Rain on the Chinese Parade?

Amidst the pomp and pageantry of Beijing 2008’s opening week, one may be excused for an inherent reluctance to prematurely rain on the Chinese parade. This is, of course, a historic event years in the making, with lofty expectations on many fronts – human rights, the environment and press freedoms, to name but a few. The ensuing pressure on China to justify holding the Olympic Games has been enormous.

Ironically, in trying to ‘get it right,’ on the PR front the Chinese international “coming out party” instead has been a ruinous affront. They have pushed too hard, creating a glaring irony plainly visible on the Games’ austere veneer. In painting an idyllic picture to the media and outside world, the Chinese have forgotten their most crucial audience: everyday citizens.

By catering their message to the newsroom instead of the living room, they forgot an invaluable contemporary communications lesson:

No matter the money invested, the number of mouths shut or your message’s totality, one-way or Web 1.0 communications will simply not work in today’s Web 2.0 environment.

Take the opening ceremonies, for example: what was meant to appear as a simultaneous sequence of giant firework ‘footprints’ ended up being an elaborate forgery.  Then it was revealed that the nine year-old poster child who sang Ode to the Motherland was lip-syncing. The real singer, who was 7, unfortunately had crooked teeth and was deemed too chubby for TV. Both cases were uncovered promptly on Chinese blogs, with ensuing international media coverage.

Should the Chinese have done anything differently? It’s easy to say that avoiding dishonesty would have been a smart idea but that’s applying our open society model to a semi-closed one. Evidently, even with the eyes of the world watching, the People’s Republic hadn’t listened to sophisticated advisors who clearly would have predicted that the lip-syncing, for example, would be found out. Acknowledging and embracing the harsh realities of today’s China could have been endearing, somewhat of a rallying cry for Western audiences. Instead, they tried to emulate (or trump) the West, and it’s ultimately proven embarrassing. From a communications perspective, it would have been intelligent to portray themselves as what they truly are: a rapidly developing state that is making vast economic and political strides, yet still has far to go.

This illustrates the importance of two-way dialogue in today’s communications environment. The blogosphere allows for anyone to be a credible journalist. Messages will inevitably get out, stories will leak and speculation often reigns. Regardless of the resources available, people now want to be engaged, to share in the discussion, to shape thoughts and, in many instances, to foment controversy.

This principle also holds tremendous weight here at home. As the Chinese are quickly learning, ignoring the relevance of blogs, social networks and everyday citizens is not only ignorant, it’s increasingly costly. Keep on watching – there are undoubtedly more lessons to follow.

Tags: beijing olympic games, Public Relations, social media, Web 2.0