Friday, October 06, 2006
The Different Cultures of the World
I wish you all a happy Moon Festival. It is a great time of year to be in Hong Kong. The weather is mercifully very kind at this time of year as well! Ah, the sunshine.....
Currently I am working on a new panel, completely from scratch. It is in a high tech environment so it set me thinking about some of the differences that I have experienced between different panels - largely a result of cultural, social and technical differences across borders. Here are a few examples:
- China: Traffic is not a problem(!) The relationships with ISP's to deliver e-mails can be troublesome
- South China. The need for rigorous de-duplication to guard against a higher than 'average' fraudster problem
- Malaysia. The integration of three different but harmonious cultures in all communications can take extra effort. The response rates differ markedly across the race groups
- Korea. A very competitive environment for panelists. The market is so advanced that panelists actively tell you of decisions regarding suppliers and incentive levels
- Hong Kong. Traffic is a problem. Attention span is very short. Beware!
The world would be a boring place if it were all the same! I think that Marx called this the Spatialisation of time .... As we become closer together we become more conscious of the differences between ourselves.
Where is next I wonder? A Moon Festival in Hong Kong. National Foundation Day Korea.........
Currently I am working on a new panel, completely from scratch. It is in a high tech environment so it set me thinking about some of the differences that I have experienced between different panels - largely a result of cultural, social and technical differences across borders. Here are a few examples:
- China: Traffic is not a problem(!) The relationships with ISP's to deliver e-mails can be troublesome
- South China. The need for rigorous de-duplication to guard against a higher than 'average' fraudster problem
- Malaysia. The integration of three different but harmonious cultures in all communications can take extra effort. The response rates differ markedly across the race groups
- Korea. A very competitive environment for panelists. The market is so advanced that panelists actively tell you of decisions regarding suppliers and incentive levels
- Hong Kong. Traffic is a problem. Attention span is very short. Beware!
The world would be a boring place if it were all the same! I think that Marx called this the Spatialisation of time .... As we become closer together we become more conscious of the differences between ourselves.
Where is next I wonder? A Moon Festival in Hong Kong. National Foundation Day Korea.........
