Social media in Vietnam – are you mad?

I do like to point out that setting yourself up a social media consultant in Vietnam is not a smart move.

As every backpacker finds out on their first visit to a Vietnamese internet cafe, Facebook is blocked. The more cynical among us will tell you that all  social media tools could go the same way.

Certainly, while there are fears that Facebook is merely the thin end of the wedge there remains room for optimism too. The most recent generation has grown up in a war-free country against a backdrop of increased freedoms.  They’ve been quick to embrace online opportunities.

When I used to work with streetkids here I was amazed to find out that they all had email addresses.  Years later I worked in a hospital in Cameroon where I found doctors with considerably less computer ability.

While the Facebook ban was a shock, more intriguing  has been how people reacted to it.  In true Vietnamese style it didn’t take people long work out how to get around it.  Almost a year on journalists talk openly of its use with only the slightest nod towards the block.

It appears that while the block was only vaguely admitted to by the powers that be, the work-around and, indeed, use of Facebook has never been deemed illegal nor even undesirable.

In many ways the situation says more about the confusing (to foreigners) nature of Vietnamese culture than of government attitudes to social media.  We’ll all go about our business pretending both Facebook and the block are not there. It’s just easier that way.

Even to a point where (see above) a huge advert referencing Facebook is situated right next to a Hanoi police station.