Presidential campaigns have been won or lost throughout the simple power of mass media. John F. Kennedy’s charismatic TV presence is credited for wining him the election against Richard Nixon, while Ronald Reagon’s acting experience bode well for his all-American character portrayed through the silver screens. In 2008, Obama may win the presidential race through his popularity online – easily symbolized by the incredibly viral video “I got a crush…on Obama” that has been played over 100 million times.
In the 2008 election, internet content is quickly replacing the power of television appearances in determining our country’s future leader. In fact, according to research conducted by the PEW Internet and American Life Project, 46% of Americans utilize Internet content to obtain information regarding the presidential race. More than 35% of Americans watched political videos online, tripling this PEW bellwether since the 2004 election.
Understanding the value of internet exposure, Obama has become a forefront runner in utilizing the web to rally his supporters. The use of social networks, online video, and user-generated content in favor of Obama has given him a strong online edge against McCain – meaning that the Web 2.0 icons of content may play a large role in determining who the next American president is. Is it only a coincidence that 74% of Obama’s internet-using supporters obtained their political news online, while only 57% of Clinton’s did?
We know that content is king in building your presence online. However, with the 2008 presidential elections in mind, is content now presidential? The talking heads and freelance writers are saying yes.
Read moreWe know that in the English-speaking internet realm, content certainly remains king. Whether your freelance writer is performing your content management on the stock market meltdown or creating directory articles on the latest diet pill, it is this content that propels your website forward, both in terms of SEO and traffic. However, could English content be trumped by Chinese characters?
Explosion in Chinese internet strokes
Chinese internet users continue to explode in growth, starting with a measly 620,000 users in 1997 to 210 million this year. According to the Chinese government and the Wall Street Journal, the number of Chinese internet users will soon surpass America. As it currently stands, China is only five million internet users short of trumping America as the champion of the world’s internet usage.
Considering that many of America’s major internet players, such as Yahoo and Google, have content specifically geared for China demonstrates the tremendous economic power behind the five-starred red flag. However, what does this mean to the webmaster?
How American webmasters can capitalize on the Chinese internet
Chinese ecommerce still only accounts for 1% of the overall internet usage, but it is the sheer population size of the Olympics-hosting country that presents tremendous profitability. Indeed, too many venture capitalists have heard the pitch, “If only every person in China bought one of these widgets, we’d be the next Google…” yet this argument still holds true when it comes to Chinese internet usage – especially when it relates to advertising opportunities.
In the second quarter of 2008 alone, China’s internet advertising hit 2.8 billion yuan, which is equivalent to $411 million US dollars. This is significant growth from the 2.2 billion yuan the country saw in its year-to-date online advertising revenues. Therefore, even if ecommerce transactions represent a small percentage of usage, there is ample opportunity for the webmaster – American or Chinese – to create resources that serve as excellent grounds of earning advertising potential.
Perhaps the next service freelance writers should offer is custom content in Chinese.
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