NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF: "The real strategic challenge isn’t Chinese fighter aircraft. It’s China’s focus on education."
If I had kids a Chinese education is not what I would want for them. I do appreciate that over-all, Chinese culture values education as a concept. But the actual methods typically associated with Chinese style education, are not my cup of tea --rote memorization, dictatorial teaching styles and a very black and white view of the world.
In many cases those teaching methods aren't much different than even in the comparatively "permissive" U.S. I think, en mass, in the U.S. we are just as likely to romanticize these methods and make them OK by calling them "tough love" or "traditional values." But this narrow view of education is tripping us up. We need to broaden the meaning of education to include technical training, Unschooling and simply encouraging people of all ages to really dig in and pursue their interests rather than feeding them to school systems that train how you how to work in a factory-style workplace or how to "get a job." Our economy is no longer supported by producing widgets and as China's economy grows it won't be either.
My prediction is that both the Chinese and American middleclass will suffer under a "jobs mentality." We do not want to build a society on people who rely on "a job" for emotional and economic happiness. We need everyone to take a little time to get to know themselves (even just a little) and passionately go after their real interests. That gives a person purpose and self-confidence where looking for "a job" limits the ability to enjoy life and be productive in a more general sense. Also it makes people less vulnerable to politicians that promise "jobs" when often what it takes to create jobs, are tax breaks for the already affluent who in turn do little to really improve the lives of everyday people.
Education should not be limited to course work, memorization or jumping through hoops to get a degree. Education is keeping an open mind and a life long process.
The Wall Street Journal article "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior" got me thinking. How are Americans so easily ruffled by even the idea of Chinese superiority? Yale professor Amy Chua and WSJ craft provocative headlines to grab our interest but this one really hit the spot some how.
The smackdown on Western style parenting had 81K+ Facebook "likes" one day and 145k+ virtual thumbs-up, the next. A scroll through the article's comment section shows a debate over the relative importance of Chinese vs. American contributions to the world. It feels like a "Tastes great!" "Less filling!" Miller Lite cat-fight, but largely without the humor or fun.
I did like a comment pointing out that the Chinese invented beer. That got four recommendations. Thank goodness.
A friend brought to my attention a Chinese-American's counter point to the article. I really appreciated Jean Hsu's blog posting in which she reveals that not everybody finds happiness in achieving external goals that may bring only a since of prestige and pride for your teacher, boss or mother.
It's natural to want to be on the winning team. For reasons either in our nature or nutured, it seems most of us wants to yell, "we're number ONE!"
Forget about all this, "can't we all just get along?" or "We're all in this together" kumbaya, mumbo-jumbo. Right? I mean, after all, the Chinese have, in fact, developed a fancy fighter jet and at a rate that is faster than we expected (btw, isn't it a bit arrogant that thought the Chinese would be slower?). The sky is falling and our, "permissive western" parenting is dooming us Americans to leave the world's VIP section.
The debate over parenting styles, east verses west, is both exasperating and fascinating. And yet it feels so dated --been there, done that. It's like so 1997 for me. And the not so sexy conclusion that I've come to is that we're all pretty much the same; people are people and politics are politics everywhere.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Wai!Hello? Don't stop reading.
So the question remains, will professor Chua's brood contribute to society in a way deemed meaningful by WSJ readers or will they end up under-achieving and/or on "Celebrity Rehab"? And by the way, who's to say that landing a slot on "Celebrity Rehab" isn't something rather impressive? After all it is a sign of fame and possibly a small fortune --something of which the Chinese are so famously fond. Oh and Americans too. Hmmmm......
We've come along way baby, since Nokia's "Snake" and BlackBerry's "Brick Breaker" games. Not only can you divorce yourself from the people around you, by playing games on your mobile phone, you can also meet people just as anti-social and escapist as you because now venture capitalists are pouring cash into companies that mix dating with gaming --such as Burlingame, Ca based Aurora Feint.
According to a generic, mildly credible sounding company (Future Source Consulting), by 2014 the mobile gaming market will be worth 10 billion dollars. Woo hoo! More proof that people really don't want to do anything. As currently mobile gaming is worth just under two billion U.S. dollars.
The same technology that makes mobile gaming possible is the same kind that makes mobile working possible --but who wants to hear about that? It's reassuring that I am not the only one that would rather play Ms Packman than staple together another TPS Report.
If you're one of those industrious types, a genuine hardworker and/or really have talent as a game developer or artist, perhaps you can win yourself an IMGA or International Mobile Gaming Award. The French organization, now in its 7th year, will be announcing the 2010 winners in February of 2011.
Futuresource expects smartphone ownership to grow by 50% in 2010, achieving 270 million units worldwide --so get cracking! All us Homer Simpsons out there don't have anything better to do anyway.
The new highspeed bullet train opened in Shanghai looks impressive --even if the female train attendant uniforms and the Chinese character font look frumpy. Still, I can't help but be skeptical. I hope the thing doesn't shoot of the tracks or fall in disrepair within six months.
When it somes to articles about the new Chinese super train, readers online seem to fall into one of three catagories:1. Team China2. Gloom-and-doom America3. Buyer BewareAmericans are having a hard time with no longer being number one for absolutely everything. And the Chinese, as well as some Westerners who feel they can benefit from China's rise, are buying into the hype about just how uber swell China is these days.Yes, China is turning into a real economic, political power house. Yes, the Chinese market has the most delicious potential for prosperity. But it's my belief that it's not all rainbows, pandas and Friendship Stores. So color me "Buyer Beware." Though I naturally tend toward the critical, I have been trying, of late, to take a more balanced view of the East-West debate. There's good parts and bad parts about each political system and the over all quality of life in either China or the U.S. I think both countries are about equally corrupt and equally enchanting. But let's face it, taking this more measured view is boring. No worries, the Internet is full of hyperbole.Judging from what I read in the comment sections of articles about China, a vast number of Americans are feeling defeated. They're sitting on the bleachers shaking their heads. They're feeling like America is just too far behind to ever catch up with these Chinese wonder kids. And the Chinese who leave comments online, are unfailingly uncritical of China --jumping up and down with a giant foam "#1" finger screaming "we're number one!" To further fan the excitment are U.S. and Canadian expats (among others) living in China who seem to see themselves as part of the excitment. They've given up on the West and are ready to ride the wave of Chinese greatness, right along with a billion or so of their new Chinese compatriots.Having lived in China and Taiwan for several years and living in L.A. now, I'm sitting on the sidelines wondering how it will all work out. I was in Taiwan during a 7.3 magnitude earthquake and saw how poorly the modern apartment buildings held up (having been built on empty soda bottles and old newspapers) and I recall friends in Beijing having to pay a kind of protection money to their local neighborhood mini-mafia so they keep their tiny shops open. The U.S. with our shoddy New Orleans levee and various Madoff's are no less opportunistic.Hopefully the new bullet train and the behemoth damn built to power it will stay in tact, long enough for me to fly over there and go for ride. I am, after all an American. It's all about me and my backyard, where I don't want any high speed trains shooting past making it hard for me to hear my cats-on-treadmills Youtube videos.
Can Apple really pull-off selling the iPad in China for almost a $100 more than what you would pay for the same base model in the U.S.? The iPad will go on sale in Chinese Apple Stores on September 17th at 10 AM. But so what? After all, the iPad is made in China and you can get both a straight up rip-off of the iPad for less and even a superior version of the iPad for even less.
I guess this is where we find out how vain Chinese people are and we learn about the strength of marketing. After all, you can go to Alibaba.com today and order a custom pc tablet that will leave the iPad coughing in the dust. Though you might have a harder time impressing your friends at Starbucks when they see your slightly thicker "aPad" that can multi-task, read Flash and navigate you via GPS.
Logically, there's no reason for a anybody to camp out for a product unless it's stuffed with money or drugs. But that's not why people buy, is it? Almost all sales are emotional. And as far as I know, Chinese people do love brands like everybody else. They love the awesome-by-association effect --just like most everyone else.
When I was in Taiwan McDonald's held a special promotion in which you could get a limited edition Hello Kitty doll with each meal. The line started to grow the night before. I was shocked to see women well into their 30's staying up all night to get a Hello Kitty doll. Perhaps because the doll was free in addition to being limited edition is why these people were willing to sacrifice their time and comfort? Still, it amazes me.
Baby, you can straddle my car. The Chinese bridge bus or, straddling bus or 3D Express Coach, looks a bit awkward at first but as you watch the video you start to fall in love with the monster. Perhaps because the presenter, Song Youzhou, is so earnest and well meaning.Song starts the presentation by talking about the problems with traditional buses that you do and don't notice; congestion and noise as well as pollution. This creation by Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment (phew!) is fully electric and each bus only takes a year to contruct and get working, verses the three years it takes to build a comparable subway line.Within in twelves months you can go from the noise of modern life to the cool Muzaky-Enya-esque life of a bridge bus. And don't worry about a milk truck slamming into the back. The bridge bus sends out warning signals for drivers to move to the next lane. And if you've ever been to China you know who well drivers pay attention to the warning...Oh. Hmm...Judging from the positive comments on www.umiwi.com, Chinese people are loving it! One guy says, "really admire you! Want your ideas to come to life as soon as possible, love green transportation..Looks like a somethng out of a Tom Cruise film, cool!"I think he meant to say the bridge bus looks like something out of "Minority Report." That movie, unlike Tom Cruise, is getting a lot of love these days. But something tells me that if you show this video to an Art Center alum or a city planner, there's going to be a much more sober take. He or she would start with the renderding quality of the explanation video and it would be a blood bath from there.What do you think? Half-baked or ready to rake?
I always liked Cathay Pacific airlines and now I have Skytrax ratings, Megan Fox and a the Cathay's recent decision to improve their service to make me even more confident in my thinking. The Hong Kong based airline announced that they will outfit their entire fleet with state of the art broadband, 50 megabytes Internet access, mobile phone voice and texting service as well as live TV by early 2012. Megan Fox, inexplicably, Tweeted about this upgrade today and all along Skytrax has rated Cathay Pacific a "5 Star" airline.
Cathay Pacific has chosen to upgrade their Boeing airplanes with in-flight electronics done by Panasonic Avionics. Both Lufthansa and Virgin airlines will be using Panasonic Avionics products as well, though only on a limited number of their planes. Cathay, will make the service available on their entire fleet, for all classes, including their regional airline, Dragonair.
No word yet on what on how much Cathay Pacific will charge to use the service. Perhaps there will be enough advertising opportunity such that the service could be "free" of charge? We shall see.
It seems airlines that serve Asia have to step up their game as mainland China's airlines strive to improve. Currently China's three largest air carriers, Air China, China Southern and China Eastern are ranked as only "3 Star" airlines by British based research firm Skytrax. But according to Air China Senior Vice President He Li, they are looking to significantly improve their service standards in terms of seat comfort, catering and in-flight entertainment.
Cathay has good reason to take such a sweeping step. China's domestic airline passenger numbers may more than double to 700 million a year by 2020 from an expected 266 million this year, according to Liu Shaocheng, director of policy research at the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
In the 90's I flew around Asia quite a bit. Airlines like Singapore, Thai and Cathay Pacific showed me how nice air travel could be and made me grumpy about the sagging quality of U.S domestic flights ever since. I enjoyed the cleanliness and the newness of the planes, the good food and, discrimination issues aside, the hot flight attendants. Just like mobile phones, airlines were one of the more advanced features of Asia that I enjoyed. They felt like "the future" to me. They were in stark contrast to enduring the daily relics of squat toilets and swarms of noisy mopeds.
And of course not all Asian airlines were great. I recall Air China, based out of China, and China Air, based out of Taiwan, were both sub-standard when it came not just to safety records but also basic in-flight service. Both felt outdated and utilitarian like some kind of stiff re-enactment of what in-flight service might have been like in the 1950's. It's my observation that there exists, in Chinese culture, a basic knowledge vacuum when it comes to customer satisfaction. The Chinese mentality feels like, "if you're not super rich or famous, what makes you think you deserve a smile or even a clean seat?" The pilots' take-off style made it feel like we were flying to the moon; from a slow runway taxi to flooring the gas pedal. Flight attendants tossed out dried squid packets and rationed soda. Passengers were just an inconvenience.
But that's so "10 years ago." Right?
If Cathay Pacific's continues to stay ahead of the trends and focuses on keeping their loyal customers happy, they should be able to thrive. But there's no doubting that China based companies are starting to catch on to the importance of great service. Though it remains to be be seen if they can do more than just provide lip service.
Just because we're addicted to smartphones doesn't mean we're switching off the TV or putting away our laptops. This according to Initiative, a global media communications company, that did a study and found that 76 percent of us worldwide use our cellphones to busy up downtime.More people are using smartphones and more of those people are getting smarter about how to acutally use the darn thing. So now it's not just the super nerd from IT that knows how to tackle his iPhone. Over 80 percent of smartphone users have downloaded at least one app. The percent of Chinese users to do that is nearly nearly 100 percent.It's funny. People aren't replacing one device for another, they're just adding more like scoops on an ice cream cone. The highest level of multi-tasking occur, according to the Initiative study, while watching TV, listening to the radio and travelling - all at 50 percent. In addition, 39 percent use mobile Internet while at a computer, and 34 percent while reading newspaper and magazines.It's basically a marketer's dream. You can reach somebody with an Android phone 24/7. The study didn't mention the percentage of people who take their mobile phones to the "powder room" but I'm sure it's not small. Apparently we basically cuddle up with our mobile devices, kiss it good night and let it greet us first thing when we wake-up --63 percent of smartphone users check their phone in the morning.
Foxconn, the massive manufacturing arm of Hon Hai Precision Industries Co. which makes electronics for Apple is in the news again for yet another worker suicide. The iPhone and iPad manufacture employs around 800,000 people of which about 300,000 work at the Shenzhen factory in mainland China. That's were the recent spate of suicides have occurred. Within the past 5 months there have been, depending on what you count as suicide, 8 or ten of what WSJ says “people falling off” buildings. Oops!While any suicide is tragic, statistically in China, from what I can find poking around the Internet, about 13 in every 100,000 people will kill themselves. So all in all Foxconn is below the average. And if you look at one of the comments on the Wall Street Journal site on this issue it's just the way things are. If you work for a company for money then whatever happens, happens.When I lived in Taiwan (which I think culturally is very similar to mainland China) it seemed a day couldn't go by without news of someone jumping off a balcony or in front of a train due to lost love or poor grades. I just couldn't believe people could get so worked up over grades. Jumping off your apartment balcony seemed so gruesome. What about drugs and alcohol??There's just such a juxtaposition because Taiwanese and Chinese culture are so much about keeping emotions hidden that they'd rather hit the concrete than yell at the wall. But I suppose it's more complicated than that. Depending on where you look on-line people are either outraged and ready to quit buying Apple products or they're just angry at “the media” for not looking at the actual statistics. But I feel like if we are emotionally honest, and aren't billionaires with factories to maintain, then we have to realize that this recent outbreak of suicides at FoxConn's Shenzhen factory is sad and does coincide with the launch of the iPad. I'm not saying it's a direct cause but perhaps there's a correlation relating to the market pressures and a drop in margins and thus even harsher controls over workers.To discount the deaths, is to be like Fox anchor Brit Hume saying, a week or two ago, “where's the oil?” in reference to the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Yes suicide happens but c'mon, an average of one and half suicides a month in one company? Something's up. The most recent worker to kill himself, Nan Gang, was 21-years-old. He wasn't a child but barely an adult. In fact, most Foxconn production workers are between 18 to 24-years-old. Again, those are not technically children but awfully darn close. It would be one thing if they were just working for minimum wage but when they're also jumping off the top of the building it doesn't just seem like the school of hard knocks anymore. In my mind 18-24 year-olds are supposed to over using their iPhones and iPads not working over-time to make them. And it seems it's those young kids born after 1990, that are helping the Chinese economy grow so strong. On a marketing level, I wonder what would be the breaking point for Foxconn and Apple? I wonder about the line between production and retail. So let's say these 8 or 10 suicides at the factory are just a fact of life. Average. What if the amount doubled? Would it really impact sales?When you think of the marketing message that seems to come with Apple products as this cozy, cute , fun way to enjoy life it suddenly doesn't seem so friendly anymore if you have to push the image of a 21 year-old iPhone maker jumping off the factory roof. Let's hope the monks, invited by Foxconn, can help keep those 18-24-year-old Apple product makers at their work stations. Ugh.
From Gizmodo:
This comic shows the high building of Foxconn with a signboard put on top saying:
"Suicide is Forbidden, Suicide is harmful to health".
And the man (representing Foxconn) pointing at the signboard says:
"We have tried our best"
and the man with white costume says:
"Perhaps it's a Feng Shui problem."
Excerpt from Nine Multimedia:
Here is some interesting data from an article called “One in Five U.S. Adult Consumers Now Using Mobile Commerce”:
o 1 out of 5 people have used their smartphone for mobile commerce.
o 17% used their mobile phone to buy apps, ringtones or other content for their phones.
o 6% admit they received coupons and discounts.
o Another 6% purchased physical goods or non-mobile related items.
o Blackberry and iPhone users are the top customers of mobile commerce.
o 34% of Blackberry users and more than 50% of iPhone owners made purchases through their mobile phones.
o 50% of the mobile content purchases were made through their carrier.
o 34% bought something using their bank account or credit card.
o The biggest group of consumers is among the ages 25-34
According to the latest publication of the Mobile Marketing Association, mobile commerce is becoming “secure and trustworthy”. Tom Marchesello, leader of Nine Mobile, could not agree more: “People will eventually realize that nothing is more secure that mobile commerce.”
Excerpt from Philip Elmer-DeWitt Apple 2.0 BlogMost mobile ad networks charge either a set rate per 1,000 impressions — the so-called CPM. Or they charge a rate for each time a customer clicks on an ad — the CPC.Apple's (AAPL) new iAd advertising platform, according to a report in Monday's AdvertisingAge, is charging for both. Marketers who want to reach iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users through iAds will have to pay $10 per thousand impressions plus $2 per click."Apple is reinventing mobile ad pricing," write AdAge's Kunur Patel and Michael Learmonth, "and not in a good way."For example, AdMob, the mobile ad company whose acquisition by Google (GOOG) is being scrutinized by the FTC, charges $10 to $15 CPM on average, but doesn't add costs per click. If advertisers buy CPC campaigns, AdMob's rates are 15¢ to 30¢ per click.In addition, because Apple hasn't released an iAd developer's kit, creative directors will need Cupertino's help to build their ads — a service for which Apple is charging top dollar. For agencies spending less than $1 million on iAd buys, Apple is charging $50,000 to $100,000, according to agency executives. That's about twice today's going rate.
Excerpt from POLITICO (Washington) - The number from a disposable cellphone led FBI agents to the suspect arrested Monday night for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on Saturday evening, according to a senior official.
"They were able to basically get one phone number and by running it through a number of databases, figure out who they thought the guy was," the official said.A huge law-enforcement force tracked the suspect through the afternoon and evening. He was arrested at 11:30 p.m. at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The vehicle identification number had been removed from the bomb-laden 1993 Nissan Pathfinder left in Times Square.But investigators were able to lift it from a second location on the vehicle, and used that to track down a Connecticut man who said he had sold the Pathfinder for cash about three weeks ago. The man had offered the vehicle on Craigslist, and FBI agents were able to recover the number from a disposable cellphone that had been used by the buyer.
Just checked out a verrrry interesting slide show put together by Bo Yi-Qun, Vice President of Mobile Internet Great Wall Club which gives an amazing overview China's mobile Internet marketing space. In fact the numbers are shocking. I know China has a lot of people but when you read statistics comparing U.S and Chinese Internet user numbers and profit margins it just really drives home the vast difference in scale. How many synonyms can I come up with beyond staggering? Stupefying? Astounding? Mind-blowing? And so on... that really make me wonder how any creative or non-traditional, non-Chinese company could be profitable in China. The numbers sound impressive. Chinese Internet service portal Tencent has 900 million subscribers (the population of the entire U.S. X 3) 400 million active users and 40 million people actually paying for services. Tencent makes 70% of their revenue from virtual goods, 20% from mobile applications and just 10% from advertising. In 2008, the date listed for the data, Tencent's market cap was 40 billion dollars. That makes Facebook's 200 million active users with an all advertising business model and only a 15 billion dollar market cap look like a wimp getting sand kicked in its pimpled face. I, personally, still don't understand the appeal of virtual gifts. But if Tencent was really making 70% of it's considerable revenue from pretend flowers and teddy bears, I think I'd better wake the !@#$ up. It's no wonder Facebook tries to FORCE me to buy a fake $1.00 birthday beer for my friends every chance it gets. Clearly Facebook is not going to be able to survive on ads alone. Keep your eyes open for Facebook “Linden dollars” and even banking! Eeeek. Additionally only 2.3% of the Chinese people have credit cards, where as well over half of Americans have AT LEAST one card. The most popular way to make a purchase on-line, in China, is via Alipay the Chinese version of Paypal. The company calls itself, "China's leading independent third-party on-line payment platform." It's so convenient you can add money to your Alipay account at a bank or a post office. Could you even try imagining doing that at a U.S post office? The Great Wall Club also shows that Chinese Internet companies operate with healthy margins, averaging around 30 to 40% whereas U.S. companies average around 7% margin. It's like China is some business utopia on the brink of taking over the world. But so far it seems you have to be a local to enjoy this kind of deep margin and steep market growth. Arguably even Google can't hack it (heh) in China. The spending power of the average Chinese is not strong enough. So for Google to save face and recoup loses they company had to scream "human rights abuse!" and pull up roots --or at least threaten to. I would be interested to hear of some real successes among foreign Internet companies in China. I have yet to see any examples outside of traditional inventory based businesses like Walmart, Costco, McDonald's, KFC or Dominos as models for how foreign companies might do well in China (HINT: sell cheap “food”). Maaaybe Swedish, low-priced clothing maker H&M? Maaaaybe. And I have to wonder if the big ad agencies like Ogilvy are actually just bleeding money hoping that one day the tide will roll in with fat, juicy margins. Because right now it seems like China is saying "Branding-Shmanding! Gimme an imaginary fortune kitty cat, nevermind the ad"
P.S.
Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald recently commented, "the spending per capita in China is only $3 a year on Procter & Gamble products."McDonald compared that to the U.S., where P&G products lead in over 25 categories, with per capita spending of $100 annually.
According to hacker Conflipper, Microsoft's Kin mobile phone will be carried by China Mobile. Aren't the phones in China already about 1,000 times more advanced than the Kin? Kinda feels like Zune part two.
Visual Economics has a great chart depicting the Chinese wealth gap which continues to grow. It is estimated that the Chinese Communist Party will need to maintain a 10% level of growth to keep China from having mass revolts. The average Chinese city dweller makes $2,500 a year while a villager makes just $775 per year. Meanwhile China was ranked 2nd in the world for its number of billionaires --64. So the massive stimulus package enacted last year by the Chinese government was sorely needed.
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