I just read this article on one of my favourite resources for all things Social Media, (my third home) New Zealand-based ReadWriteWeb. And I must say that for the first time in a while I don’t fully agree, and I missed some things, that I’d like to add here.
The article is about Germany’s backwards relationship to Social Media. I must admit, that there is a painfully big amount of truth in this: blogging just isn’t as big a thing in Germany as it is for instance in the US; companies (whom I work with a lot) are slow in the uptake of blogs as a highly beneficial addition to their communication strategy.
Social Networking is doing a bit better: according to a Nielsen Report on Social Networking from March 2009, Germany actually saw the biggest growth in that sector: 51% of Germans online can now be found on community sites (frontrunner being German-language Wer-kennt-wen), which is an increase of 12% to the previous year. I admit, it is not as impressive as the figures for the UK (69% of Internet users on social networks) or superimpressive as Brazil (a whopping 80%), but still a pretty good ratio.
To me, this is all not as bleak as all that. Firstly, Germany’s social networking activities grew phenomenally in just a year, which I think is a good sign for those of us who want people to use technology to connect. And secondly, where is the massive online streaming market? Streaming platforms are Social Media as much as Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and friends. And the Germans looooove their video streaming: in December last year, video streaming was phenomenally high. 28 Million users watched more than 3 Billion videos in one month. That’s not bad. Not bad at all. And all this content is being talked about, emailed about, commented on etc. like everywhere else in the world. This is what I call an engaged audience.
Long ramble short: in my humble opinion, if you want to promote your project using Social Media in Germany, go for it! Maybe tone down the blogs (unless it is niche content – niches are being discussed in blogs, even in Germany), but go full throttle on the streaming platforms and Social Networks. If you know German, it certainly helps, if not, you can still get places.
