China, the Internet and Business
There were a few fascinating stories in both the Washington Post and New York Times today that address the challenges that the Internet is imposing both on the Chinese government and the American companies that want to do business in that country. Read this story (below) and also a column from the NYT that I will have to send you by email because it's behind the firewall.
The Click That Broke a Government's Grip: "With newspapers, magazines and television stations coming under tighter control, journalists and their audiences have sought refuge online. The party's censors have followed, but cyberspace in China remains contested terrain, where the rules are uncertain and an eloquent argument can wield surprising power."
Here's a clip from the Times column by Nicholas Kristoff:
"So think of the Internet as a Trojan horse that will change China. Yahoo has acted disgracefully, but the bigger picture is that the Internet is taking pluralism to China — and profound change may come sooner rather than later, for unrest is stirring across the country."
And here's the link, in case you have access.
You'll learn that four technology companies testified before Congress last week. They have dealt in different ways with the challenge of doing business in China and none of them comes away completely clean. I'm reminded of Google's corporate mission statement, "Don't be evil." Even though Kristoff declares Google the best of a bad bunch, they don't seem to live up to their own high standards.
So, let me hear your thoughts about how these companies are managing this issue. See if you can determine whether their strategies are the same or different. I think we'll all probably agree that their behavior is bad, but what I would really like you to focus on is what they are doing to protect their corporate reputations. Describe their respective strategies, messages, which audiences they care about. What are their goals and objectives. You don't have to answer all these questions, just pick out pieces. Look at what one company is doing. Or just focus on one element, i.e. messaging, and talk about how each is handling that.
This is clearly an issue that's going to be around for a while. In fact, I'm thinking maybe this might be the issue on which we will do our final plans and presentations.
The Click That Broke a Government's Grip: "With newspapers, magazines and television stations coming under tighter control, journalists and their audiences have sought refuge online. The party's censors have followed, but cyberspace in China remains contested terrain, where the rules are uncertain and an eloquent argument can wield surprising power."
Here's a clip from the Times column by Nicholas Kristoff:
"So think of the Internet as a Trojan horse that will change China. Yahoo has acted disgracefully, but the bigger picture is that the Internet is taking pluralism to China — and profound change may come sooner rather than later, for unrest is stirring across the country."
And here's the link, in case you have access.
You'll learn that four technology companies testified before Congress last week. They have dealt in different ways with the challenge of doing business in China and none of them comes away completely clean. I'm reminded of Google's corporate mission statement, "Don't be evil." Even though Kristoff declares Google the best of a bad bunch, they don't seem to live up to their own high standards.
So, let me hear your thoughts about how these companies are managing this issue. See if you can determine whether their strategies are the same or different. I think we'll all probably agree that their behavior is bad, but what I would really like you to focus on is what they are doing to protect their corporate reputations. Describe their respective strategies, messages, which audiences they care about. What are their goals and objectives. You don't have to answer all these questions, just pick out pieces. Look at what one company is doing. Or just focus on one element, i.e. messaging, and talk about how each is handling that.
This is clearly an issue that's going to be around for a while. In fact, I'm thinking maybe this might be the issue on which we will do our final plans and presentations.
posted by Guy Noir | 11:29 AM
1 Comments:
The most interesting part of this, to me, is wrapped up in that Kristof quote about Yahoo and Google as the "Trojan Horses" that could undermine Chinese communism.
The idea, which the Post mentions as well, is that these new outlets create a kind of arms race between the journalists and the regime. As communications technology (the Internet, text messaging, blogs, etc.) become available, it increases the strain on the bureauocracy to keep track of it all. Because they're decentralized and apadt the technology faster, the journalists and activists are ahead of the curve right now. If they can stay ahead, market capitalism and democracy should expand in China; if the regime finds a way to effectively embrace technology to stifle democracy, then communism will maintain its grip.
From the standpoint of the US companies, so long as they're seen as producing tools that can be used to encouraged democracy (even if they have to work with the regime to get into the market), they can stay on the positive side of the issue.
Post a Comment
<< Home