IWOM is said to offer a glimpse into the world of online consumers, acting as a pathway for marketers to connect with them. Sam Flemming suggests three most compelling net cultures to pry into.

Many marketers tend to think of internet word of mouth (IWOM) on blogs and BBS (online message boards) in China as scary stuff. They may recall the Dell Processor Gate incident where consumers complained on BBS that Dell had shipped a different processor than what was advertised. This eventually led to a class action lawsuit for false advertising. Marketers may also think of the CCTV9 blogger Rui Chenggang's open letter to Starbucks, requesting the removal of one of its stores from the Forbidden City, which was later picked up by the Chinese media and even The Wall Street Journal. (Starbucks is out of the Forbidden City, by the way). While these examples demonstrate IWOM's power to make a big splash, it would be a mistake to relegate IWOM exclusively to reputation management. 

IWOM is the window to a vibrant, dynamic net culture that is increasingly shaping and driving the Chinese popular culture that is essential for companies to understand if they are to understand consumers.

But where is a marketer to begin to understand? Well, there are numerous examples of "culture" online, but three of the most compelling and obvious ones are net stars, net language and net literature.

Net stars
Examples of these are the shameless Sister Lotus (a.k.a. Fu Rong Jie Jie) and the effervescent Back Dorm Boys, which first came onto the scene in 2005. Even up to today, they continue to be a part of the net culture. In fact, Sister Lotus has pretty much remained in China's leading search engine company Baidu's top 10 most searched people until recently.

More and more brands are taking notice of net stars and building relationships with them to get closer to netizens. Last year, Sony Ericsson picked up Sister Lotus' sweeter opposite, Sister Angel, as a poster girl for their Simple Happiness series of phones. Earlier this year, Acer tapped video blogger dodolook to host an online campaign emphasising built-in cameras in its notebook computers. Most recently, the Pepsi Creative Challenge II campaign buzz leapt when Sky, the famous e-athlete, became a top candidate in a contest to appear on Pepsi's new can. 

Net language
In addition to celebrity, net culture has its own net language. Just as there are terms in English such as LOL for "laugh out loud," in Chinese, you have PMP for "pai mai pi" or kiss ass. Net language also extends to specific industries. For example, Motorola's E2 is called Little Rabbit, ("two" in English has a similar pronunciation as rabbit in Chinese. Estee Lauder's Illusionist mascara, which is packaged in a little, fat container, is called Little Fatty. These terms of endearment give brands a personality that is not easily bought and definitely memorable.

Moreover, nicknames can also have practical implications. In our analysis of automobile net language, for example, we found that over 50 percent of all references to Ford Focus refer not to its official name, but to its net language nicknames which include FKS and FCS. Search on Google or Baidu for FKS and you will find almost no brand sites in the top 10. Most results come from BBS and blog messages. This is clearly a missed SEM opportunity.

Net literature
If you check out Baidu's most searched books, you will find almost all are net literature, meaning, they are only published online. In fact, net literature has long been a mainstay of the online world and quite a few pieces have been turned into movies or TV dramas. In fact, the net novel "The First Intimate Meet" defined the genre when it became hot in the late 90s, and in 2000, it was turned into a movie. Other net fiction that has gone on to mainstream success include "Two Sided Tape", which was turned into a TV show in 2007 and most recently, "Ghost Blows the Light Out", to be released by New Line Cinema in 2008.

What we are seeing with the "net native" generation in China is that the internet has not only become a centre of information, it has become a centre of entertainment, with the net natives in charge of the programming. It's no secret that traditional entertainment channels in China are not very entertaining, so the net natives download Taiwanese and Korean dramas as well as American shows such as "Heroes", "Lost" or "Prison Break" (a.k.a. "PB" in China) onto their hard drives.

Walk into any Chinese homes in Tier two and Tier two cities and you will find that in many of them, the parents and grandparents will be watching TV programmes on TV, while the net natives will be watching TV from other countries on their computers. These same net natives are the ones creating their own media, including their own literature, their own language and even their own stars, which are all becoming a part of not just net culture, but Chinese popular culture. If marketers are able to tap into this world, they will be able to find pathways to learn from and about netizens. This not only allows them to gain consumers' attention but also become a meaningful part of their sphere.

Sam Flemming is CEO and co-founder of CIC. Read full bio.