China and Taiwan's Influence on Global Technology Trends
China has recently overtaken the US as being the largest automotive consumers
. You might think, so what? China may be on the other side of the world but customer demands in China indicate what the consumer can expect in the US.
Globalization has drastically transformed several local communities but this new influence from the East may prove interesting. Commentators have created the term 'C-Factor' for this new influence.
Companies from Japan and South Korea have been revered for their technological expertise and approach to business. Everyone is well aware of the Japanese and Korean technological power houses that dominate the tech landscape. However recently, particularly in the home computer market, Western companies have achieved a large share of the market. Even more recently there has been the growth of two East Asian countries in the tech market - Taiwan and China.
The manufacturer of some of the world's most popular, high-end technology devices is located in China. China is now also home to the 4th largest PC manufacturer in the world.
Although not quite as famous in global economies as China, Taiwanese technology companies continue to rapidly grow. Acer is now the second biggest computer manufacturer - jumping over Dell to achieve this spot. This shows the technology industry to be a continually developing market. It will be interesting to see if the C-Factor (and T-Factor) affects industries such as health, food and so on.
Western companies often find it challenging. What is popular in East Asia is often unheard of in the West. To crack the Asian market Western businesses often offer radically different products, brands and marketing campaigns. This can simply be explained by cultural differences - aesthetics do not always translate well. Companies that operate online, Asian countries are definitely a game changer.
Most people like to think of the world as converging into one globalized culture. The spread of English and international brands further fuels these ideas. Yet when it comes to the Internet, there are still many cultural differences.
One example is the prevalent use of texts and SMS messages commonly used by young Europeans. In certain Asian countries, this technology is mostly unused and email technology is used instead. Furthermore, cell phones and other devices may be a more popular method of accessing the Internet in Asian countries compared to the conventional personal computer in the West. This poses genuine problems for online companies - if the technology that is favored is different then you cannot merely translate a website and expect it to gain traction.
Social networks are a great example of the differences. Facebook is arguably the most popular website in the Western world. It ranks as the number 1 most popular site for many countries and has a user base that would rank it the third biggest population behind China and India if it was a nation. However, social networking has yet to be fully embraced by East Asian markets. In China, Facebook is ranked outside of the top 100 most visited websites and it is only ranked as number 27 in Japan. Twitter, another huge online social networking website also has much lower user numbers in East Asian countries.
Similarly, online bookmarking (allowing you to save your bookmarks online) is not used as much. The majority of users come from English speaking countries whilst the number of users from East Asian countries is a lot lower. Language differences may be accountable for some of this but other factors also play a part. Layout, design and content should all be tailored for specific cultures. This is largely the reason why there are so few truly global brands.
You might be wondering what is popular then in Asian countries. Blogs are used much more than in the West. Blogging is popular all around the world but many Asian have a big blogging culture. Celebrities often own blogs and frequently publish posts and blog photos. Friends also work together on joint blogs. There are blogging platforms specifically catered for specific countries, each with individual quirks and unique features. Personal home pages are also very popular with many people setting up home pages which feature images, links, videos and so on.
Seeing how the social network marketplace is not universal speaks volumes on the differences in cultures and struggles faced by marketers and international businesses. If you combine this with the C-Factor and Asia's immergence in the technology market everyone may soon talk about how the West is different from the East. Ultimately, it will be interesting to see if these new companies can continue at this pace and if they can stay ahead of the competition once they reach the top.
China and Taiwan's Influence on Global Technology Trends
By: Culon Cheng
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