wallydownundy

At this morning’s session the Q&A session lasted longer than my laptop battery.  U of M’s Lieberthal was asked, “If you were in China at a conference, what advice would you give them about USA?”

He says the primary view is that the USA’s policies all aim to help China fail.  Such as the policies towards Taiwan - the belief is to keep China distracted so it will invest in defence and then not have the money to develop the economy.  The USA also is contributing to the economies and military strength of democracies encircling China (Taiwan, Philippines, Australia). 

If Lieberthal could give China advice, it would be two-fold:

1. Accelerate the civil society of China, such as the liberalisation of religion (which Lieberthal says is a stabilising force and not a destructive force).
2. The current attempt is to modernise under an autocracy - that cannot and will not work.  China uses examples of Taiwan and Korea as former dictatorships that made the transition.  These were not made under high economic growth along with high information flows. 

The Olympics pose one of the greatest communications challenges - this is “The Coming Out Party for China.”  The problem is that China views 2008 as the biggest event and a lot of “face” is involved.  Any demonstrations by NGOs will potentially damage the “face” of China. 

“I am glad I’m not GE,” says Lieberthal.  It will be almost impossible for GE to balance the issues of civil society and human rights in the USA - without ruining relations with China.  China is seeking all kinds of advice but are likely to over-react. 

Also - China has less than 1/2 of per capita minerals and resources needed - hence the strong growth of mining in Australia and the continued investment in Africa. 

The launch of Pixar’s “Toy Story” changed the market for animation overnight - people who never went to cartoons suddenly became fans of animation.  For DreamWorks it meant a switch from pure animation to a feature film company.  That’s a huge change in the business plan.  Shrek the Third, Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee, Madagascar are examples. 

We’re in for a treat with “behind the scenes” on upcoming animation!  Dreamers who envisage the impossible - and the geeks that make it happen. 

Kate provided a wonderful overview of the animation film industry and what has to happen to make a film like “Shrek the Third.”  Good fun - and popcorn was provided.

The details in a shot allow people to suspend their disbelief. 

California-based photographer Yana Bridle is photographing the conference - and this morning took a great photo of a black bird at breakfast.  She kindly shared her artwork with me…

Tina Brown was described in the original flyer as “the world’s most famous magazine editor.”  This kind of billing would get anyone on a bus to dinner - despite jet lag.  She’s taken the lead on major magazines starting with Tatler then moving onwards (and upwards) to Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.  She has a contentious reputation - The New York Times Magazine opened their article with the question, “Who’s afraid of Tina Brown?” It’s a great article and well worth the read!

More recently she’s penned a book, “The Diana Chronicles.” 

Read about her on Wikipedia…and look for my post on her speech tonight!  I hope it’s not just another book tour.

Great suggestion - using podcasts for distribution of information because they’re largely free.  These are a series of business podcasts and cost the company a grand total of $2,500 - for better microphones! 

Check out the full site, or play one now:

Blogging Means Business

America’s most notorious murderer - or the least understood person - is back in the news.  The man who made CNN a daily habit for millions of Americans a decade ago is back in trouble with the law.

OJ Simpson was arrested yesterday for armed robbery.  He purportedly broke into a hotel room and stole back sport memorabilia. 

Today’s press includes an “exclusive” audio tape of the incident.  I say “exclusive” because it’s across the web and quoted on the cover on The New York Times’ web site. 

See for yourself…

Wiki is Hawaiian and means “to share.”  Today Wikipedia has 80,000 active cvolunteers with 8 million articles in 250 articles - the 200 millionth article was published last week.  It’s the world’s 9th most popular web site.

It is a non-profit and was founded in 2003 by Jimmy Wales.  He started the web site on a lark after relocating to Florida.  WikiMedia is a non profit with 12 employees and operates nine content-free sites.  It’s funded by small donations by individual users. 

Wikipedia is easy to use and anyone can edit.  Try it!

Many corporate communications professionals ask “How do I change my article on Wikipedia?”  There is an FAQ available (print version only - sorry) bt Sue says, “Expect it to be changed.”

Mitch Gelman talks about the public’s demands for authenticity.  Breaking news is provided to CNN.com from all sources, such as a single employee’s web-cam.  Today’s media reports the death of 8 Iraqi citizens by private security guards hired by Black Water.  The old footage gave a front row seat to what it felt like to be a guard under fire in Iraq.

CNN.com has five drivers:

1. Harnessing the power of integrated storytelling
2. Revealing connections between stories 
3. Empowering users to participate
4. Connecting users to personally relevant materials 
5. Be a good web citizen - embrace the web

How is new media impacting old media? Phil writes on the media industry for The Chicago Tribune.  He says as a journalism student you undertake an exercise where you;re asked to write your own obituary - it helps students learn to write and teachers learn a little about you.  Today as a columnist writing on the media industry he feels he’s come full circle! 

Newspapers were developed because consumers couldn’t be everywhere and needed to keep up to date on the news.  But today consumers are everywhere - so major newspapers are like large department stores, when news consumers are heading more towards specific boutiques. 

This is similar to arguments at On Disruption. 

“The single biggest obstacle to China’s growth is the physical environment,” said University of Michigan’s’s Dr. Lieberthal in Q&A time this morning.  Environmental pollution can be reversed but it takes time, investment and the willingness to change.  Compare Pittsburgh’s air quality today with Pittsburgh 40 years ago.

For China the greatest constraint is the lack of usable water.  In China the water table has dropped three feet every year since 1960.  In Northern China - where 40% of the population love and 40% of the manufacturing takes place - the water table has dropped 12 feet in the past year alone. 

What water is left is seriously compromised.  In China 40% of the water cannot be used - it is beyond salvage given the high levels of pollution.  Water is critical to civilisation.  It cannot be imported. 

Major infrastructure has been developed - but they are not being used because the treatment plants cost money. 

This leads to serious questions: Can North China maintain manufacturing and population beyond five years? There needs to be fundamental changes in the water culture which is not occurring - there are no NGOs able to push for change, and not an adequate legal system.  The incentive is purely for short-term gain. 

The lack of potable water will lead to serious social unrest in China - and we need to factor in the water equation into China’s growth potential.