Our team was unable to come across a business success or failure of a social media campaign. But since this is a wiki, we encourage those with any knowledge to put up examples.

The following are some examples of companies/industries who have been impacted by social media.

Case 1- 60th National Day: China Blocks Twitter, Facebook

October 1st is China’s 60th National day. If the nation’s age happens to be a multiple of 5, celebration tends to be of a larger scale, which includes a military inspection at Tiananmen square.

Security in the capital has been unusually tight with submachine gun-toting SWAT units patrolling through the crowds.To protect sensitive content, social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have also been blocked.

Other interesting restrictions from AP:

“Residents have been barred from flying kites as a precaution against aerial hazards, and those who live in the diplomatic apartments that line the parade route have been told not open their windows or go out on their balconies to watch. Knife sales have been restricted, and notices in apartment lobbies urge residents to report anything suspicious.”
Source: 60th National Day: China Blocks Twitter, Facebook

Case 2- Lancome social media marketing in China

Cosmetic brand, Lancome, has entered the social media in china. In year 2006, Lancome already built its own Chinese community (www.rosebeauty.com.cn) in 2006. It allows consumers to not only get to know Lancome products but to interact with the brand and other consumers. The website contains beauty knowledge, Lancome products information and news & events.

In 2009, Lancome used popular China SNS site – Kaixin001 – to drive potential consumers to this community. It has recently launched an online beauty contest that required participants to have as many votes as possible in order to win.

In the short run - the SNS campaign and the community increase the interaction with targets; getting them involved and increase their engagement with the brand.
In the long run – This increases the brand awareness. Furthermore the community will keep on growing, which means Lancome will always have a solid “launching pad” for any future promotions.

Source: Lancome Social Media

Case 3- Travel industry and China’s social media puzzle

From travel booking sites like eLong and Ctrip to airlines and hotel review sites, China’s travel industry players are experimenting with using social media to attract and engage travelers.

At the China Travel Innovation Summit in Beijing, one social networking was a major topic discussion. However, it is still undecided which are the best social media strategies that should be used. Many airlines have started Twitter streams without delving much into market research. As a result, issues such as addressing complaints and concerns are not well addressed.

Source: Travel industry and China's social media puzzle

Case 4- 'Death blog' sparks the first case of 'cyber-violence'

On December 29, 2007, a Beijing woman, Jiang Yan, committed suicide by jumping off a building. In early 2008, her personal diary was published on a site revealing the cause of her suicide to be of an extra marital affair by her husband, Wang Fei and his mistress.

The "death blog" stirred the Internet blogosphere. Wang Fei was pursued by a "human flesh search engine" – a term used to describe Internet users who hunt down Chinese citizens from love triangles to political scandals.
Personal information about Wang Fei and his mistress, including their addresses and workplaces, were exposed on the Internet. In the period that followed verbal abuse on the Internet escalated into violence in the real world. Outraged "netizens" besieged Wang's parents' apartment with protests, threats and obscenities.

On December 18, Beijing Chaoyang District Court fined two websites and an Internet user for posting personal and intimate details about an unfaithful husband Wang Fei, his mistress, and his spurned wife who had committed suicide.

Source: Death Blog Case

Case 5- China Blogger Beaten

It was being at the wrong place and at the wrong time for an unfortunate Chinese blogger. He was beaten to death by Government authorities for attempting to record a protest on his mobile phone. It was reported that more than 50 municipal inspectors turned and attacked him for five minutes.

The Chinese Government has taken steps to detain those involved, arresting 24 municipal inspectors whilst investigating more than 100 others inspectors in relation to the incident. Although this does show that the Chinese Government does not condone these actions, the damage has been done. The killing has spread across internet forums and chatrooms, venting anger towards the government.

Source: Chinese Blogger Beaten To Death By Government Officials

Case 6 - Tencent/QQ and Micropayments

Tencent Holdings Ltd., owner of China's most popular instant messaging service- QQ, had devised a payment system in 2002 to allow its 233 million regular registered users to shop for treats in its virtual world. These coins were retailed for 1 yuan each and were a big hit, perhaps too big a hit. Soon, these coins were being accepted by sites outside the Tencent network. People began exchanging them for real cash based on discount rates and traders began hopping onto the bandwagon to make a quick buck. The situation soon spun out of control when gamblers and private chat room girls among others, soon converted QQ coins into an alternate currency to the Yuan forcing a Government crackdown on sites brokering the currency.
(Source: QQ: China's New Coin of the Realm?, by Geoffrey A.Fowler and Juying Qin - The Wall Street Journal)

Case 7 - Baidu vs. Google

In the Search Engine Category in China, Baidu is the undisputed leader. Despite its global fame and dominance, most Chinese outside Beijing and Shanghai have never heard of Google.

Favoritism to Home Grown Brands

The government seemed to have protected Baidu from copyright infringement rights, allowing Baidu to operate its user music search long enough for it to accumulate a large user base. In 2005, some U.S. based music companies sued Baidu and lost. In 2006, Baidu sued Yahoo China and won.

On the other hand, in June 2009, the Chinese Government banned Google for a period of time for making Pornographic material available. This support from the Chinese Government means that Google will not be able to take the lead anytime soon.

Social Media Software and Branding

Baidu has continually been making available Social Media Software such as Baidu 知道(http://zhidao.baidu.com) to ensure its market dominance. Baidu's advantage lies in the fact that it understands the Chinese market, in which Chinese netizens use the Internet as a social device. Further, as soon as Baidu went public, they invested in advertising.This is in contrast to Google who has not bother much with raising its brand awareness. For Baidu's sales force, it has thousands of people hired to persuade SMEs to buy keywords, as compare to Google's 500 sales force.

Internet Censorship Regulations

Undoubtedly, internet censorship and regulations play a important role in China, which is giving comparative advantage to Baidu in some respect. For instance, since not everybody can access everything of the most popular wiki in the world : Wikipedia, the dictionary and FAQ forums invented by Baidu (百度百科& 百度知道) could fill in and are now performing very well. Also, as the mp3 search function is the 1st service Baidu began with , Baidu still provides this service + the new function of videos and being very successful in that, but Google as a American company would have more trouble with intellectual property rights than profit if they would do the same.

Sources: Jordan Calinoff, September 29 2009, "Where Google Loses", Foreign Policy

Case 8 - Starbucks in the Forbidden City

Starbucks had opened an outlet in the Forbidden City, Beijing on September 18, 2000. This lead to an outcry, as citizens felt that it went against China's 5,000 year old tradition and their very own cultural fabric. A survey by Sina.com showed that over 70% of the 60,000 respondents were against Starbucks opening in this location. The irony lies in the fact that the city authorities themselves invited Starbucks to open an outlet as they needed the funds for running the city. However the attention was centered on how this commercialization went strongly against culture. KFC too came under fire, and ceased its operations almost immediately.

In July 2007, Starbucks finally closed its Forbidden City outlet in Beijing due to an online petition led by TV personality Rui Chenggang, which may not have been possible with traditional protests, given the size of China and the diversity within the country. The petition was started online, and gained popularity through the mainstream media.

Source: Starbucks in Forbidden City

Case 9 - Dell Computers

Dell Computers tainted its credibility when they falsely advertised their laptop processors, which was picked up by the online community. The laptop processor for their Inspiron 640M model were not fitted with the CPU which was mentioned in their advertisements (online and offline).

Consumers’ vented their grievances online. This was picked up by the mainstream media and resulted in the company being sued by over a score of consumers (the exact number is unknown). Subsequently however, Dell Computers set up a blog to garner consumer opinions and address concerns. The company now claims the blog is an important channel of communication whenever problems concerning its product have arisen.

Case 10 - Xcar.com

The automobile industry in China is quite lucrative as the Chinese community becomes increasingly affluent. Often it is probably the first time that a Chinese household is purchasing a car, hence they have high expectations of the product and customer service, and are highly involved in the purchase process. There are many bulletin boards where people discuss their automobile likes and dislikes as well as form fan clubs. A popular site is www.xcar.com.cn (a non-English site) which gets millions of hits per month (Alexa).

Using this opportunity to better understand the customers, automobile manufacturers can invest in social media in order to come up with better products as well as understand their target market better.

Case 11 - Social Media and Personal Lending

Two Chinese portals: PPDai and Qifang, hope to revolutionize the systems of microfinancing currently in place in a developing country such as China. Microfinancing has not developed at the same rate as in other Asian countries and these websites hope to build on the communities that are created through social networking sites in order to bring borrowers and lenders together. The success of this project remains to be seen however, as lending systems in China have historically relied upon trust that is built up through physical contact between parties.Qifang.com describes itself as 'China's first peer-to-peer student lending community.' Both websites are expected to be active by mid 2008, however more information can be obtained here.

Source: Personal Lending + Web 2.0 + China=?

Case 12 - China Youth Daily

The editor in chief of the China Youth Daily had recently outlined a plan to dock reporters' pay if their stories took issue with any Communist Party officials. One of the senior editors, Li Datong, had posted a memo on the company network that berated the plan. This was an act that could potentially lead to the closure of the newspaper. As soon as the chief editor discovered this information he attempted to have the memo removed but was too late. It had already begun spreading throughout the internet via instant messaging services and social networking sites. Within hours Li Datong had received millions of supportive messages via email. The party attempted to stamp it out by ordering one website after another to delete the letter, but ultimately succumbed to public pressure and ordered the editor in chief to scrap his plans.

(Source: "The Click That Broke a Government's Grip" on the Washington Post).

China: Technology Implications

ahmadtan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:10:38 CST

Censorship

China’s online population is currently over 300 million users and is expected to jump to 500 million by 2010.The country holds a tight grasp on censorship restrictions. Companies such as Google and Yahoo have met with these content censorship demands in order to satisfy this growing market.

Although China's constitution guarantees freedom of speech, it only holds true to a certain extent. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook were blocked in China. One main reason was due to a protest for religious freedom led by a group of 1000 Uighur Muslims which turned ugly.

According to a Netpop Research study, it shows that Chinese citizens are "more likely to share information broadly and openly." This is surprising considering the controversial debate on censorship by the government. Nevertheless, the study estimates that up to 92% of Chinese netizens use social media, meanwhile, only 76% of US netizens do the same.

This is a strong obstacle to the progress of China. By having censorship regulations, Chinese netizens are limited in content and information flow. From the study, there is definitely a huge market for social media. By restricting it, political as well as economical implication will arise.

Banned Olympics

In July 2008, the Chinese government blocked media access to certain Web sites. This is despite previously stating that foreign journalists would be able to report freely on the Olympic games.

Journalists in the Olympic village in China were blocked from “sites deemed sensitive to China’s communist leadership.

Although with all these measures in place, some bloggers found ways to bypass this censorship. China’s advanced Web censor, known as the “Great Firewall,” automatically tracks objectionable phrases. But bloggers found that some methods, including writing backwards, enabled them to circumvent the censor and get their message out.

Source: China to block “unhealthy” websites during Olympics

Qatar: From the Creators

HSauramo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:26:25 CST

We have created a video on how to navigate through our Qatar Wiki page. Enjoy!

Our fantastic project group from left to right: Jeremy, Heljo, Sarah and Zhu Ming.

We welcome any enquiries and/or requests for the improvement of this wiki page.

CONTACT US @

Heljo (Mikael )Sauramo
Finnish Exchange Student
Singapore Management University / HSE
hsauramo.2009@exchange.smu.edu.sg

Jeremy Aruldoss
Year 4 Business Management Undergraduate
Corporate Communication and Management Major
Singapore Management University
jeremya.2006@business.smu.edu.sg

Sarah Chong Xinen
Year 3 Economics and Business Management Undergraduate
Economics and Marketing Major
Singapore Management University
sarah.c.2007@smu.edu.sg

Tham Zhu Ming
Year 4 Business Management Undergraduate
Marketing & Sociology Major
Singapore Management University
zhuming.2006@business.smu.edu.sg

Qatar: Technology Penetration

HSauramo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:23:51 CST

Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

In terms of internet and broadband penetration, Qatar is already near the European level and also growing steadily. However, this doesn't include expatriate workers who constitute a large part of the Qatari population.
Also TV and computer penetration levels are high - mobile penetration is top-of-the-world as there are 1,2 - 1,3 mobile subscriptions per citizen!
The usage of internet focuses mostly on simple applications, such as email.
Online banking and government e-services are still underdeveloped.
More information from ictQATAR's report "Qatar's ICT Landscape 09". You can find it here.

SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS

An important demographic characteristic that separates Qatar, along with the UAE and Kuwait, from the rest of the world is that 40 percent of its
population age 18 and older are guest workers living in temporary housing and working mainly in construction. The number of these workers increases
or decreases from year to year depending on construction and real estate trends, impacting overall population figures. Because these workers have a
low ICT adoption rate in terms of basic ICT indicators, ICT figures based on the entire population tend to undermine the real situation. (ictQATAR, 2009)

OVERALL RANKINGS

According to ictQATAR (2008), Qatar ranks among the top three in the Arab world in terms of combined performance in basic ICT indicators, such
as the numbers of computer users, Internet users, mobile telephone, fixed telephone lines, and broadband Internet subscribers (see table).

Qatar's performance in main ICT indicators.
Source: Qatar ICT Landscape 2009

Qatar is also developing steadily, as it rose within a year from 32nd among 127 nations to 29th among 134 nations in the Networked Readiness Index
produced by the World Economic Forum and INSEAD. The residents have adopted ICT to a greater extent than businesses, which seem to suffer from
the lack of professional ICT workforce. (ictQATAR, 2009) Attracting guest workers with suitable education from other countries has been one method of
dealing with the problem.

The businesses in Qatar are mostly (80%) microenterprises, employing less than 10 people. These companies have fallen behind in the ICT
development, such as e-business infrastructure, web presence etc.). However, the Qatari government has been aggressively promoting ICT usage
– outperforming the business sector in e.g. PC and Internet use and ICT training for staff. (ictQATAR, 2009)

MEDIA PENETRATION

1. TV, telephone and computers

Source: Qatar ICT Landscape 2009

The penetration rates based on households are a better representation of the original Qatari population, since the large guest worker population is
largely living in temporary housings and are therefore not represented in these figures.

Qatar's penetration rate of fixed telephone lines is 83 percent and actually growing. Portugal has a penetration rate of 88 percent and Finland only
65 percent. However, in modern countries wireless solutions (3G, GSM, GPRS etc.) are replacing older technology - for example Finnish telephone
companies have started to dismantle fixed telephone lines because wireless technologies are more reliable and cheaper. Against this background,
one cannot argue that the rising penetration rate of fixed telephone lines in Qatar would be a sign of modern development as such.

2. Internet & broadband penetration

Source: International Telecommunication Union, 2009

The table above compares the latest available internet penetration rates of Qatar with a few other randomly selected countries. The numbers aren’t
that high, especially when compared to Western countries. However, this is not the entire truth, since Qatar’s population has its peculiarities.

Source: Qatar ICT Landscape 2009

As of 2008, Qatar has an internet penetration rate of 38% (Figure 4) up from 31.4% in 2007 (Figure 5). This is much higher than the world’s average
penetration of 8.2%. In 2007, with a total of 351,000 internet users, Qatar was ranked 64th position out of 203 countries globally and 3rd amongst the
Arab countries. When we exclude the large guest worker population, however, Internet penetration among Qatar’s residents is 63 percent. In this case,
the basic ICT indicators are on the European level – the EU 15 average.

Qatar has a broadband subscription of 5.4% in the third quarter of 2008.

Source: Qatar ICT Landscape 2009

Qatar is the 3rd most connected country in Arab countries. However, the Arab countries generally lag behind the more developed countries in terms of
both the internet penetration and broadband subscription. For example, Bahrain leads the Arab World with a 5.79% Internet broadband penetration
(total broadband accounts by total population), but this is still much lower than Denmark’s 32%, South Korea’s 29% or the United States’ 20%.
Broadband tariffs in Qatar are said to be particularly low for the region and broadband penetration on a household level is relatively high at over 40 % and possibly higher (Research & Markets, 2009).

Source: Qatar ICT Landscape 2009

The graphs (above) show the internet & broadband penetration rates of Qatar in comparison with certain country indexes. Based on what we’ve learned,
without the guest workers, Qatar’s internet penetration rate is actually higher than the EU 15 average! However, these rankings do differ between
sources and the years the surveys are made.

The biggest obstacles for ICT penetration in Qatar as perceived by households are 1) high cost of internet connection, 2) internet not available at work
and 3) lack of skills (ictQATAR, 2009). This testimony is somewhat contradictory to our previous results. Whether internet or broadband is expensive
or not, is very much a question of comparison.

Source: Qatar ICT Landscape 2009

The Qatari residents use Internet mostly for simple tasks, such as email and general research. More advanced use is not yet common, as the above
graph indicates. Use of online banking in Qatar is still a curiosity. In the table below are listed different Internet activities in Qatari citizens' order of
preference. It will probably require more marketing and maybe some ICT education to get Qatari people to adopt more advanced Internet applications.

3. Mobile penetration

Qatar has a very good penetration rate in mobile phones. ictQATAR (2009) states that 97,8 percent of households have mobile phones - remember,
expatriate workers not included. This is almost 10 % more than the EU 15 average! However, despite this great development, only 5 % of mobile
subscribers had a 3G protocol contract instead of the usual GSM in early 2009. This is noticeably lower than e.g. in UAE (Research & Markets, 2009).
The second table indicates the total mobile subscriptions based on all Qatari inhabitants. Qatar's success in mobile penetration is clearly visible here,
too: Qatar even beats Nokia's home country Finland (131,39 vs. 128,76 subscriptions/inhabintant)!

Source: International Telecommunication Union, 2009

Thailand: Government

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:52:36 CST

Modern Political Environment Thai's absolute monarchy ended in 1932 and was replaced by a hereditary monarchy in which the King serves as head of the country. Since then, there have been many periods of political turbulence and military coups that have destabilized the nation and its economy.
Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra, one of Thailand's former Prime Ministers, became a notorious figure in Thailand and internationally after he was forced to step down on charges of corruption. Prior to being in politics, Thaksin was a successful businessman and one of Thailand's richest men. In 1988, Thaksin co-founded and led the Thai Rak Thai Party. In 2001, Thaksin was elected as Thailand's Prime Minister in a landslide vote victory. In 2005, Thaksin was re-elected in what was considered to be the highest voter turnout in Thailand's history. Thailand’s economy grew tremendously, but the government came under consistent fire for human rights violations. Human Rights Watch once reported Thaksin as being "a human rights abuser of the worst kind". In September 2006, Thaksin was ousted from power via a military coup while he was at an UN meeting outside of Thailand. Facing allegations of corruption, Thaksin's bank accounts in Thailand were frozen and his party Thai Rak Thai was banned. During the period, Thaksin fled to England and the Thai court charged him as being guilty of corruption and sentenced him 2 years jail time. Thaksin has not served the court order till this day. At the same time, his wife also faced allegations involving irregularities in the purchase of government-owned land. The couple divorced in Hong Kong in Nov 2008, but this was said to have been a strategic legal move to keep the family's assets.
Aftermath Following the Thaksin corruption saga, a pro-Thaksin People Power Party (PPP) won the largest number of seats in the election and formed a six-party coalition government. The PPP's leader was Samak Sundaravej. Sundaravej became the prime minister of Thailand in January 2008. In September 2008, Sundaravej was removed from office by the Constitutional Court of Thailand. He was then replaced by PPP member Somchai Wongsawat, who happened to be Thaksin's brother-in-law. Following this replacement there was uproar and a mass demonstration took place that blocked the Prime Minister's Building and caused the world famous 'hijacking' of the Thailand International Airport. The demonstrators refused to end the airport siege unless Wongsawat stepped down. The massive protest caused great losses in terms of administration, tourism and economic confidence. On December 2, 2008, Thailand's Constitutional Court banned the ruling PPP and Wongsawat. The leader of the Democrat party, and former leader of the opposition, Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed and sworn-in as the 27th Prime Minister, together with the new Cabinet on the 17 December 2008. Economy Overview Thailand's economy depends heavily on the nation's export volume of goods and services. World Bank's forecasts that Thailand's export volume will grow by 8 percent in 2009 (Compared to 19.5% in 2008). Click here for more details. The export industry is vital to Thailand's economy. It accounts for 60% of Thailand's GDP and has maintained the nation's position as the second largest economy (After Indonesia) in Southeast Asia for many years. In 2009, Thailand's real GDP growth is forecasted to be 2%, which is the lowest since 1998. Thailand’s inflation rate is projected at 3% to 3.5%. Inflation is projected to increase in 2009, in part owing to rising oil prices, and the 2008 global financial meltdown. The current account will move into deficit in 2009 and will remain in negative territory for the remainder of the forecast period. Export growth will slow in the next year or so, owing to the economic slowdown in important export destinations such as the US. The strength of the baht against the US dollar will also hamper the competitiveness of exports. Government Policy on Information Technology There are two National IT Policies that NECTEC (National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre) has come up with. 1. IT 2000 - The first national information technology policy in Thailand, namely IT 2000, was approved by the Cabinet in February 1996. The IT 2000 Policy provided the framework and guidelines for IT development of the country during 1996 - 2000. It identified three key areas necessary for IT development in Thailand, which are: National Information Infrastructure: Investing in an equitable information infrastructure. Human Resource: Investing in people. Good Governance: Investing in the enhancement of government service. 2. IT 2010 - The National IT Policy Framework for the year 2001-2010, namely IT 2010, was developed as a second phase of the national IT policy to move Thailand into a knowledge-based economy (KBE)/ knowledge-based society (KBS). IT 2010 was approved by the Cabinet in March 2002. It recommends five strategic flagships for Thailand and the issues related to these five flagships are: e-Society: bridging the digital divide, quality of life, culture, health, and public participation. e-Education: developing human resources, life-long learning, computer literacy, and virtual education. e-Industry: focusing on e-manufacturing and IT-related industries, plus issues such as standardization. e-Commerce: specially focusing on e-services including not only finance, tourism and IT services, but also other industries. e-Government: including public service via electronic service delivery, employment, and legal infrastructure.
	Future Government Spending on Infrastructure ASEAN Affairs[4] reported, on 28 February 2008, that Thailand's newly elected Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had unveiled an ambitious spending plan and is working on a new budget. This is essential for Thailand’s economy to flourish in the long run[5]. Sundaravej’s plans to add nine new rail lines to Bangkok's mass transit while overhauling the national rail system from a single to dual track. He also proposed new irrigation projects and improvements to sea ports and airports. However, Sundaravej’s spending plans will be constrained by the 2008 budget till further notice. The 2008 budget, passed by the outgoing government, is designed to run a modest budget deficit of around 2.5% of GDP. That includes 150 billion baht of funds earmarked for two or three new mass transit rail lines for Bangkok, which, if all goes to plan, should commence construction by the end of this year[6].
Thailand: Government Issues Recently there have been growing concerns regarding Thailand's government over regulating the local internet. Thailand's government believes that information is transmitted too easily over the internet, and may therefore pose as threats to Thailand's image and reputation. There is a fear that unfavorable information may violate national security through viral means. Internet regulations heightened after a video on Youtube surfaced. The Thai government strongly felt that the video insulted Thailand's King, and requested for Youtube to remove the video immediately or be banned in Thailand. There are reports that Thai netizens who ran high traffic blogs were summoned by the police after the Thaksin coup because their content was considered too sensitive. These people were outrage and reported to international source that their "sensitive" content was those that were totally ignored by local media. They believed that their content was only considered too sensitive at that time because the government wanted to curb Thaksin supporters. Targets for investigation include average web users and university professors. And the police rolled in not only Thai locals but also foreigners. Giles Ji Ungpakorn, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University, was charged because of his book “A Coup for the Rich,” which can be downloaded for free at his blog, wdpress. Harry Nicolaides, an Australian writer once a lecturer at Mae Fah Luang university in Chiang Rai, has been detained for his magazines and websites articles. Thai Information and Communications Technology ministry (ICT), started from 15 December, reported more that 2,300 websites have been blocked and 400 are being investigated. Nearly 2 million euros (80 million baht) have been earmarked for web filtering. Thai Netizen Network, a group of pro-democracy Thai internet users, bloggers and webmasters are accusing its government of suppressing online freedom. Besides internet freedom, this group also criticizes the government's wrong allocation of resource. While the time, human and capital resource could be used to battle real bad matters such as phishing and hacking attempts, the government is using that resource to drag down the democracy and blacken the country's image. Trust in the Thai Government There has been a reduction in trust that the Thais have for their government. From the results of the Asian Barometer Survey, Thais placed low trust in political parties despite the 2006 election results. This is probably because they had in mind the parties’ characteristics as “shifting coalitions of interest groups, bound together by some perceived affinity and mutual advantage, but prone to defections and shifting alliances”. Another instant to show a reduction in trust of the Thai government is a spoof of Thailand’s “The Nation” called “Not the Nation”. The latter site expresses the Thai public’s outcry for a greater freedom of press.

[1] http://www.economist.com/countries/Thailand/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=10674133
[2] http://www.economist.com/countries/Thailand/profile.cfm?folder=Profile%2DPolitical%20Structure

[3] http://www.mfa.go.th/web/16.php

[4] http://www.aseanaffairs.com/page/thailand/government%20policy%20pm%20unveils%20big%20spending%20plans

[5] http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/03/06/opinion/opinion_30067323.php

[6] http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JB15Ae01.html

Taiwan: Interviews

adamr.2007 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:21:44 CST

	Money. Blogging. Technology. These three elements form the impetus which motivates Kenneth Dickson to develop InvestorBlogger.com. Currently residing in Taiwan, Kenneth Dickson is an expatriate who manages Dickson's English House, a learning center where Taiwanese kids can improve their English language proficiency. InvestorBlogger.com is a platform which Kenneth Dickson utilizes to share his financial insights, mistakes and experiences. It is through his ideas and opinions that he wishes to impart knowledge about doing business in Taiwan to prospective businessmen and interested readers alike. Read the interview here.

Money. Blogging. Technology. These three elements form the impetus which motivates Kenneth Dickson to develop InvestorBlogger.com. Currently residing in Taiwan, Kenneth Dickson is an expatriate who manages Dickson's English House, a learning center where Taiwanese kids can improve their English language proficiency.

InvestorBlogger.com is a platform which Kenneth Dickson utilizes to share his financial insights, mistakes and experiences. It is through his ideas and opinions that he wishes to impart knowledge about doing business in Taiwan to prospective businessmen and interested readers alike.

Read the interview here.

	Taiwanese blogger Ya-Ya Ching has attracted nearly 2 million visitors to her blog, with more than 200,000 hits a day. The secret behind Ya-Ya's success? Probably attributed to her less conventional writing topic. Ya-Ya is on a quest to kiss 100 random men while studying in Paris. Her blog documents her attempts at garnering smooches from these strangers, with a vivid story detailing the moments leading up to each kiss. Each romantic conquest is also accompanied with pictures, featuring picturesque French locales in the background. Ya-Ya came up with the idea three years ago and has found great success since she started this summer. Despite the controversial subject matter, she has managed to capture the imagination and interests of the Taiwanese blogging community, giving them a glance into the life of a whimsical Taiwanese girl in the city of love. So far, she has snagged 54 kisses. Read the interview here .

Taiwanese blogger Ya-Ya Ching has attracted nearly 2 million visitors to her blog, with more than 200,000 hits a day. The secret behind Ya-Ya's success? Probably attributed to her less conventional writing topic. Ya-Ya is on a quest to kiss 100 random men while studying in Paris. Her blog documents her attempts at garnering smooches from these strangers, with a vivid story detailing the moments leading up to each kiss. Each romantic conquest is also accompanied with pictures, featuring picturesque French locales in the background.

Ya-Ya came up with the idea three years ago and has found great success since she started this summer. Despite the controversial subject matter, she has managed to capture the imagination and interests of the Taiwanese blogging community, giving them a glance into the life of a whimsical Taiwanese girl in the city of love. So far, she has snagged 54 kisses.

Read the interview here .

	In an effort to reach out to this growing group, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau targeted a large chunk of its advertising this year towards luring bloggers to the island. They are capitalizing on a global trend. The Tourism Bureau is betting that the winning bloggers will share exciting stories and pictures from their trip and entice others to visit Taiwan. So why the idea of asking contestants to blog? We ask Cathy Hung this and much more. Read the interview here.

In an effort to reach out to this growing group, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau targeted a large chunk of its advertising this year towards luring bloggers to the island. They are capitalizing on a global trend. The Tourism Bureau is betting that the winning bloggers will share exciting stories and pictures from their trip and entice others to visit Taiwan. So why the idea of asking contestants to blog? We ask Cathy Hung this and much more.

Read the interview here.

Interviews of 2008:
Mr. Portnoy is an avid blogger. The main theme of his blog is media, although he also blogs about his personal thoughts on politics, technologies, news and life. As a Master Degree holder in Telecommunications and Journalism, he was intrigued by the influence of the blogosphere and has since maintained a strong passion in Web 2.0. Mr. Portnoy is a respected and credible blogger in the Taiwanese blogosphere and was invited to be a contributor as part of the Global Voices team. Global Voices (GV) is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School that seeks to promote freedom of expression. The GV organization’s goal is to aggregate, curate, and amplify the global conversation online by shining light on places and people other media often ignore. As a contributor, Portnoy made sense of interesting news and information generated by Taiwan’s online citizen media and made these information available to GV, so that GV readers can be exposed to hot topics in the online citizen media which mainstream media may not be reporting. He began as a volunteer contributor and soon after became a GV author, reporting on the Taiwanese blogosphere, which is focused mainly on travel and technology, and some politics. Mr. Portnoy was also the inspiration behind the Global Voices’ Lingua project. Project Lingua was established to amplify GV in languages other than English with the help of volunteer translators, opening the lines of communication with non-English speaking bloggers and readers of GV by translating main GV site content into other languages. Mr. Portnoy is currently an active contributor (translator) to the GV in Chinese. Read the interview here.
Scott Sommers is currently an instructor in the English Language Center at Ming Chuan University in Taipei. He has lived in Taiwan since 1996 and prior to joining MCU in 2002 taught business English in Taipei and Taipei County. Before Taiwan, Mr. Sommers taught at universities, colleges, and business companies in South Korea and Japan. Scott reveals in his blog that the real reason that he started his blog is that he enjoys writing. He blogs mainly about education in Asia and particularly, language education – a subject that he is most familiar with. He also writes about other matters of academic interest, such as books that might interest his readers or current ideas. One of his main purposes of writing his blog was to clear up confusion that cluttered the Internet about finding jobs at Taiwan universities and Scott has experienced some successful at this. It is now possible to find the information one needs to launch a credible job search in Taiwan. However, he continues to view this as one of the main reasons for his blog. Read the interview here.
Dell’s blog, called “one2one”, allows employees to post messages and videos in their own voices and under their own names; and it allows readers to submit comments, even negative ones. Dell, the American technology company, launched its Chinese blog in March 2007 for the Chinese in Taiwan and China. In fact, Dell was the first technology company to launch a corporate blog in Chinese, and the blog has now grown into a great tool for Dell to connect with customers directly and reach out to reporters and digital influencers. With more and more Chinese people getting online, it became increasingly important for Dell to connect with customers via the internet in the language they feel most comfortable speaking. In our email interview with blog master Jacqui Zhou, she essentially mentions that the blog had become a necessity to make sure Dell’s communications keeps pace with its growth, and enable it to better serve and communicate with its customers. Read the interview here.

Interviews of 2008:

Mr. Portnoy is an avid blogger. The main theme of his blog is media, although he also blogs about his personal thoughts on politics, technologies, news and life. As a Master Degree holder in Telecommunications and Journalism, he was intrigued by the influence of the blogosphere and has since maintained a strong passion in Web 2.0.

Mr. Portnoy is a respected and credible blogger in the Taiwanese blogosphere and was invited to be a contributor as part of the Global Voices team. Global Voices (GV) is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School that seeks to promote freedom of expression. The GV organization’s goal is to aggregate, curate, and amplify the global conversation online by shining light on places and people other media often ignore.

As a contributor, Portnoy made sense of interesting news and information generated by Taiwan’s online citizen media and made these information available to GV, so that GV readers can be exposed to hot topics in the online citizen media which mainstream media may not be reporting. He began as a volunteer contributor and soon after became a GV author, reporting on the Taiwanese blogosphere, which is focused mainly on travel and technology, and some politics.

Mr. Portnoy was also the inspiration behind the Global Voices’ Lingua project. Project Lingua was established to amplify GV in languages other than English with the help of volunteer translators, opening the lines of communication with non-English speaking bloggers and readers of GV by translating main GV site content into other languages. Mr. Portnoy is currently an active contributor (translator) to the GV in Chinese.

Read the interview here.

Scott Sommers is currently an instructor in the English Language Center at Ming Chuan University in Taipei. He has lived in Taiwan since 1996 and prior to joining MCU in 2002 taught business English in Taipei and Taipei County. Before Taiwan, Mr. Sommers taught at universities, colleges, and business companies in South Korea and Japan.

Scott reveals in his blog that the real reason that he started his blog is that he enjoys writing. He blogs mainly about education in Asia and particularly, language education – a subject that he is most familiar with. He also writes about other matters of academic interest, such as books that might interest his readers or current ideas.

One of his main purposes of writing his blog was to clear up confusion that cluttered the Internet about finding jobs at Taiwan universities and Scott has experienced some successful at this. It is now possible to find the information one needs to launch a credible job search in Taiwan. However, he continues to view this as one of the main reasons for his blog.

Read the interview here.

Dell’s blog, called “one2one”, allows employees to post messages and videos in their own voices and under their own names; and it allows readers to submit comments, even negative ones.

Dell, the American technology company, launched its Chinese blog in March 2007 for the Chinese in Taiwan and China. In fact, Dell was the first technology company to launch a corporate blog in Chinese, and the blog has now grown into a great tool for Dell to connect with customers directly and reach out to reporters and digital influencers. With more and more Chinese people getting online, it became increasingly important for Dell to connect with customers via the internet in the language they feel most comfortable speaking.

In our email interview with blog master Jacqui Zhou, she essentially mentions that the blog had become a necessity to make sure Dell’s communications keeps pace with its growth, and enable it to better serve and communicate with its customers.

Read the interview here.

Read more about Taiwan's Digital Social Media:
About Taiwan Media Landscape Case Studies Interviews Useful Links From the Creator

Read more about Taiwan's Digital Social Media:

About Taiwan
Media Landscape
Case Studies
Interviews
Useful Links
From the Creator

Thailand: Case Studies

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:06:21 CST

While internet availability and stability across Thailand varies, these does not stop companies and organizations from trying new marketing campaigns on upcoming platforms. Here, we have raised several case studies to exhibit how social media is being leveraged on by businesses.

1. Tourism Authority of Thailand

	Thailand is slowing evolving by embracing social media more than before. One such example is Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Recently they have launched a worldwide marketing campaign targeting web savvy users called The Ultimate Thailand Explorers. The aim of this campaign Mrs Juthaporn Rerngrosana, Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor for Marketing Communication explained the reasoning behind the event: “The tourism industry has been affected from frequently false and certainly exaggerated information about the political instability in Thailand, much of which has been spread over the internet.” The campaign was being aired worldwide especially those found online such as blogs, social networking sites and these had made an impact on tourist's and their travel making decisions. Of course this campaign does promote Thailand’s top 5 destinations, namely Bangkok, ******, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui via various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or blogs. The finalist teams will get to explore their selected destination and as a requirement of the contest, also share their experience through the use of social media tools, be it photos, videos and travel stories. Eventually the team with the most votes will be crowned winner and walk away with fabulous prizes. With this example, it shows that Thailand is making efforts to promote the use of social media in the country. With a contest like this, not only web savvy people are attracted but other visitors to the site as well will be able to see their pictures posted online and videos of their journey. This campaign serves as a travel diary for all to see firsthand. We can see from this campaign that Thailand has realized the power and use of social media. As more and more tourist become web savvy, Thailand has to keep up with the trends and this marketing campaign is just one of the many initiatives that the government is doing to promote the use of Web 2.0 and social media. For more analysis, listen to our podcast discussion on this campaign.
The main tourism website also has links to various blogs written by a writer from Tourism Authority of Thailand and the other written by Eugene Tang. In those blogs, you will have pictures and videos of the various events and places of interest of Thailand in general. This blog serves as a purpose to promote Thailand and to keep visitors to Thailand updated of the various events that are happening around Thailand in a more informal basis. Also you get more information about what to see and do at the destination as highlights of the place is written up.

Thailand is slowing evolving by embracing social media more than before. One such example is Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Recently they have launched a worldwide marketing campaign targeting web savvy users called The Ultimate Thailand Explorers.

The aim of this campaign Mrs Juthaporn Rerngrosana, Tourism Authority of Thailand Deputy Governor for Marketing Communication explained the reasoning behind the event: “The tourism industry has been affected from frequently false and certainly exaggerated information about the political instability in Thailand, much of which has been spread over the internet.” The campaign was being aired worldwide especially those found online such as blogs, social networking sites and these had made an impact on tourist's and their travel making decisions.

Of course this campaign does promote Thailand’s top 5 destinations, namely Bangkok, ******, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui via various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or blogs.

The finalist teams will get to explore their selected destination and as a requirement of the contest, also share their experience through the use of social media tools, be it photos, videos and travel stories. Eventually the team with the most votes will be crowned winner and walk away with fabulous prizes.

With this example, it shows that Thailand is making efforts to promote the use of social media in the country. With a contest like this, not only web savvy people are attracted but other visitors to the site as well will be able to see their pictures posted online and videos of their journey. This campaign serves as a travel diary for all to see firsthand.

We can see from this campaign that Thailand has realized the power and use of social media. As more and more tourist become web savvy, Thailand has to keep up with the trends and this marketing campaign is just one of the many initiatives that the government is doing to promote the use of Web 2.0 and social media.

For more analysis, listen to our podcast discussion on this campaign.

The main tourism website also has links to various blogs written by a writer from Tourism Authority of Thailand and the other written by Eugene Tang. In those blogs, you will have pictures and videos of the various events and places of interest of Thailand in general.

This blog serves as a purpose to promote Thailand and to keep visitors to Thailand updated of the various events that are happening around Thailand in a more informal basis.

Also you get more information about what to see and do at the destination as highlights of the place is written up.

2. Movieseer

MovieSeer Limited is a leading Southeast Asian provider of mobile phone content and information services based out of Bangkok. The main goal in setting up the company was to get movie information available to consumers. They began with a Web 1.0 site on the Internet providing localised information on movies to consumers. Following that, they moved towards the mobile platform to reach consumers. They shared that they do have plans to move towards the Web 2.0 arena.

No matter whether it is via the Internet or mobile, Movieseer is seeking to move towards including the social aspect. The first layer is information such as movie timings, the second layer is content such as trailers and wallpapers, and finally they are integrating social media as well for example by sharing your favourite movies or movie reviews with people in your social circle.

Mr. Roy D.Chapin IV, CEO of MovieSeer, brought up the point that once the Thai people get on to something, they get really obsessed and talk about it. Hence it is very important to let people create their own fan-sites on mobile and the Internet so that they can create their own community around it. This brings up the importance of user-generated content, especially in a collectivistic society like Thailand.

Mr. Chapin also brought up a point that mobile companies are very policed and strict but the Internet is a much more relaxed place. The ultimate goal is to let the users monitor themselves in a group. For example, reporting persons or messages. You want to let the group decide what they want to talk about it. It is about giving the users their own choice within
the group, but you can give them the option to decide.

Also, a possible reason why the technology-media scene is not as developed in Thailand is that they don’t have a lot of angel investors to back-up any developments as they do not see much benefits of it. This is because, to them, the technology is new and more pertinantly, the business model has not yet been proven. However, Mr. Chapin believes that in time to come, there will be a big explosion on the Thai blogging scene.

3. Salads Club

The Salads Club represents an original series of character creation created by a Thai company. This series of adorable characters will soon be introduced worldwide and to every household. To create buzz, the company created a website to allow viewers to learn more about the characters.
The website provides a range of products and animated movies and clips and also allows viewers to download wallpapers, mobile phone themes, animated gifs, e-cards and even dolls or figures in time to come.

In addition, they tapped into Web 2.0 and interacted with the Asia region audiences by creating their presence on Salads Club Facebook and Salads Club Hi5 groups. For example, the administrators asked their Facebook group members what they like to see the company produce and the members do reply with suggestions like a “sugar cane character”. They also made use of Facebook to announce new character’s emoticons to evolve interest in the audience.

4. The Scholar-Activist Nexus

The Scholar-Activist Nexus is a case study of the Thai Media Policy.

This is a power point presentation slides on the case study of the Thai Media Policy from the Social Science Research Council - Media Research Hub. It shows the social movement that advocates for media reform in Thailand from day one. It shows the debating of the social media issues to the reforming and movement of social media in Thailand as well as the Thai-MPAC activities in Thailand.

It also shows a particular wordpress blog on FACT - Freedom against Censorship Thailand. The blog has the most recent update of all activities involving the social media in Thailand.

Thailand: Social

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:59:47 CST

1. Tourism Tourism is one of Thailand’s main sources of revenue. In 2007, the tourism industry accounted for more than 10% of GDP. It is even expected to reach 12.4% in 2014. Thailand is an extremely popular tourist destination in Europe, particularly in the Scandinavian region. In 2007, Thailand was voted as the ‘Best Tourist Country’ at the 12th Danish Travel Awards, making it the second time that Thailand has received the award. In 2008 Thailand was voted for the second straight year as the ‘Best Tourist Country In The World’ in the 2009 Norwegian Grand Travel Award. Thai Airways International in Norway also won the 2009 Norwegian Grand Travel Award for the best intercontinental airline. 2009 is the fifth consecutive year that Thai Airways in Norway has won the award, competing with Lufthansa, British Airways and SAS for the top place. Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea are important sources of tourism Thailand, as Thailand is a popular holiday destination is these countries. It is also expected that inbound tourist expenditure per head will increase by around 10.49% in 2011 as compared to 2006. Thailand has also been promoting its health care services, and projections estimate that the visitor arrival for the purpose of medical treatment will reach 2 million by 2010.
2. The Thai King Thailand's government and the vast majority of nation's population are fiercly loyal to their King. Thailand's government and people go to great lengths to defend maintain the King's diety-like status. In 2007 the level of Thailand’s reverence for their King was brought to international attention when the Thai Government implemented a five month ban the popular video streaming site YouTube for refusing to remove a video which allegedly "insulted" of the Thai King. A disgruntled Thai male had posted a video of footprints over a picture of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which is considered to be a grave insult in Thai culture. The video caused an uproar because the soles of a person's bare feet are considered to be unclean and showing the soles of your feet is extremely rude in Thai culture. (Note - The 2007 ban was not the first time Thailand's government had banned Youtube.) Following a period of heated discussions, the ban was lifted after an agreement with YouTube. YouTube stated that it had implemented a filtering technology to screen offensive clips in Thailand by preventing Thai Internet service providers from accessing them. This example highlights the fact that Thailand's media environment is heavily regulated and one that has to be approached with much care.

	2.1 Colonization Owing to the statesmanship of two rulers, Thailand was spared the fate of colonization that befell its neighbours. · Interested in Western science and civilization, King Mongkut (Rama IV), who reigned from 1851 to 1868, invited many European advisers to assist him in modernizing the country. · King Mongkut’s son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who reigned during the height of the onslaught of European colonization, continued the vigorous modernization efforts of his father and managed to maintain the country's independence, albeit at considerable cost in territorial concessions. This makes Thailand special as it is the only country in Southeast Asia never to be colonized by the West. The Thais take great pride in the preservation of their freedom, independence and way of life that makes their country unique. [2]
3. Conservatism Thais are rather conservative in their nature as they are not accustomed to meeting new people unless social networking happens in “safe areas” such as movies. An example lies with one of our Business Case Studies on Movieseer. Movieseer give Thais a chance to interact and make new friends on the basis of common interests (e.g. favourite movies, favourite movie stars) via SMS or meet-ups. This has been such a hit in Thailand because movies provide a common platform for allowing Thais to meet new people. 4. Collectivism Once the Thais get hooked on something new, the speed at which it catches on with the majority of the population is exponential. Information sharing by word-of-mouth is extremely powerful, thus showing the extent of the Thais' collectivistic culture of placing a high importance in group bonding. 5. Socio-Cultural and Politics correlation An agricultural society will have traditional tendency in its approaches in other aspects of the society whereas an industrial society will have modern tendency when dealing with the same issues. A traditional society is likely to have higher tolerance and usually take a passive or proactive to it's problems. Thailand is an agricultural society. Therefore, while the international community expressed its concerns about Thaksin and other recent events in Thai political scene that Thailand's democracy is deteriorated, some believe that is the level of socio-cultural Thai hasn't surpassed.
6. Demographics 6.1 People As of Feb 2009 the Kingdom of Thailand's population size was 66.7 million. Thai citizens originate from a number of different racial backgrounds. The majority (80%) of Thailand's population consist of indigenous Thais. Other major racial groups of Thailand include the local Chinese and Indians. Gender Distribution Male: 49.17% Female: 50.83% Bangkok is Thailand's capital and the nation's largest city with approximately9 million people. With regards to the disposition of Thai people, Thailand is commonly regarded as the land of smiles due to the friendly nature and service oriented attitude of local Thai people. Another attraction of the local Thai people is their patience and tolerance for others. To many tourists Thai people just seem to have a friendly disposition and this has certainly helped its tourism industry flourish. Thailand's current estimated population growth of 0.68% is considered to be slow. At the current rate, experts predict that by the year 2020, Thailand's population growth will be 0% [1]. This slow population growth is mainly due to the nation's aging population and declining birth rates. 6.2 Language Thai is the most commonly used language amongst the Thais. Thus, having a basic command of the Thai language and common Thai phrases will be extremely useful when communicating with locals. Thailand is a very tourist friendly nation and in major tourist destinations such Bangkok. Many local Thai people are able to converse basic English and even some European languages. It is also very common to see English translations on Thai Street and direction signs.

[1] Thailand: Country seen facing zero population growth by 2020. Thai Press Reports. July 24, 2006.

Thaliand: Business

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:54:18 CST

1. Starting a Business In Thailand

Many foreigners come to Thailand to start businesses with and without Thai partners. While both are possible, there are a lot of requirements which we will go into below. We strongly recommend you understand the implications of a foreigner running a business in Thailand before pursuing your 'tropical paradise dream'. It could end up as an expensive nightmare! So-called ''professional' companies selling businesses and law offices may tell you otherwise, but they are only interested in their commissions and fees, which are substantial.

As you will read below, the authorities seem to be going out of their way to discourage foreigner-owned small businesses. There were no changes made after the 2006 military coup, but the recently elected new government will proceed with new legislation. This includes changes to the Thai Foreign Business Act. Company control will be based on voting rights rather than shareholding. With a maximum of 49% foreign shareholding allowed, the owner may be outvoted by the 51% majority Thai shareholders in a control-related issue.

For certain categories of foreign business or investment, the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) offers a government-sponsored scheme which includes tax and other incentives. Preferential treatment is also given to US citizens going into business.

Many foreigners over the age of 50 take advantage of the retirement visa (non immigrant visa for retirees). The financial requirements are relatively easy to comply with, including a basic medical certificate, annual evidence of funds, a pension or regular income. However, the retirement visa does not allow any form of employment or work, even as a consultant – paid or not. Foreigners may receive profits from a business, so they can invest in Thai businesses, but cannot be involved in any way with the day-to-day running without a work permit specific to that business and its location. Few options are available to those who need to earn income in Thailand without transgressing the immigration and foreign labour laws.

Internet-based business is possible but foreigners with business web sites are now supposed to declare this to the authorities. Non-Thai website hosting is advisable. Read more about internet businesses which can be managed from any physical location in Thailand, Asia or virtually anywhere else, with proceeds available as cash wherever you are.

2. Partnership with a Thai Citizen

To own and run a local small business, typically a restaurant, bar, guest house or retail shop, the usual method is to have a Thai partner(perhaps a wife, lover or friend) who will 'front' it. It is unwise to have your Thai lawyer as a partner, by the way. Inconspicuous Thai-owned small businesses have less to comply with regarding Thai bureaucracy. Provided the foreigner stays in the background or acts like a paying customer, fewer problems like licensing, VAT, accounting and auditing, to name some, are likely to be encountered. Most foreign-owned or run bars, restaurants and guest houses in Thailand and also the Philippines are operated this way.

Whether there is a profit at the end of it more or less depends on the relationship with the partner– business or personal. Of the many ex-pats who try it, few are successful. Many end up losing all their money one way or another – especially where there's a Thai wife, lover or other partner is involved. A word of warning to those who have never had a successful business in their own country: don't try it in Thailand! Stories of failure and loss are legendary.

Owner/operators (including Thai nationals) of bars and clubs which provide more personal hospitality or customer entertainment, apart from complying with local licensing and regulations, need to maintain good relationships with police or the local mafia who expect regular contributions to their 'welfare funds'. Depending on what type of entertainment or 'personal services' are on offer, these donations can be a considerable portion of gross income (not profit). However, more conventional businesses do not usually encounter these problems. Read an article on the 'joys' of owning a bar in Thailand.

3. Employing its Foreign Owner

For a foreigner to stay in Thailand and run (work in) even a perfectly legitimate business, there is really only one legal option and the requirements are quite extensive. The main requirement is the issue of a Work Permit.

There is a list of business activities restricted to Thais only. Business applications need to be handled by a lawyer experienced in these matters. A reputable Thai lawyer(considered by some as a contradiction in terms!) is best found by recommendation from a foreigner already resident or in business in Thailand. Embassy lists are not reliable. Charges vary and will include application fees to the various government and licensing authorities. It is essential to get a quote or invoice beforehand, detailing as much as possible.

Some lawyers will expect 50% of their fee on application and the remainder when completion is imminent. Due the nature of Thai law and regulations which often change without warning, this can be a frustrating and time-consuming exercise for all concerned, with inexplicable delays. However, there's much more to come after you have complied with all the requirements and are actually trying to run your new business.

It is worth noting that Thai Immigration, which is a department of the Royal Thai Police uses the word 'alien' in English translations to describe anyone who is not a registered Thai citizen. This includes the many groups of hill tribe people who have lived in the north of the country for generations. Regulations become more stringent each year. Currently they require foreign 'aliens' to be employed by a limited company (Co., Ltd.), in a position that a Thai would not qualify for including certain businesses or professions. This legislation also covers work that most Thais feel is beneath them, like manual labour, which is why Lao and Burmese labourers are allowed into the country to work usually for a pittance.

Foreigners in Thailand are naive if they think that their knowledge, business skills, willingness to employ people or generate income and taxes for the overall benefit of Thailand and Thai people, is wanted, much less appreciated, by the Thais.

One-way investment including up market tourism is far more preferable and this is encouraged. There are former government-sponsored schemes to attract money from the rich and famous.Low budget tourists or retirees with relatively low resources are tolerated rather than welcomed, in spite of the overall financial benefits they bring.

A foreigner can form or buy a Thai company, and even be the sole director of it, but Thai citizens must jointly own at least 51% of its shares – meaning a majority is technically under Thai control. Currently it is possible to allocate shares to several unrelated people, who could have no combined effect on the company's business, and this can be arranged by the lawyer, but along with most things connected with business in Thailand, there are considerable risks involved.

Amendments to the Foreign Business Act this year will change things for a foreign business owner in Thailand. Company control will be based on voting rights rather than shareholding. As only a 49% foreign shareholding is allowed, it would be technically possible for the owner to be outvoted by the Thai majority shareholders.

There is also a minimum amount of paid up capital required before a foreigner can be employed. Previously this was a figure on paper only. Now, evidence in the form of bank accounts or company assets need to shown. See further requirements below.

4. Work Permit and Visa

If the business application involves a foreigner being employed, then a Work Permit application can be started simultaneously. After the company has been set up or taken over and all the fees etc. paid, the Work Permit needs to be approved too. Any foreigner who wants to be employed by the company (with or without reimbursement), even a sole director, needs a Work Permit which is issued by the Employment Office of the municipality or city where the business will be located.

The list of requirements is extensive and includes producing original documents regarding education (no matter how long ago they were issued), other qualifications and more, including identification and house papers for the minimum number of local staff that must be employed before a foreigner is allowed to be on the payroll.

Once you have your work permit, which can be issued for one or more years, you take it to Immigration and apply to have your visa changed to anon-immigrant (business) visa, paying the annual fee.

Tip: If you have been staying in Thailand on extension stamps during your application, you should briefly leave and re-enter before applying for the change of visa type, as the expiry date for your new business visa will be one year after your most recent entry into Thailand.

Now you can commence work, but strictly in the designated occupation at a single place of business for a certain period of time, after which the permit must be extended or renewed. Periodic inspections may be carried out and penalties for non-compliance include fines and or prison terms. Here is more on the different classes of business visa for Thailand.

5. Annual Re-application (renewal)

The non-immigrant business visa requires annual re-application with all the same personal paperwork being re-submitted, plus audited annual accounts(see below) for the business. Three sets of copies of each document (there may be a hundred or more) need to be signed by the director(s) over the company stamp.

Regulations for applications for extension of a Non Immigrant "B" visa have been further reinforced and now must be supported by the following documents:

Certified photocopies of the company's Affidavit and Shareholders' List certified as a true copy of the original by the Ministry of Commerce; the most recent Annual Financial Statements certified as a true copy of the original by the auditor who audited it; copies of the company's most recent Personal Income Tax Return (PND1) with the Revenue Department's receipt plus photocopy of the applicant's most recent Annual Personal Income Tax Return (PND91), certified as a true copy of the original by the Revenue Department; photocopy of the employing company's most recent Social Security Fund monthly return certified as a true copy of the original by the Social Security Fund Office.

In addition to the above, photographic evidence is now required when making the initial application to extend a Non Immigrant "B" visa. When making the first application for an extension the applicant must also supply photographs of every employee at their place of work. This came into effect in May 2007. It is so that Immigration has photographic records they can use to verify employees when making surprise checks on the premises.

These visits are to be carried out so as to check the supplied information is correct. Any discrepancies may result in cancellation of the visa application and reporting to the police of the company and the unregistered staff.

There is no automatic renewal. Each year is treated as a new application.

Thailand: Culture

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:50:51 CST

1. Thai habits The Thai are a proud nation of people with a long history and well-established, complex hierarchical structure of status. Starting with the Thai royal family and percolating down, everyone in Thailand knows and respects their place in society. A polite Thai (which is most of them) will usually immediately identify whether another is of higher status than them (usually deemed by age or wealth) and initiate the 'wai' - a submissive and graceful bringing together of the hands to the chest or beneath the nose (to show ultimate respect). Even on a social level they will refer to their elders as 'pii' (older sibling). In fact social grace is paramount and the formal suffix 'kha' (female) and 'khrup' (male) is added to the end of all sentences when addressing strangers, employers/employees or elders.
There are many other habits of etiquette which the foreigner will do well to observe, the most important being to avoid loss of face by losing your temper. The feet are considered dirty and should not be pointed directly at people or raised; shoes are usually never worn in indoor living areas and the head is sanctified, so avoid touching someone else on the head, unless they are an intimate friend. Contrary to popular impression, Thais are quite conservative and expect visitors to dress appropriately in formal public places. They are also discreet about showing affection, especially in public. Holding hands is considered taboo among the older generation. While Westerners tend to pick up the subtle tone of voice to indicate someone's mood, Thais read more into one's body language and general approach. Emphasis is usually placed on passiveness and although they are used to foreigners being abrupt, it pays to smile constantly and go gently. Eye contact is a common and important method of placing strangers at ease and there is good reason why Thailand is known as 'the land of smiles'. The Thai are incredibly patient and forgiving in an imperfect society and are happy to accept things as they are. The best you can do as a foreigner is to offer a soft laugh in testing situations, and say 'mai pen rai' (never mind) - a frequently used excuse. For most Thai people, even in the modern era, acting appropriately to maintain or improve your status is extremely important and this goes some way towards explaining their desire for material gain and wealth. Above all, they adore their King and greatly respect the Royal family; indeed his Highness King Bhumibol (Rama IX) of the current Chakri dynasty (and the world's longest reigning monarch still alive) is hugely respected for his compassionate servitude to the entire nation, along with Queen Sirikit.Thai cultural behavior is far reaching and subtle, and often creates some frustration for foreigners who are unaware of the cultural habits that may influence everyday business and service. For an in-depth, albeit slightly dated, insight we recommend Robert and Nanthapa Cooper's Culture Shock: Thailand (Times ISBN:981 204 157 5).
	2. Thailand: Cultural Issues 2.1 Cultural Identity and Development Process in Thailand The conflict between cultural identity and development in the Thai society does not seem to be a big problem. It can be said in general that there is no ethnic minority in Thailand. There are a considerable number of Chinese in Thailand but most, if not all of them, have been culturalized into the mainstream. The member minority group in Thailand is Thai Muslim, most of whom live in the South. There is very little conflict between Thai Buddhists and Thai Muslims. Our country, it can be said, is quite homogeneous, and consequently cultural identity does not pose a big problem. The pillars of Thai cultural identity are the institution of monarchy and the religion of Buddhism. The institution of monarchy has been in Thai society for more than 700 years, without any interruption. The king has been much respected, loved, and revered. In the time of crisis he is the one who would come down to solve the problem. The king is indeed the symbol of Thai identity. As for Buddhism we have accepted it as a way of life for almost 800 years. It is a force that culturally binds the hearts and the thoughts of the Thai people together. Some of us even equate Thai-nees with Buddhism. Buddhism is one of the most open-minded religions. According to the teaching in the Kalamasutta, a Buddhist does not accept anything merely because it is logical, said in the scripture or even taught by his teacher. Think for yourself and then try it in practice. If it is good then accept it. By its principle of no-self (anatta), it teaches us not to have a strong attachment to things. Everything is changing. There is no Being — only Becoming. Do not believe in permanence or identity. This may be the reason why Thais are quite flexible and pragmatic.
We Thais are not so conscious about self-identity. Perhaps this is because we are so pragmatic or because we are so certain about our identity. We never despise foreign culture or civilization. In the older time we accepted Indian culture, such as religion, literature, language and so on. But we modify them a little and make them our own. We adapt ourselves to them and we adopt them to ourselves. In the modern time we have introduced Western culture into our society. We believe that science, technology and other things from the West can help develop our nation. The majority of the Thai people do not have a negative attitude towards Westernization. Of course some, mostly intellectuals, do. Their criticism, it seems to me, does not receive much attention. The majority want to follow the West in the technological process and the capitalistic way of development. To many there is little or no conflict between development in such a way and cultural identity. The problem is not the conflict between identity and development. Of course there are some who complain about this. But for the majority the problem is two-fold. Firstly the material progress is advancing so fast that it creates social problems like morality, selfishness, drug addiction and so on. Secondly, many complain that the economic development of this kind makes richer the rich and poorer the poor. What they call for is not the coming back to self-identity, but solving these two problems.According to Buddhism, wealth in itself is not something to be despised. A man who gets rich in a morally acceptable way and is generous can be a good Buddhist. The ultimate aim of life is to live well. To live well means to have a balance between material well-being and peace of mind. But culture is not an end in itself. It is a means. Culture and everything else change all the time. This must be accepted. We have to admit, however, that culture is rooted in the heart of man and, therefore, plays a role in making life richer. When there rises a conflict between culture and development we should take the middle way. Cultural identity is a good thing, and material well-being is also a good thing. To a certain extent we have to sacrifice the one for the other. But we should not sacrifice all of the one for the other. We must not be too romantic to think that we can keep our culture unchanged. We must not be too serious to think that material progress is the only good thing for life.

2.2 Insurgency

In south Thailand, separatist religious groups demanding independence for the region has been active for decades. But they has seen much more violent since 2004. Since then , there were some incidents that provoked attention from the international community such as Krue Sae Mosque Incident and Tak Bai Incident.

There are numerous speculation of the organization of these separatist groups. Some military reports stated that they are linked with Al-Qaeda and Jamaah Islamiyah. Some says these separatists are trained in Al-Qaeda centers in Pakistan. People also say they have links with other separatist organization in the region such as Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the Philippines and Free Aceh Movement in Indonesia. Nevertheless, what does these Thailand separatist groups really involve with remains unknown.

2.3 Government Reaction

Thaksin government took a harsh stand in this matter. Thaksin granted extra increase in executive powers for the army to fight the insurgencies. After Thaksin was out of post, the subsequent government became soft on this and tend to reconcile rather than resolve by violence. But this could be that the new governments after Thaksin are fragile and they didn't want to bother too much with that.

Thailand: Religion

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:38:52 CST

Theravada Buddhism is practiced by more than 90% of Thai people and is considered to be the national religion. Besides Buddhism, other major religions are Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.

An important fact to note is that Buddhist monks are highly revered and they receive special treatment by the Thai community. For example, there are notices on trains that remind commuters to give up their seats for monks.

Buddhism teaches its followers to pursue peace, tolerance and ultimately to strive for enlightenment. Thus it is believed that the teachings of Buddha may be the main reason for Thais having a generally happy, respectful and calm approach to life.

It is evident that Buddhism influences the way Thai deal with personal safety, road rage and confrontations. Most Thai people are slow to anger and Thailand is also known as.

Thailand: Religious Issues

Southern Thailand is a trouble land of Thailand. It is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula with an area of about 70,000 km². It sits next to Malaysia and therefore, has a high percentage of Malay population, especially at three southernmost provinces Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.

Muslims in southern Thailand comprise 30.4% of the population above 15 of the region. About two-third of them are Malay ethnics. The rest come from Pakistan, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, and native Thais.

About Thailand

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:26:22 CST

Other pages in this section:

We have placed ourselves in your shoes as a practitioner who is interested in Thailand's overall media landscape, especially about the social media scene. This wiki page will provide you with a better understanding of Thailand's media landscape, her social setting and cultural environment.

In a nutshell (click here for a slideshow on the main gists), Web 2.0 (consisting of social media and peer media) is not taking off as smoothly in Thailand as other leading countries such as Japan or Singapore. This is primarily due to the lack of supporting Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, which is slowly but surely being developed. Thus far, only large Multi-National Corporations (MNCS) with deep pockets have begun to construct IT facilities to encourage the growth and usage of the Internet. Nonetheless, despite the lackluster internet capabilities, many users in Thailand are still actively blogging and interacting online.

Presently, mobile media is extremely popular with the Thais. There are over 22 million mobile phone owners as opposed to the over 9 million Internet users - of which 55% are using dial-up. Hence, many advertisers have added social elements, such as mobile downloads, to their mobile advertising campaigns.

When doing business in Thailand, always remember to tread carefully and practice cultural sensitivity. Do take note that the Thais hold much reverence for their King and that the Thais are mostly conservative and collectivistic.

Businesses looking to engage in Thailand's social media are advised to continue to utilize her mobile media and mainstream media such as television and print.

We hope that the information provided will give you a head start in understanding the social media scene in Thailand.

This wiki is most recently updated as part of our Digital Media Across Asia course
at Singapore Management University during Term 1 09-10
by Aye Thiri Phyo, Shaun Tay Liang Yao, Phua Li Guen, Caroline Christine Bakels

Thailand

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:22:59 CST

This wiki is most recently updated as part of our Social Media course
at Singapore Management University during Term 1 09-10
by Aye Thiri Phyo, Shaun Tay Liang Yao, Phua Li Guen, Caroline Christine Bakels.

Thailand: Acknowledgements

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:20:09 CST

The Social Media Thailand Team would like to thank

Professor Michael Netzley
Mr. Andrew Clark
Ms. Sherrie Daraprai
Mr. Jon Russell
Ms. Dorice Cheong
Mr. Jack Boonyamas
Mr. Jamiel Said
Mr. Dave Oliver
Mr. Saneh Madan
Ms. Mel, from Southern Thailand
Mr. Ali Aljunied
Mr. Roy D. Chapin IV
The previous Digital Media Across Asia group doing on the Thailand wiki.

THANK YOU!

Creator's Creations

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:19:39 CST

Production from the Creators

Aside from compiling neutral, accurate and updated information about Thailand in this WIKI, we bring you our very thoughts here!

2009/2010 Term 1 Team: Aye Thiri Phyo, Caroline Christine Bakels, Phua Li Guen, Shaun Tay Liang Yao
It gives us great pleasure to share with you our very own podcast production!

In this podcast, we discussed on the most recent social media campaign by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).You can read more about the case here. Hear us talk about what worked and what didn't. Enjoy!

Thailand: Interviews

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:18:46 CST

Within the social media landscape in Thailand, applications and rules governing the use of traditional media and digital media vary. Here, we've interviewed avid bloggers and professionals based in Thailand for their insights.

Interviews

o With Andrew Clark, founder of advertising firm and owner of bar
o With Sherrie Daraprai, executive at Immobile
o With Jon Russell, teacher and contributor to business magazine Director Thailand

Quotes

"I did initially start blogging so my friends and family knew what I was doing in Thailand and so I had an outlet for English as there are no foreigners anywhere near me. Now it has become a good place to meet people who contact me through it and I've also made some good friends through the blog." - Mel, author of blog The Village Life

"Blogging is gaining popularity, but nowhere near the popularity it holds in say Japan. Micro-blogging services like twitter, pownce, jaiku definitely have not made much of an impact here." - Dave Oliver, author of blog Dave in Bangkok, Thailand

"The Thais' accessibility to the Internet is quite limited - Only those who go to universities and those who can afford the Internet at home, have the ability go online frequently. So unless students have access, there won't be many people who will blog and visit social media websites except for those within their same community."- Jamiel Said, Singapore Management University student who went on exchange to Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

"Thais love taking snapshots and pictures and that’s why these social networking sites have a lot of members. Facebook is growing in popularity in Thailand."- Saneh Madan, student from the Chulalongkorn U

Thailand Interview: Sherrie Daraprai

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:15:58 CST

Sherrie Daraprai
Executive at I-Mobile

1.Please tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Currently working at University of the Thai Chamber Commerce as well as I-mobile.

2.What is the current media scene in Thailand? Which one do you think is more popular right now, traditional or digital media?

Traditional media plays a much more important role than digital media. Although digital media is increasingly gaining popularity among the Thai audience, the dominant platform audience are exposed to is still the traditional media such as TV, radio and print press. Not many people have access to internet.

3.How has the evolution of new digital media affected traditional media in Thailand?

There is a gradual shift of teenagers flocking to digital media but the effects and power wielded by traditional media is still greater than digital media.

4.At your company, do you make use of digital/social media channels for marketing and public relations' purposes? If so, what are the social media tools that you use?(e.g. Facebook, Blogs, Internet Magazines, Twitter, etc.,)

No, not at the company I worked at. We still prefer to use traditional media as the audience size within the digital media market is comparatively less substantial than audience size in traditional media.

5.Is there a need for companies in Thailand to be fully engaged in new media in order to be successful? How do you think of companies' opinions on traditional media? (Compared to the past, do they rely more, less, or the same on the traditional media?)

Increasingly, companies are slowly beginning to use digital media but less extensive use. Digital media is used more often as a complement to support their traditional media campaigns. It also depends on the companies’ brand strategy and who their target segment is. For example, Johnson & Johnson is a huge firm which regularly uses TV for advertising but recently, for one of the products series Clean & Clear, it advertises via digital media to reach out to younger and more hippy youngsters because that is the product’s target segment.

6.How is media censorship in Thailand? Is there a remarkable difference of that in traditional and new (digital/social) media?

Thailand is pretty strict on regulating traditional media. Messages are filtered before going on air. One type of advertising Thai authorities ban is advertising messages that claim the product is the best or better than others. However, on digital media, regulation is much slower. It may take a considerable period for the authorities to identify and ban messages online.

7.In your opinion, which media people trust more? Traditional or new?

Thai people understand that traditional media such as newspaper news is heavily regulated by local authorities but less monitored on digital media. Also, people perceive online as a personal platform therefore one can expect more sincere and honest opinions. Therefore, I think people trust online media more.
Our company Immobile, currently do not use digital media to advertise. We use sms advertising more.

Thailand Interview: Andrew Clark

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:15:30 CST

	Andrew Clark Canadian (Victoria BC), living in Thailand 20 yrs. Owner: Q Bar Founder: Creative In-House Ad Agency.

Andrew Clark
Canadian (Victoria BC), living in Thailand 20 yrs.
Owner: Q Bar
Founder: Creative In-House Ad Agency.

1. Could you tell us more about yourself and what you do for a living?

I'm Canadian, have been living in Bangkok for 20 years now after 3 years in Tokyo. Worked in Canada as a graphic designer, Art Directed in Japan and started an English city magazine there in 1987. I started my own advertising company (Creative InHouse Co., Ltd) in Bangkok in 1993 which is still going strong. Opened Q Bar Bangkok in 1999, one of the more popular nightclubs in the city. Currently spend 5-6 nights a week running the club, taking care of all marketing. Have always been a pioneer in digital media here in Bangkok with great results.

2. What is the current media scene like in Thailand? More use of Digital media or traditional media? How so?

The media scene in Thailand has always been temperamental. Outside of mass consumer products, print media is king, but word of mouth and direct marketing has traditionally been very effective. Thailand has embraced digital marketing in a big way to target the affluent market segment as it works culturally with the "follow my friends" mentality.

3. Do you know what the current social media trend in Thailand is? (Which is more popular - Hi5, friendster, Facebook etc... Is there any reason why so?)

FaceBook is by far the largest influence in Thailand with Hi5 a distant 2nd. The only reason is it was more popular at the beginning of the social media explosion. It is used by, besides individuals as a social network, by many restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels, travel businesses and event companies to inform their members about current events/promotions.

4. What do you think would be the next big thing in Thailand?

Twitter is gaining popularity quickly. Until recently, Twitter in Thailand was the domain of computer & tech geeks. Lately, many businesses have set up accounts to do the same thing they've been using FaceBook for. My daughter is a pop star and her recording agency has told all their artists to have their own Twitter accounts. This is becoming a trend amongst celebrities to keep in touch with their fan base. So, Thailand is now bucking the international trend and seeing many young Twitter users.

5. We read that in Thailand mobile media is a popular medium for advertisers. We are wondering why is that so as compared to internet media? Any comments?

SMS communication to customers is very active in Thailand. Q Bar was one of the first to employ it as a tool to spread timely info on events 8 years ago. The advantage is that Thais quickly forget about info they read in a magazine on an event weeks in the future. They don't make plans like westerners do. They behave more spontaneously and an SMS on the day of an event is more likely to get notice.

Thailand: Internet Media Landscape

liguen — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:14:55 CST

1. General Information

There have been mixed sentiments about the general internet scene in Thailand. While availability of broadband and wireless is increasing throughout Bangkok, it is often the case the connection was slow and unstable. According to NECTEC (2008), the number of internet bandwidth is 30Mbps (international) and 226 Mbps (domestic). Nonetheless, we can expect optimism in the Thailand’s internet landscape. National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) estimated that online usage has been growing consistently over the years and is expected to reach at least 24% of the total population in 2008. Some signs showed are:

There has been increasing trend of hi-speed internet. 2 million have subscribed for internet broadband.
Computer usage has increased, up to 15.4 million units.
The internet user population had increased dramatically, approximately 6.5 million people.
Online advertising has seen a 38% growth from 2006 to 2007.
Content are getting richer and more interactive such as online news.
More WIFI hotspots are available at shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and café.
Thailand was one of the five Asian countries tanked among the world's top 10 fastest-growing consumer broadband markets in 2007 despite the low penetrate rate. [1

As Thais generally communicate in their mother language, most have difficulty using more software programming (which are often done in English). In an effort to grow Thailand’s IT industry, the government has been encouraging local IT workers to learnt the English language.

Mel, an Australian who now lives in a small city in Thailand far away from Bangkok, has nothing ‘western’ available but plantations. Seeing that she lives far away from the city, it was interesting to find out that her ADSL 1056kb/s internet connection is great most of the time with few occasions of it going offline.

The unfortunate news however, was that she had to wait 3 months to get because where she lived was far away from town and there was a waiting list for the villages. In fact, only 24 houses (out of the hundreds) in her village could have ADSL at this stage and if someone else wants it, they would have to wait for someone to cancel or for more to be available.

Previous to getting broadband, she had a satellite connection which was expensive and bad connectivity and dial-up was painfully slow. This further affirms that the IT infrastructure in Thailand is limited to the urban cities.

Mel started blogging so that her friends and family knew what she was doing in Thailand and so that she had an outlet for English as there were no foreigners anywhere near her. Now, her blog has become a good place to meet people who are able to contact her and she has also made several good friends.

2. Internet Penetration

Statistics show that in Thailand, internet penetration and usage is growing and rapid technology adoption is expected over the next few years.

As broadband DSL or ADSL is becomes faster and more economical in Thailand, the number of users is projected to grow.

ADSL subscription prices vary from a flat fee of only 590 baht per month for individuals on 512K connections, to over 10,000 baht/month for companies on very high speed connections.

In some parts of Bangkok and Thailand there is inconsistency in internet speed. The speed of internet varies and generally slows down during peak periods of the day. (The slowdown is often due to "lost packets" as the switches have no choice but to skip packets when overloaded, this causes timeouts and retransmissions.)

Businesses which require a consistent fast connection will usually buy a leased circuit that is separate from the shared international line. Connections of just 1 mbps may be sufficient as it is a dedicated bandwidth. [2]

For users who are unaware, Gmail has been aiding Thailand in the Internet Broadband Penetration since 2005. In an article backdated 12th September 2005, it was stated that Google is offering 9 additional languages including Thai language character set. Thus allowing users to read and write email in Thai language as well as viewing the whole interface in Thai language. [3]

3. Internet Censorship

Generally, internet is regulated by Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MCIT).

Media censorship (also applicable to internet media) generally concentrates on
Pornography: Internetional porn sites such as Playboy.com are filtered
Gambling
Violence
Drugs: These include selling and advertising of products such as alcohol and tobacco
Religion
Terrorism
Lese majeste
Politics: International news sites like CNN and The Economist were occasionally blocked due to the political situation

Even social media sites such as YouTube was blocked in Thailand on several occasion as attempts to curb circulation of videos on sensitive issues. In March 2007, Thailand blocked YouTube for an CNN video on Thaksin Shinawatra’s speech. After a few days, it was unblocked. Ever since the 2006 Coup D’etat, regulation became very strict as seen in the surge of number of blocked sites after October 2006 (Freedom Against Censorship Thailand, 2007).

4. Popular Online Applications

Discussion Forum The name of the website Pantip.com was derived from Pantip Plaza, the largest computer retail complex in Bangkok. However, more than what the name suggests, Pantip.com is the largest internet discussion site in Thailand with topics on automobiles, fine arts, entertainment, politics and arts.	Pantip.com
Blogs In Thailand, internet users prefer domestic blogging services over international providers such as Bloggers. For example, Exteen.comis a blogging service aimed at teens and reports one of the highest online traffic in Thailand. Another popular service called Bloggang. OKNation is a special blogging service which targets at “citizen journalist” bloggers.	Bloggang OKNation
Video-sharing site YouTube is by far the most popular video-sharing site.	Youtube
Social Networking Sites Hi5 has about two million members in Thailand aged from 15 to 40 and has become a very popular social network in the last two years, with a total worldwide membership of 80 million. In Thailand, the largest user age group is between 18 to 29 and account for 60% of the total.	Hi5
Search Engine According to the Thais, Siam Guru is the best search engine in Thailand. The search engine contains historical news data and retrieves the most accurate Thai related search results. The website was awarded the best website of Thailand in 2001 from HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.	Siam Guru

5. Internet on Mobile

Even though Thailand's mobile phone market is large, the country has experienced little transition into the use of web 2.0. Some experts blame this stagnancy on the past ban on the popular video streaming site YouTube. Since the ban was lifted we have seen social mobile networking sites booming in traffic and Thailand breaking into the web 2.0.

Social networking sites such as Hi5, Friendster and Facebook have a strong following in Thailand, and the release of mobile platforms have made it even easier for Thai people to connect with each.


Yozzo Co., ltd is a mobile service provider based in Bangkok, Thailand. The company operates different mobile services towards both end-users and corporate users. Among other services is a Mobile Social Community for Thais and international users. In 2008, Yozzo launched Opera Mini in Thailand, providing a comprehensive package of free services accessible via normal mobile phones and normal web [5] Messaging Creating and sharing mobile content News Weather reports Music search Blogging and more	American-based company Nareos launched Peerbox, a popular social networking service in Thailand. The site is working with some of Southeast Asia's leading wireless service providers to offer users P2P access and social networking. Peerbox is currently distributed through: 1. Mobile portal 2. Bluetooth Kiosk Through these methods, the companies are expecting to bring in over 20,000 new registered users a month. Peerbox currently allows a user to shoot videos or pictures on their mobile phones and then upload it to share with people they know. It also allows users to extend their network of friends, and watch videos that other people have uploaded.	This is another interesting twitter-like service which was created by 23 year old Thai programmer, Peerapong Pulpitpatnan (a.k.a. Pete) and in January 2008. This product is relatively new but Pete has empashized on constant improvements to the service. Currently, LetsProveWhere has a few features - it is able to upload user photos from mobile devices as well as enter locations. However, Pete has stated that he has his sights set on taking LetsProve Where even further by incorporating a real time travel log that allows users to update texts, videos, voice and pictures all into embeddable maps. He believes that this will be a new way for people to access and source for travel information. (Siwal, 2008)

Other pages in this section:

Popular Websites in Thailand

[1] Thailand Broadband Overview | Broadband Country Overview | Point Topic - http://point-topic.com/content/operatorSource/profiles2/thailand-broadband-overview.htm
[2] The Thailand Guru Website - http://www.thailandguru.com/internet-thailand-adsl-broadband-high-speed.html
[3] Gmail now in Thai aids market penetration - http://www.multilingual-search.com/gmail-in-thai-and-market-penetration/12/09/2005
[4] The largest global telecommunications research site on Web 2.0 - http://www.budde.com.au/buddereports/3301/Thailand_-_Broadband_Market.aspx
[5] A Mobile Social Community With A Difference- http://www.prlog.org/10125983-mobile-social-community-with-difference.html

DIGITAL MEDIA ACROSS ASIA - Recently Updated Pages

Malaysia Mobile Penetration

China: Case Studies

China: Technology Implications

Qatar: From the Creators

Qatar: Technology Penetration

Thailand: Government

Modern Political Environment

Thaksin Shinawatra

Aftermath

Economy Overview

Government Policy on Information Technology

Future Government Spending on Infrastructure

Thailand: Government Issues

Trust in the Thai Government

Taiwan: Interviews

Thailand: Case Studies

1. Tourism Authority of Thailand

2. Movieseer

3. Salads Club

4. The Scholar-Activist Nexus

Thailand: Social

1. Tourism

2. The Thai King

2.1 Colonization

3. Conservatism

4. Collectivism

5. Socio-Cultural and Politics correlation

6. Demographics

6.1 People

6.2 Language

Thaliand: Business

1. Starting a Business In Thailand

2. Partnership with a Thai Citizen

3. Employing its Foreign Owner

4. Work Permit and Visa

5. Annual Re-application (renewal)

Thailand: Culture

1. Thai habits

2. Thailand: Cultural Issues

2.1 Cultural Identity and Development Process in Thailand

2.2 Insurgency

2.3 Government Reaction

Thailand: Religion

Thailand: Religious Issues

About Thailand

Thailand

Thailand: Acknowledgements

Creator's Creations

Production from the Creators

Thailand: Interviews

Interviews

Quotes

Thailand Interview: Sherrie Daraprai

Thailand Interview: Andrew Clark

Thailand: Internet Media Landscape

1. General Information

2. Internet Penetration

3. Internet Censorship

4. Popular Online Applications

5. Internet on Mobile