Technology and China: What's the Connection?
Posted on Mon, Dec 21, 2009
Today Tracey Feick shares some observations about how trends in technology are impacting our lives, and specifically, how things are changing quickly in China...
I am continually amazed at how technology has changed our lives so much in a few short years. What did we ever do without e-mail? Without cell phones? Without instant messaging? Without social media?
The technology changes impact our personal lives: my daughter's school report cards no longer come in the mail. I have to log onto a website to see her grades. The technology changes impact our professional lives as well: I never thought I'd be blogging or inviting customers to join Lionbridge on Twitter. Those concepts didn't even exist a few years ago.
The changes are coming fast and furious. Every day there is some new technology to learn and adopt. And you never know where it will appear next. This hit home for me recently when I was moderating a Lionbridge webinars: "Designing and Localizing Websites for the Chinese Market," presented by Rebecca Ray of LISA.
I've had a passion for China since my family vacation to Hong Kong when I was a teenager. So, I was thrilled to host Lionbridge's webinar and fully expected to hear a lot of familiar content based on my experiences working in and with Asia, while also learning about the most recent market trends in China. Rebecca certainly delivered on all that. But, what really fascinated me were two technology trends Rebecca shared:
- First, the internet may be big, but mobile is the place to be with 640 million mobile subscribers in China today. Since I've recently upgraded my own mobile phone, I can completely understand how the new devices are revolutionizing how we interact. And I can see how that will have implications as companies are trying to reach their international customers.
- Then I learned how important micropayments, mobile coupons and virtual currencies are becoming in the Chinese market. If these are new to you, too, listen to Rebecca's webinar which can be found at the Knowledge Center on Lionbridge.com. Suffice it to say, the new technologies breed new ways of interacting with customers.
While staying abreast of the latest technology can sometimes be overwhelming, how exciting to be a part of the changing nature of global interactions that technology facilitates!
Listen to the Lionbridge Webinar replay, "Designing and Localizing Websites for the Chinese Market."