In the wake of CCTV’s Consumer Day exposé of several brands, including McDonald’s, Carrefour, China Telecom and China Merchants Bank, they have responded via their owned social media presence on Sina Weibo, pledging their determination to take such consumer complaints seriously. Will this mean a genuine step towards approachable, Social CRM? Time will tell.

Guokr.com have intensified the social aspect of their Q&A network, incorporating group functions, themes, blogs and other social elements. Essentially, Guokr is pretty similar to Quora. Indeed, Thirteen Ji, Guokr’s founder, spoke of his study of Quora in a public letter prior to Guokr’s original launch in 2010. Such is the uniqueness and dynamism of China’s digital landscape though, Guokr’s updated social elements allow it to keep in step with the behaviors of China’s voracious netizens.

[4] The Ben-Nana Show

Netizens are going ape for frozen treat “Ben-Nana” (pictured). Showing off yours via Sina Weibo has become hot behavior, even though it’s still pretty chilly in much of China. “No one can stop the trend of eating Ben-nana! Some say it’s hard to peel?! Come and show me your Ben-nana!”

[5] Tencent’s “White Paper on the Internet Open Platform”

Tencent’s “Open Platform for Chinese New Year” was recently held in Beijing. In conjunction, the Tencent produced a white paper on “the Internet open platform”. Data shows most downloaded apps are “social”, at 41%, with more than 23% of apps downloaded via Tencent’s platform ads. Interestingly, the data also suggests that 74% of paid-app users are male.

[6] Huawei Launches “Vmall”

Huawei, China’s leading tech supplier, has recently launched an online mall, “Vmall”. Bo Zhu, president of Internet Business at Huawei, revealed the news on weibo. Registered users can log in with their existing information. In an interesting side note, just as netizens have nicknamed Taobao’s Tmall “Tian Mao” (mao meaning cat), some are now calling Vmall “Wei Mao”.