Forget the tedious and painful planning for a get-together just so you can catch up with friends. Young Malaysians are using mobile communications and taking part in digital communities to make sure that they are connected to their friends at all times. The higher the level of closeness, the more communications tools will be used to keep in touch.

Online network ties that bind

Stories by Rozana Sani

TWENTY-something Aliyah’s day starts off by checking her mobile phone for any SMS or MMS from friends or family. When she gets to work, she quickly logs in to Friendster for notices or messages before getting on with work. And while she works, her instant messenger is on for any alerts from colleagues, acquaintances and friends.

During lunch, she checks out a few of her favourite blogs to see what the writers (mainly friends) have been up to. Her phone also has an instant messaging (IM) feature, in case someone needs to chat with her. Her phone is never off; her computer, sometimes.

According to Telenor Research & Innovation Centre Asia Pacific (Tricap)’s head of market research and customer insight Sheena Lim, Aliyah’s habits are typical of Malaysian youths aged between 15 and 29, who were surveyed by the organisation over the last 18 months.

Tricap, which is Telenor’s first research and innovation facility outside Norway, looked at over 1,175 consumers’ mindset on communications and technology as well as social media – which is the sharing of content across social networks using new media such as the mobile phone or PC.

Lim says the research findings reveal unique information and communications technology trends among Malaysian youths regarding the usage of the mobile phone, Internet and social networking platforms such as Facebook and Friendster. The communications tools are used as a faster means of communication, and for convenient information sourcing and sharing.

“Malaysian youths cannot seem to get enough of their friends and will stay in touch through different communications platforms. The higher the level of closeness, the more communications tools will be used to keep in touch. Those with stronger ties will be on all communications platforms – e-mail, IM, telephone and digital communities.

“New friendships, as they evolve and become stronger, will gradually add new communications channels. It typically starts with a connection on a digital community such as Friendster, then it evolves to communication via IM and finally, to mobile communications such as voice and SMS. That is how youths connect in their social network,” Lim observes.



Mobile phone is king

Almost everyone in Malaysia owns a mobile phone, and it has become the indispensable gadget that connects youths to friends, family and other contacts.

On average, the research respondents have 100 contacts in their mobile phone’s address book. The mobile phone is so important that it constantly has to be by the individual’s side and switched on 24x7.

SMS usage among the respondents also is relatively high, with about 18 SMSes sent per day among Malaysian youths, compared with those in other Asian countries such as Thailand (three), Bangladesh (less than five) and Pakistan (six), where Telenor has operations.

It is surprising to find that there is no difference in SMS usage between Malaysian boys and girls, Lim points out.



Accessing Net everywhere

According to the report, most respondents access the Internet either from Internet cafes, at home, workplace, educational institutions, places with Wi-Fi access, or their mobile phones.

Nearly half of the respondents use the Internet to meet new friends or keep in touch with existing friends (mostly teens). The main vehicle to keep in touch with friends is Friendster.com.

The respondents also use IM to flirt, communicate with close friends or keep in touch with family members who are abroad.

“MSN and Yahoo! are the most common IM services. For IM services, Yahoo! Messenger falls slightly behind MSN. The need to go to cybercafes explains why real-time chats are used less than social networks such as Friendster, since services such as Friendster do not require the user to be online all the time,” Lim says.

There is also a growing awareness of blogs among Malaysians.

“The majority of participants surveyed only have a profile on Friendster, the No.1 social network for youths in Malaysia. Sixteen per cent of the respondents also registered for similar services such as MySpace, and there is growing interest and following in Facebook.

“While very few respondents have blog sites, 34 per cent visit other people’s blogs and of this number, a fifth actively leave comments in the blogs,” Lim points out.

She says the main incentive for users to become an active community member is social interaction and exposure.

“For Malaysian youths, who tend to be ‘homebodies’, mobile communications and digital communities are the answer to socialising from home. Friendster has been in Malaysia for seven years, and Facebook has the potential to be the next wave. The respondents state they use Friendster more because ‘my friends are there’.”

Lim also highlights that the Friendster network is made from strong and weak ties.

“Strong ties become ‘close friends’ who share thoughts, experiences, memories and emotions. On the other hand, weak ties have less loyalty, but are still valuable with information and attention exchanged among acquaintances, online friends and strangers.

“The Friendster user has an understanding of the need to provide new meanings and experiences to his/her Friendster peers so they do not get bored. Attention from friends and peers is also viewed as a reward in itself,” she says.

Youths likely to inspire future technology

FOR mobile phone producers, communications and content service providers as well as policymakers, it is important that they continuously keep abreast of the trends in sharing of content across social networks, especially among youths. This is because youths are the early adopters of new services and technology, says Telenor Research & Innovation Centre Asia Pacific (Tricap)’s managing director Jens Olav Bjornson.

“Youths and young adults in Malaysia operate in many different social circles, compared to other countries. For example, their high school friends, university friends, colleagues and football friends may not consist of the same group members because their interests are different as they go about in life. Yet, they want to be constantly updated on what goes on in the different circles. There is this sense of wanting to belong and fear of losing out on happenings or gossip in these circles,” he explains.

So, it is important to consider the user’s social network, group dynamics and network effects, in addition to considering the individual’s needs when developing services for mobile consumers, Bjornson says.

One of many important findings in Tricap’s survey is that youths are price-conscious and clever when it comes to optimising the value they can get in relation to what they spend on.

“If a service is charged at a certain price but does not give the youth sufficient additional value compared to alternative sources, he would be unwilling to use or pay for that service. This is important in services where there are free alternative sources, for instance, on the Internet. So, it is necessary to focus on providing real value and excellent user experience to succeed,” Bjornson says.

This, he adds, ties back to user-oriented innovation where the communications products and services developed have to be customer-oriented and based on solid market and customer insights. These insights can then applied to develop new services for customers.

Commenting on future trends regarding mobile phones, youths and digital communities in Malaysia, Bjornson says the youth segment is set to be the catalyst for new technology usage and trends.

“Asian youths are early adopters of new technology and share a similar development patterns with Western Europe. Youths are adventurous and enjoy testing the latest gadgets in the market. The trend-setters among youths are motivated by the prospect of introducing something new, be it the latest music releases or games, to their social circles.

“Youths are the teachers, the change agents who influence their parents, aunts and uncles and even their grandparents. They have been training them to use the mobile phone and SMS service, for instance. So, not only do the youths bring their mobile usage with them as they grow older, they also introduce new services to peers, friends and family. So, we expect other customer segments to be inspired and learn from youths in terms of using their mobile devices for more than person-to-person communications via voice and SMS.”

He adds that the world already has become smaller in terms of connectivity, and youths will be the ones who will inspire all to find and enjoy the additional benefits this represents.

“Who knows, maybe one day grandparents will maintain digital community profiles from their mobile phones as an additional channel to socialise with their grandchildren?”