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Social media in emerging markets : Insight from Esther Dyson

September 11, 2013

Esther Dyson (@edyson), a former journalist and leading New York angel investor, philanthropist, and commentator focused on health care, human capital and aerospace, sat down with Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television’s “On The Move Asia” to discuss the challenges and latest innovations of social media in emerging markets.

Dyson was attending Social Media Matters, an Asia business event to assess the underlying business value of social media.

Social media internationally, per Dyson, is more much more mobile than it is in the United States and Europe. Both in the way Social Media is consumed and created.

A cell phone to a person in an emerging market is ‘capital equipment’ versus something looked to for consumption – almost entertainment. A cell phone is a way to express themselves, to earn an identity (an African may not have an address or get mail), and an opportunity to earn a living.

Companies in emerging markets are beginning to leverage social media, though things are still pretty confused. They need to learn that social media does not mean sending messages out.

Emerging markets, per Dyson, need to understand that social media is a way to connect with people, socially, and that people are talking about them. For example, Aeroflot ignored Dyson on Twitter, while Lufthansa responded.

The biggest development on the horizon, per Dyson, is the rise of individual as a news producer, as opposed to a news consumer. Mainstream media like Bloomberg have competition.

With so many news producers it becomes harder both to get noticed as a producer and to know what it is going in the world as a news consumer.

Things will become much more fluid. People will need to think for themselves in the way they consume news and they do not necessarily know how. They may place credence in brands such as a Bloomberg.

All good news for lawyers in that good lawyers who are blogging become news and information producers, as opposed to just consumers. Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis, Wolters Kluwer, and Bloomberg have competition.

Key for LexBlog and our LexBlog Network (LXBN) of over 8,000 publishing lawyers is to both help our lawyers get noticed through proper engagement by them and to shine a light on them and their insight via our LexBlog Network. Our network, with its growing brand, can have credence as that trusted source.

Watch Dyson’s interview on the Bloomberg TV site by clicking here or on the below image.