For Filipinos, they are used to be called such, but for the other countries, they are keep on asking ahh! really? How comes? Others also track the investment market to be part of the start bubbling economy of the country.
Are you getting used to seeing the Philippines at the top of lists? Lists that say good things about this country that for decades has been the acknowledged black sheep of Asia, coming in last or near last in such rankings as foreign investment, transparency, and corruption. Yet late last year Everest Group reported that the Philippines had overtaken India in the number of people employed by the IT-BPO and shared services industry.
The results of an IBM study – The Global Location Trends Report – announced about the same time showed that the Philippines had also over taken India in terms of revenue. Three weeks ago, comScore wrote – which measures Internet activity – announced that the Philippines had the highest social network penetration among Internet users of any country in the world. It is excluding the social networking penetrations of the 10 Million Filipinos who are scattered and working around the globe.
On May 9, 24/7 Wall Street – which purports to offer analysis and commentary for investors – proclaimed the Philippines the “Social Networking Capital of the World.”
Of course, the Philippines has been the SMS capital of the world for more than a decade, with the average user sending 600 text messages a month. That’s impressive in terms of the mass adoption of social technology, but that lofty status had little impact on global perspectives of the Philippines, except perhaps that it was used to organize the overthrow of a legitimately elected president. Since then, SMS has been a valuable tool along with social networks in organizing mass protests against a number of authoritarian leaders around the world.
Nevertheless, with a large population and an economy a fraction of the size of those of its smaller neighbors, observers might well have asked about the Philippines’ SMS prowess, “What are all these people doing texting all the time? They should get to work!”
Is being at the top of the social network pinnacle – leading Israel, Turkey, Chile, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Peru, Columbia, and Venezuela, in that order – any different? The Philippines’ status as IT-BPO and shared services capital of the world seems mighty substantial in comparison. The industry employed 525,000 people and generated $ 9 billion in revenues in 2010, about half of the amount 10 million overseas workers send home annually.
It’s impossible to estimate the value to individual Filipinos that SMS generates, although it is used heavily for business as well as social purposes. Carrying on a business relationship without the benefit of SMS is hard to imagine.
Customers and colleagues expect to be able to contact relationship managers and superiors when they need to; which is to say, anytime they want. How do you value that kind of convenience?
It seems far less likely that B2B deal making is facilitated through social networks, but they provide real value nevertheless. An annual study of Internet activity conducted by Universal-McCann offers some insight.
Over the past two years, the number of Internet users globally visiting a brand website has decreased from 86% to 76%. But from 2009 to 2010, Internet users affiliating with or becoming a fan of a brand on a social network increased from around 10% to 30%.
More than 40% of Internet users join social network groups that talk about brands. With about 30 million Filipinos using the Internet according to a UN study, if I were a brand manager who didn’t take social networking seriously, those statistics would send digital shivers down my spine.
To understand the impact on the brand, consider that 72% of brand fans surveyed by Universal-McCann said they thought more positively of the brand as a result of their interaction on the brand fan page. Over 70% said they were more likely to buy the brand as a result, and 66% said they felt more loyal to the brand. Sixty-three percent said they would recommend the brand fan page to others.
These results show that Internet users who join brand pages on social networks are engaged customers, and really do have a meaningful relationship with the brands they support. While there are the inevitable tradeoffs to deal with as a result of social network visibility — such as open criticism and competitive transparency — the risks associated with invisibility in a competitive marketplace seem far scarier.
And that’s what it means to be the social networking capital of the world.
Soon to be number 1 in the Philippines
· If you remember the past, “the Philippines is one of the richest and most powerful country in Asia next to Japan” before the Marcos Regime but become “Sick man in Asia” during the Marcos time for the alleged corruption but now could be the “Youthful techy in Asia” after getting well f becoming sick.
· Year 2011 is the most vibrant year for mass Oil and gas exploration of the Philippines; could it be the number 1 oil and gas producer in Asia soon?
· Year 2011 the Philippine Economy start bubbling, could it be the number one economy in Asia over China soon?
· Year 2011 the Aquino government is cleaning the corrupt and muddies desk, could it be the best government soon?
· Year 2011 The Philippines shine again in sport for the Azkals Philippine Football team, could it make them number 1 in sports?
