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While the hype over the initial stock offerings of Hong Kong and Chinese portals like Tom.Com have grabbed the headings, it is clear that the Internet is set to change significantly the work and personal lives of many Asians through a host of factors other than investment. Concerns about language and to a lesser extent, access, have not been the great inhibitors to Internet growth in Asia than many had first believed. A couple of days ago, we learned that the Japanese NTT had bought American ISP Verio for a record price, and far over current share values. Apart from the enormity of the deal, it is also significant in that it is Japan's first major foray into the Western internet industry. Even places like Vietnam and Indonesia, where poverty and poor telco infrastructure offer further barriers, Dot Com mania exists. On sunday, a new free access ISP took out a full page in the Jakarta Post to advertise their offerings. In many countries, popular portals are becoming house-hold names. In Malaysia, the Internet is the only place citizens can find news about Malaysia unaffected by the enforced and self-censorship that characterizes traditional print and broadcast media. As reported last year, Singapore's aim to network all citizens and become an intelligent island is almost realised. AC Nielsen's latest survey results on adspend by regional dot Com's reinforces that the Internet and its most popular interface - the World Wide Web - transcends business and society rather than being limited to exclusive or small user groups. Dot Com's, like in the rest of the world, turn to traditional media to attract eye balls, from back of the bus advertising to sports events and broadcast TV.
Yet why do Asians access the Web? Email is the most common reason, reinforced by many surveys. It is still the killer application, not the Web, as many would have us believe, mainly because there is less money to be made out of email than the Web. It requires by today's standards, minuscule connection speeds, and is all about cheaper communication, in a region where monopolistic telco's and traditional mail services boast some of the highest user rates in the world. Also of interest to marketers is the increasing readership of newspapers on-line (often electronic versions of the traditional paper offering) and e-magazines.
And already, the real market in the future will be wireless-based content and infrastructure, in a region which in an earlier time, has seen some of the highest usages of mobile phones as a way to avoid congested and unreliable "wire" services. The age where the PC is the accepted way of accessing the Internet is fast coming to an end. Again, the winners will be those who can see the future, and innovate within it. Just blindly copying Western trends as is common is a sure road to disaster. And you can be sure that the winners will differ markedly from those investors that crushed their way to Tom.Com in Hong Kong earlier this year like lemmings to the latest thing.
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© Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine 2000
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