News Roundup

- China has surpassed the US for most number of people online to make the Chinese Internet population 253 million.

- Yet another Google "competitor"? Cuil. My favourite is still the [disputed] "environmentally friendly" Blackle.

- Google Knol = Wikipedia + Squidoo

- Metafocus Global is live! The best place for International Internet Marketing, multilingual SEO and Chinese websites!

Round the world Facebook Clones

Whilst researching international social networking sites, I came across the famous "Chinese Facebook" - Xiaonei.com. The interface is remarkably similar, but with Chinese touches, note the policebox at the bottom of the page. Closer to home is Russia's Vkontakte.ru which reminds me of the old facebook interface, which I dug out from WayBack Machine.

Google says...

How easy would it be to have a whole webpage translated at a click of a button?

In reality, automatic translations can throw up a whole range of different problems, not least in this translated version of a product range from electrical company.

Along with semiconductors and electromagnetic devices, Google also lists "Die die". The actual translation of course is something less morbid-aggresive - "moulding frame".

Farm Fresh Meat

Today, I am concentrating on a local issue of interest- the Nottingahmshire sausage!

Everyone's heard of Lincolnshire Sausages or Cumberland Sausages but how about Nottinghamshire Sausages? Made with locally reared pork and venison mixed with Bramley Apples and redcurrant, you can buy these Nottinghamshire sausages from Gonalston Farm Shop, one of the best local farm shops in Nottinghamshire.

Bramley Apples originate from Southwell, 5 miles from Gonalston and the stags of the Nottingham crest lends itself to the use of venison in the Nottinghamshire sausage.

No access to this Nottingham farm shop? Not a problem! Just buy fresh farm meat online, free UK weekday delivery. Guaranteed to satisfy your farm fresh meat fix.

"guanxi" networking 2.0

For anyone living, learning and dealing with business in China, you will have come across the term "guanxi". For most, it is a "special relationship" or "personal contact". Many articles have been written about the intricacies and implications of guanxi, whether it is a path to corruption or an essential business tool that is used effectively in my successful business stories.

Wikipedia says...
Very loosely, it can be associated with the UK equivalent of the "old boys network". Similar terms in other cultures and countries are "wasta" in the Middle East and "recomandato" in Italy.

Whilst researching a bit more about "guanxi" on Google, I came across guanxi.com, an American based company operating a "LinkedIn" style social interaction website. Unfortunately, an error in the website prevented me from registering on the network. I feel this would be an interesting development in the Chinese Internet market especially in connection to my previous post about the reluctance of Chinese businesses to operate purely online.

Alan Clements, MD of Metafocus will be speaking at "Exploring Guanxi - Relationships for successful business in China", organised by the China-Britain Business Council and East Midlands China Business Bureau at Derby University on the 23rd July 2008. Alan will speak about his experiences with guanxi when dealing with business in China and you can get a chance to learn more about this elusive phrase.

Contact Metafocus for details on how to register for this event.

Buying Online in China

Will they buy online?

Yesterday, Metafocus held a joint breakfast seminar with Nottingham City Council and the East Midlands China Business Bureau. See our Nottingham blog for pictures and details of the seminar!

A few interesting points were raised about the Internet market in China, with questions about the development of China's "web 2.0" and the state of Chinese search engine marketing. In particular, many people were curious about people buying online in China.

Research shows that the scope for youths buying online in China is absolutely booming.

When I was first thinking about the scope for e-commerce in China, I was apprehensive about Chinese people buying online. This was partly because my experience of Chinese business involved the building of trust and meeting business partners face to face was an obligatory step before anything business began.

On the other hand, the sheer number of forum users in China also reinforces the fact that many people do care about what they buy and who they buy from whether it is online or offline. Forums are the perfect way to communicate and share reviews on certain products or services, and it is predicted that about 80% of all Chinese sites run their own forum or "BBS" (Bulletin Board System) with an average of 10 million posts published daily.

The Internet is changing the world though and increasingly as the banks in China begin issuing more credit cards to the population, the combined curiosity of the Chinese youth to exercise their purchase power online will only continue to fuel what would soon be yet another very large part of the Chinese economy.

Apa Khabar, Ni Hao and Good Morning!

I work for Metafocus Ltd, a global online marketing company in Nottingham. I hope this blog will help you (and me!) understand a bit more about the wonderful and ever changing world of the Internet.

Multilingual search engine optimisation is a fairly new field, with lots of exciting developments happening almost daily on search engines all over the world. I will be blogging on new discoveries, international online marketing techniques and introducing some of the new multilingual websites we are creating for our international and exporting clients.

We are a busy bunch at Metafocus but our love for blogging has conquered all. Check out blogs from our online marketing team:

Rich "Massage" Moore -Internet Marketing Nottingham

DJ Ed - Search engine optimisation Nottingham

Stu Owens - Online Marketing Nottingham

and finally, Metafocus Nottingham blog!