Sunday, March 28, 2004
Posted by Peggy
1:06 PM
STIFLING SELF-EXPRESSION:
SUCCESS FACTOR FOR AVATAR BUSINESS?
Colorful avatars are proving to be big business, if South Korea's numbers are anything to go by. Approximately 3.6 million Koreans regularly buy digital accessories for the little cartoon icons that serve as their proxies in the world of online gaming.
This popular way to online self-expression and escapism saw the Korean avatar game market grow ten-fold - from US$17.1 million in 2001 to US$171 million in 2003.
This begs the question: Why hasn't the attractiveness of virtual people taken off in other countries? Perhaps there are peculiarities of the Korean market that, when combined, are difficult to mimic?
For starters, South Korea is a very advanced nation in its use of technology. It is also a gadget-happy, if not 'consumerism-plagued', society. Finally it has a culture that limits self-expression in the real world.
But 'difficult to mimic' doesn't mean 'impossible to mimic'. Consider the above factors and what we have is a rather promising picture for those who want to get their hands on the China avatar market.
As Chinese citizens acquire more spending power (read: increased consumerism) and embrace IT as a way of life (read: technologically advanced), what's not going to change as quickly is the Confucian mindset that is so firmly entrenched in the Chinese culture. Unlike in the US, where individual expression offline is not an issue, Confucianism in China discourages self-expression.
Smacks of the combination of factors that make avatars popular in Korea? You bet!
(Avatar services: Hmmm... it may be time to look further north.)
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Posted by Roberto
1:05 PM
0 comments
MUSIC, PORN AND VIAGRA
The acceptance of pornography in our cultural mainstream has been further enabled by the internet. Today there is no need to leave the house to buy porn, and nobody will know that you're consuming that stuff. Is it any wonder then that advertisers conclude that the images of porn films might resonate with consumers?
Look also to the music scene. Rap and rock music are the musical expressions of the feelings and desires of teens. Considering that teens and adults are consuming pornography at higher rates, it's no wonder rock and rap artistes make the porn connection an important part of their business. Years ago, singers would display porn stars on their album covers. Today some go as far as to produce porn movies with unique rap tracks.
It's not only music that has made the porn connection, so has TV. Porn content and music can now enter our living room via programs like "Porn to Rock and Rap".
Today, everything is labelled "entertainment" and entertainment is everything.
Check out the ads for Viagra. A year ago they featured old men pondering how to deal with erectile dysfunction. Now, ads are showing virile-looking young men embracing beautiful women. The blue pill is becoming a lifestyle pill, where the majority of people will use it to shape sexuality rather than cure impotence.
Another powerful lifestyle drug is Melanotan (manufactured by Epitan), a tanning drug with all the right side effects. It is implanted under the skin and released over a period of weeks. The molecule activates five different chemical systems throughout the body. It's a potent anti-inflammatory, it promotes sexual arousal (direct action in the hypothalamus) and it targets an appetite-suppression receptor popular with the makers of weight-loss drugs. Phase III trials are expected to commence in 2004 with market release expected in 2006.
Watch out!
Monday, March 01, 2004
Posted by Peggy
10:58 AM
0 comments
CHINA IT INDUSTRY: SET TO TAKE OFF
China Daily (Hong Kong edition) reported on Feb 11, 2004 that the Chinese IT market is finally taking off after 3 years of slow growth.
An analyst speaking at the 2004 China IT Forum in Beijing said that the Chinese IT market, which includes IT hardware, software and IT services, will grow at an average rate of 18.1% in the next 5 years. This means the market will reach US$92.2 billion in 2008.
Summary of other findings from this report:- Total sales for IT expected to grow to US$48 billion in 2004, which is a 19% YOY growth from US$40.17 billion in 2003.
- Computer sales, which account for 30% of the IT market, will lead the growth at annual average rate of 14.1% from 2004 to 2008. The computer market should stand at US$24 billion in 2008.
- Sale of notebooks forecast to make up 30% of total computer sales in 2008, up from 18% in 2003.
- Shipment of desktop computers will reach 20 million units in 2007 compared to the 11.41 million units in 2003.
- Digital products is the fastest growing segment of the IT market with an expected annual average growth rate of 38.3% in the next 5 years. PDAs and digicams will lead this growth (average rates of 60% and 53% respectively).
- Software market to grow by 2.5 times from last year's US$4.82 billion to US$12 billion in 2008.
- Total IT investment from 2004 - 2008 will amount to US$278 billion (compared to US$169 billion in the last decade).
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