Taiwan has a well-developed social media and digital landscape despite its proximity to China. Over 70% of Taiwanese are internet users and broadband infrastructure is highly advanced. Social media platforms like Facebook and blogging are popular, while Taiwanese also favor local platforms like Wretch and PTT. Mobile internet adoption is high with over 70% on 3G networks. E-commerce has grown significantly and Taiwanese are heavy online shoppers, led by those aged 30-39.

1. Taiwan Social Media
Fast Facts
August 2012

2. [Fast Facts
[ Taiwan is a tropical island located in Eastern Asia. Despite its
geographical proximity to China, Taiwan's social media landscape
portrays a different scene from that of the mainland.
Since the broadband infrastructure and emergence of web 2.0 services
has remarkably resulted in a gradual paradigm shift. Taiwanese people
leverage on various social media platforms for information and
connection, on top of the norms of traditional media and offline life.
1
Source:
The
World
Factbook
on
Taiwan.
(n.d.).
CIA
Publica=ons.
Retrieved
on
March
4,
2011
[ Fast Facts

3. [Fast Facts
[Internet growth has been phenomenal in Taiwan. The proportion of
the population who are Internet users has exceeded 70.1%. And
some 70% of all homes in Taiwan own PCs and around 60% of homes
have Internet connections.
2
Source:
www.internetworldstats.com/asia/tw.htm
[ Fast Facts

4. [Fast Facts
[Percentages of Internet Users in Different Gender of Taiwan
3
Source:
Apira
[ Fast Facts

5. [Fast Facts
[Why The Taiwanese go online
3
Source:
Apira
[ Fast Facts

6. [Fast Facts
[In contrast to mainland China, the Taiwanese government has a
liberal stance on Internet regulation. Internet regulations are minimal
and designed to protect Internet users rather than to restrict the
user’s access to certain sites or information.
4
Source:
comm215.wetpaint.com/page/Taiwan%3A+Social+Media
[ Fast Facts

7. [3G Fast Facts
[Broadband development in Taiwan started in March 2000, when the
government issued three fixed network licences.
Today Taiwan’s broadband networks and broadcasting infrastructure are
among the most advanced in the world. To maintain this leading
position, the government and private investors are continuously pushing
the limits of technology and converging services.
5
Source:
point-­‐topic.com/content/operatorSource/profiles2/taiwan-­‐broadband-­‐overview.htm
[3G Fast Facts

8. Social Media and Search Facts

9. [Social Media Facts
[ Participation in social networking sites is growing, with 63.1 % of
Taiwanese maintaining their own social networking profiles and engaging
with various forms of social media.
6
Source:
comm215.wetpaint.com/page/Taiwan%3A+Social+Networking+Sites+%26+BBS
[Social Media Facts

10. [Social Media Facts
[ Many Taiwanese readers have turned to social media as it represents
more diverse and truthful opinions and sentiments in their minds. Social
media empowers this individual right by allowing internet users to
express their views and more importantly, to influence others.
Given Taiwan's low power distance culture and sensationalist leanings,
unusual events or news have a tendency to spread like wildfire and
generate avid discussions among the online community.
7
Source:
comm215.wetpaint.com/page/Taiwan%3A+Social+Media
[Social Media Facts

11. [Social Media Facts
[ The appearance of social networking media has changed and
transformed today’s political campaign strategies.
These natives can mobilize their power in a virtual world of technology by
cross-using new media such as Plurk, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube to
set off a revolution in the real world.
8
Source:
www.taiwaninsights.com/2011/08/25/presiden=al-­‐elec=on-­‐takes-­‐to-­‐social-­‐networking/
[Social Media Facts

12. [Facebook Facts
[ Facebook is also becoming highly popular among the Taiwanese online
community. This is generally considered to be a new trend in social
networking among the Taiwanese domain, rivaling in popularity with
wretch.cc and plurk.tw. Currently, its penetration of the online population
is 62%.
The top 2 social networking site in Taiwan is Facebook and Wretch.cc.
9
Source:
Wikipedia
[ Facebook Facts

13. [SNS Facts
[ Wretch is a Taiwanese community web site. It is the most well-known
blog community in Taiwan with thousands of users registered. Wretch
provides free album, blog, and Bulletin Board System hosting services.
It is the top visited site in Traditional Chinese languages and the second
in Taiwan after Yahoo! Taiwan.
10
Source:
Alexa
[ SNS Facts

14. [Video Sharing Facts
[ I'm Vlog is one of the top video log sites in Taiwan. Through this
platform, users can view movie trailers, TV shows and shared videos by
members. The site also allows facilitation of comments sharing, chatting
and discussions among users.
11
Source:
Wikipedia
[ Video Sharing Facts

15. [Blog Facts
[ Taiwanese. The blogosphere is extensive with content creators from a
In Taiwan, blogging is ranked as the fifth favourite online activity by
wide age range due to the encouragement of freedom of speech.
Through blogs, people post contents about Taiwan's current affairs, their
personal life, passion for certain topics such as travelling, photography,
politics and such.
12
Source:
arts1091.unsw.wikispaces.net/Taiwan+2012
[ Blog Facts

16. [Microblogging Facts
[ Contrary to the popular usage of Twitter, majority of active Taiwan
microbloggers use other platforms such as Plurk .
Commonly, Taiwanese are well-known to plurk instead of tweet.
13
Source:
Wikipedia
[ Microblogging Facts

17. [Instant Messenger Facts
[ Instant Messaging is among the top online activities for Taiwanese.
Nearly 7 million (66.9%) of Taiwan's internet user population are
leveraging on certain digital platforms to connect to their friends and
network, on top of their offline connection.
The top 2 Instant Messenger in Taiwan are MSN Messenger and Skype.
14
Source:
Comscore
[ IM Facts

18. [ Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) / Forums Facts
[ The top 3 online forum platforms in Taiwan are PTT BBS, Mobile01
and Backpackers.com.tw.
PTT Bulletin Board System is a terminal-based bulletin board system
based in Taiwan. PTT is arguably the largest BBS in the world with
more than 1.5 million registered users.
15
Source:
tayhao.pixnet.net/blog/post/7523731
[ BBS Facts

19. [ Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) / Forums Facts
[ Mobile01 is an online forum for users to discuss over anything and
everything related to technology and the latest gadgets, ranging from
mobile phones to iPads.
Backpackers.com.tw is a platform where travel enthusiasts can find
answers to various tourism questions in the forum. It also contains a
wiki that is partly joined by users of online travel Raiders wikipedia.
16
Source:
tayhao.pixnet.net/blog/post/7523731
[ BBS Facts

20. [Search Engine Facts
[Despite Google being commonly chosen as a favourite globally in the
field of search engine, Yahoo Taiwan is the most preferred search engine
in Taiwan.
17
Source:
arts1091.unsw.wikispaces.net/Taiwan+2012
[Search Engine Facts

21. E-commerce Facts

22. [E-commerce Facts
[ Taiwan’s e-commerce has experienced an annual growth of 20% in
recent years and generated business value of NT$461.9 billion (US$15.4
billion) in 2010.
In a report looking at the online spending of internet users in Taiwan,
mainland China, Thailand, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, Taiwan was top
in terms of the amount of money spent online using a Visa card over a 12
month period.
18
Source:
news.cens.com/cens/html/en/news/news_inner_36154.html
[ E-commerce Facts

23. [E-commerce Facts
[ The average Taiwanese online shopper spent $4,041 during the same
period compared to $2,577 in mainland China. The internet in Taiwan
differs from most other parts of the world in terms of search engine
market share with Yahoo having a greater percentage at 51.12% and
Google controlling only 47.61%.
19
Source:
www.mvfglobal.com/taiwan
[ E-commerce Facts

24. [E-commerce Facts
[ Office workers aged 30-39 years and women of all ages are the biggest
online shoppers in Taiwan, according to a survey conducted between
June and October 2011 by the Market Intelligence & Consulting
Institute.
20
Source:
Taiwan:
Country
Pulse
Euromonitor
Interna=onal
(2012)
[ E-commerce Facts

25. [E-commerce Facts
[ The 2 top portal sitesexpand e-commerce servicesand2006. PCHome
announced plans to
in Taiwan - PCHome Online
in
Yahoo! Kimo -
setup an online travel service while Yahoo started an online
bookshop.
TaoBao is an online shopping marketplace for consumers, founded
by parent Alibaba group. In September 2009, the auction site entered
the Taiwanese market to give audiences an easier platform to open
accounts on Alipay to exchange Taiwanese dollars into yuan by
formally launching tao1shop.tw.
21
Source:
comm215.wetpaint.com/page/Taiwan%3A+E-­‐commerce+and+Online+Shopping
[ E-commerce Facts

26. Mobile Facts

27. [Mobile Facts
[Taiwan has moved energetically into the ‘next generation’ of mobile
technology and services over the past decade and towards end 2011,
penetration had passed the 120% mark. Going into 2012 there were
close to 20 million 3G subscribers, making up over 70% of the total
mobile subscriber base.
22
Source:
www.budde.com.au/Research/Taiwan-­‐Mobile-­‐Market-­‐Overview-­‐Sta=s=cs-­‐and-­‐Forecasts.html
[ Mobile Facts

28. [Mobile Facts
[3G handset users account forhas one of the percent of all mobile
subscribers in Taiwan, which
more than 70
most advanced
telecommunications networks in Asia.
Taiwan's mobile operators had signed up close to 21 million 3G subscribers
going into 2012.
23
Source:
telecomlead.com/inner-­‐page-­‐details.php?id=8325&block=Service%20Provider
[ Mobile Facts

29. [Mobile Facts
[What the Taiwanese do on the mobile internet
Source:
24 [ Mobile Facts

30. [Mobile Facts
[The morning commute triggers peak communication for Taiwan’s mobile
users. Mobile internet and mobile social networking remain constant for
much of the day suggesting that Taiwanese netizens access the web and
social networks through fixed/PC-based internet at home, using their mobile
when on the go. The slight rise in gaming and music usage despite no
mobile internet peak suggests that many mobile users own smart phones
which they use for gaming and music storage, while internet surfing is done
through a PC.
25
Source:
www.techwireasia.com/1184/report-­‐how-­‐mobile-­‐phones-­‐are-­‐used-­‐across-­‐asia/
[ Mobile Facts

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