Crisis 2.0: China vs. the West

In the "old days," a company crisis would typically start in traditional media, and then would be amplified via copy/paste on BBS and blogs. "Black March" of 2005 with SK-II, Heinz, KFC and others offer plenty of examples. This is what I call Crisis 1.0.

Now, more and more, crisis' are actually starting on BBS or blogs. In the US, it started with Kryptonite. Then, Dell Hell, and more recently Comcast and AOL. This is what I call Crisis 2.0 (get it? kinda like Web 2.0).

ESWN has a great overview of some differences between Western Crisis 2.0 and China Crisis 2.o. Man, I wish I could of written this...he is right on the mark.

While he is describing "Internet Manhunts," the same can be used to describe brands that become the targets of net consumer rage

....these events are mobilized on the large Chinese BBS forums with tens of thousands of comments per hour. By contrast, Americans tend to visit personal blogs which are less connected, coordinated and cohesive. Thus the scale and ferocity of the Chinese manhunts are unmatched anywhere else.

Regarding examples of companies coming under attack in China, ESWN points to an attack against Netease. Previously, I wrote about VW. Also, Dell has had its problems recently. I actually don't think we have yet seen the true fury of a Chinese mob against a brand, but as I said in my post on VW, I believe it is only a matter of time.