“Same, same, different” is something that you’ll hear everywhere here in Vietnam. It’s a phrase generally used to tell the buyer that this much cheaper version of the bag, dress, bargain that you’re looking at buying, is pretty much the same as the legitimate brand that you spotted back home. When it comes to the Internet and social media, Vietnam is – when it comes to Asia – just about same, same, different.
Vietnam ranks eighth in Asia when it comes to number of Internet users, with 36 million out of a population of 92.47 million, giving an online penetration of 39%, it’s above the APAC average of 32%. Only 31% of the population are in urban areas with nearly two thirds living rurally. That large percentage of rural dwellers no doubt accounts for the huge, 134 million mobile subscriptions. Yes you’ve read that right. In Vietnam, mobile subscription is at 145% of the population, so clearly there are multiple subscriptions in play here.
The Vietnamese get up early. When you’re waiting outside a hotel for a bus at 4:30am, there’ll be a bustle of folks already about their business in the twilight before dawn. And there’s still a bustle, and a regular honk of the horns until the wee small hours. Now there might be a siesta or two in the middle of the day, but it still accounts for a pretty long day for the majority of the population – especially when you consider than on average they’re fitting in 4.6 hours a day on the Internet. And those mobile users? They’re accounting for 34% of the total population when it comes to Internet access and they’re spending 1 hour and 43 minutes a day using their mobile devices to access the Internet, although only 19% of mobile subscribers have broadband mobile Internet access, compared to Australia for instance, which has a whopping 96% subscriber rate.
With more than 20 million Facebook users, (all these figures are from January 2014), the country has a 22% social media penetration, with Facebook leading the way as the most popular social network, and social accounting for an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day of their Internet access. That is a long way behind the leading APAC country, the Philippines, which averages 4 hours a day on social media.
Vietnam is not the same, but different when it comes to social media penetration, compared to other Asian countries. Leading the way is Taiwan with 69% social media penetration, even China brings in a respectable 46%, Vietnam ties with Mongolia on 22%, some 3% below the Asian average.
(GRAPH: Social media penetration in Asian countries: Source: WeAreSocial January 2014)
Aside from Facebook, which is also the network that the Vietnamese use as their primary online dating service, other networks that you’ll see in use in Vietnam are Zing, Blogger, WordPress and a host of others that you can see on the graph. LinkedIn brings in a respectable 1.1 million visitors a month (although these figures are from April 2013, so don’t count my access during my visit).
(GRAPH:Most Popular social networks in Vietnam, April 2013. Source: Statista. )
Financial services have too realized the benefit of social in Vietnam, with 65% of banks in the country using social media for both their sales and customer services channels.
With mobile use at such a high, but current mobile broadband subscriptions, not reaching those levels there are clear opportunities for growth in this sector. Just 20% of the total population use a smartphone, however 97% of those use that smartphone to search for local information, 95% search for product information and 60% of them have made a purchase through their smartphone.
The Bamboo Firewall
When it comes to regulation and legislation the government’s efforts to regulate, monitor and oversee Internet use has often been referred to as a Bamboo Firewall. The regulatory responsibility for Internet materials is divided between the Ministry of Culture and Information, which focuses on sexually explicit, violet content and the Ministry of Public Security which monitors politically sensitive content. Everything that’s stored, shared or read from the Internet must comply with various Vietnamese laws, from the press law to the publication law – and being a foreigner doesn’t protect you. The Vietnamese government is known to use both legal and technical restraints to enforce these laws. Both domestic and foreign individuals are legally responsible for content that infringes any of the above sensitivities and laws. Penalties include fines and criminal liability sanctions.
Decree 72
September 2013 saw Decree 72 come into effect – meaning that it’s now illegal to distribute materials online that “harm national security” or “oppose the government”. Decree 72 said that blogs and social media websites should not be used to share news articles, only personal information. It also states that foreign internet companies should keep their local servers inside Vietnam.
Dozens of bloggers were arrested during 2013 and most recently, in early May 2014, two Vietnamese bloggers, Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Ba Sam) and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, were arrested for “abusing democratic freedoms that infringe on the interests of the state.”
The Ba Sam blog carries information about politics, economics, culture and world events and has in the past advised on how to bypass Vietnamese government firewalls to access news outside of Vietnam. Ba Sam means “Talking Nonsense” and while it’s become very popular with tens of thousands of daily readers, it’s also suffered denial of service attacks and hacking.
The two bloggers are part of an increasing number of individuals charged under Decree 72. In the first quarter of 2014, six other individuals have been convicted under the same charge. While there is much criticism from human rights groups and countries around the world, including the USA on this policy, it remains to be seen what will change.
Meanwhile, as we check out of our hotel in Hanoi, to head for the glorious karsts of Halong Bay, our friendly host makes me type my details into her Facebook app on her iPhone, so that we can be friends, and so that she can make sure that I post a positive review for her.
It seems that it’s the same same as the rest of the world here in Vietnam after all.
Guest blogger, social media guru, and citizen of the world Sarah Carter regulary shares her nomadic travel experiences and social insights here with our blog audience. To learn more about Sarah and her exciting travels, follow @SarahActiance on Twitter.
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