In 18 days exactly, the 8/8/2008 at 8 am (Beijing time), China will show its modern face to the world, and by this means China should change bit-by-bit the way millions think.

We are at the middle of the year 2008 and I believe it’s the right moment to make a half-year flashback on a few recent shifts that happened here. From what I have witnessed so far, 2008 will keep the reporters from the 2008 World Guinness records book quite busy this year as China is breaking records and surpassing the US on that faculty!!

Examples:

SHIFT_Economy - Which country has been for the first time the biggest contributor to global growth in 2008? Answer: China

SHIFT_Surprising - How many needles a Chinese guy pierced himself with to celebrate the up-coming games? Answer: 2008

SHIFT_Audi – With sales up with 23 percent so far, 2008 is for this car manufacturer the most successful half-year period since its 20 years history in China.

The list is not exhausative and already impressive, isn't it? 

In a year where only the first, best, strongest, longest, fastest will get the gold, I was wondering what funny stories brands could create to break some kind of records to get coverage or attention?

And a friend of mine currently working in our Beijing Office made miracles by forwarding me the link to download the Mozilla Firefox 3. Here it is. Mozilla just made it. “We did it. We set a Guinness World record!” says Mozilla. And believe it or not, Mozilla now holds a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. 8,002,530 people downloaded Firefox 3 within 24 hours!!! http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord

This record is a US one but don't you see any link with China? Maybe not, Maybe yes.

But we can allow ourselves to wonder why “2008 won’t be like 2008”? And the reason might be that we are all entering into a “new world, new thinking” where east also meet (influence) west from now?

;-)