Usually a title like that means you will get a pithy answer, but since we don’t know the answer I’ll just share the question and you can offer your own answers. I stumbled on the question while doing market testing for Wahanegi. It may be important, or maybe not, but at least it is somewhat interesting.
We are doing experiments advertising four different angles on the product design to see which ones garner the highest click-thru and conversion rates – I have a gut feel already, but the experiments are a quick way to validate/refine that feeling by seeing and responding to what real people actually click on. I wanted to play around a little before we spent much money on the experiments since there is no ‘how to’ guide about how to use Facebook ads for this purpose. So we advertised at well below market rates for a few days just to see what happened.
Well, it turns out that if you advertise “how to be happy” products in English at ten cents a click on Facebook, then you’ll get a few Indonesian eyeballs but the vast majority of your impressions and clicks are going to come from the Philippines. I suppose this is partly a function of huge inventory – Filipinos are the world’s #1 users of Facebook according to ComScore at over 90% penetration, and with ~100 million people they have the third largest number of English speakers in the world after the US and India. It is also certainly due to lack of advertiser competition for eyeballs with little money in their pockets – the Philippines don’t even show up on the Economists’ back page stats despite being the 12th largest country in the world, which I suppose is what happens when you have the 120th highest GDP per capita, right there with Honduras, Iraq and India (which has 10X the population and is a former British colony to boot, so the Economist pays attention).
I’ve liked every Filipino I’ve ever met…I can’t say that of any other people, not even the Irish or Canadians, so that’s something. But I never thought of the Philippines as a great market for Wahanegi, in part because of the GDP thing, but also because I’d assumed Asian collectivist cultures and Anglo individualist cultures would have some strong biases when it comes to pursuing happiness. That may still be the case, we’ll see.
Regardless, Filipinos are who showed up, so I took what we got and did some investigation.
First, I saw that the hypotheses about gender and age were strongly supported by the Filipino data. In general, women were most likely to click, especially those 35 to 54-years-old. The largest number of clicks came from women aged 18-24, but that was because they generated a lot of ad impressions. On the other hand, men were much less likely to click, especially the 18 to 34-year-old variety. Don’t get too cocky, ladies, as all was not lost on men, at least not those of us in the 35 to 44-year-old cohort, who were as likely to click as our similarly aged sisters. Click-thru rates for the most interested groups were in the range of 0.08 to 0.13 percent, versus around 0.03 percent for the least interested groups.
As I was digging around, I noticed something statistically troubling. The difference in interest between Indonesians and Filipinos was almost as large as the difference in interest between young men and middle-aged women (please, no jokes about cougars and such…oops, I guess that was a joke about cougars and such). In other words, there was a significant difference between the two archipelagos. Click thru rates for English-speaking Indonesians overall were around 0.05% versus 0.075% for Filipinos. That was particularly curious since our logo was designed by a young Indonesian man from Bali. Not sure why there was such a big difference, it may be due to the relative level of English skills, or many, many other things.
However, I was on the trail of online Filipino happiness, not cultural comparisons of populous Pacific archipelagos. For help I turned to the research arm of our modern-day oracle, Google Insight. How much difference could there be between countries when it comes to happiness, and what would their search patterns show?
Guess which people in the world are most likely to type the word “happy” into Google? Yep, Filipinos. What about “happiness” or “how to be happy” or “being happy”? Yep, it’s those Filipinos again. And they’re most likely to include the word “quotes” in their searches, too. So I guess a lot of Filipinos are looking for happiness quotes, who knew?
This was a little spooky for me, so I did some more poking around trying to find something where my beloved US would show up in the top rank. Fortunately, that wasn’t too hard. Taking a clue from the fact that Americans were #2 after the Filipinos for “being happy” searches, I quickly found that Americans are more likely to type “happier” into Google than the people of any other nation. Then I checked “depressed” for completeness…and sure enough, USA, USA, usa, usa… I also tested the words wealth (Uganda), intelligence (India), creativity (Kenya), strength (Trinidad), entrepreneurship (Tanzania), sadness (Lebanon) and healthy (USA). One take away: Go Africa! The other: Buck up America! The third: What is up with Filipinos, and how do I get some?
So. I am pretty sure that the gender and age biases seen in the Philippine data will also be true in the US and other Anglo countries, but I am also pretty sure the interest levels in the specific product ideas will be quite different across countries. Luckily, I believe there will be real interest, and as evidence, I’ll leave you with this graph comparing a few worldwide “how to be” searches on Google over the past 12 months:
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The struggle for happiness
1- After the human passes childhood Which is characterized by tranquility and reassurance, serenity, love And wonderful sense of Life especially if he lived in a valid conditions . After this stage when person up to the age of maturity the majority works to improve their standard of living and their social relations so after achieving this wonderful objective we feel we have lost important things we were owned it in our childhood such as the wonderful sense of Life and we feeling Anxiety , fear ,fatigue, Innervated, ,bored , folly , Hate, aggressive, Pessimistic, sick and despair . This transform our lives to torment and many of us facing same of these circumstances . So we have to think why this change in our personalities and why our sense change as the change of our work or beliefs . Also why we sometimes like things that we know it harm us or hate things we know it’s useful for us and why this reward and punishment within ourselves. This is very important knowledge and culture we must know it to Improve our sense of psychological. To achieve this goal we must recognize the realities surrounding us without conceited or arrogant
2-The biggest facts surrounding us is a spiritual and Ideas conflict between soul of good and evil within ourselves. the spirit of goodness is the spirit of the conscience and happiness and he is from God force . This great spirit is characterized by all the wonderful Features such as love, tranquility, wisdom , intelligence , optimism , courage and hope. He is a friend of people who Inspire them useful beliefs such as work, sincerity, justice friendship and Assist of others and blaming him for the bad works. So If we obeyed him in this logically useful beliefs and work he will grow in ourselves and earned us his wonderful qualities that we have mentioned before. so this is the secret of happy sense . The spirit of goodness mentioned in several verses in the Holy koran Such as Surah As-Sajda 30 – 9 (Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His Spirit )and Surah Al-Mujadila 58-22. (He written faith upon their hearts and strengthened them with a Spirit from Him) Also he mentioned in Torah- Book of Wisdom – 5 (Because the spirit of discipline flees from fraud and defeated If mistake attended )
3-the opposite of him is spirit of evil he is the spirit of miserable. he is characterized by hatred, anxiety, folly, desperate ,dullness, pessimism and fear .he is an enemy of people who decorated to him everything will harm him, such as laziness , arrogance , Denial, infidelity, disorder, unjust , enmity with others, and insulting them. Also makes us hated all things useful to us. So If we obeyed him in this bad works or beliefs he will grow in ourselves and earned us all of his destructive qualities that we have mentioned before. so this is the secret cause of our misery sense .
4-Thes conflict in our self to be able one of them to control our self. We feel this conflict and its influence is evident in our self . We are either happy or unhappy according to our beliefs and work which right or wrong and what we find out from these two force and according to their spread in our souls . For this why we ignore this large fact which Is the most influential in our sense of happy or misery. So everyone ignored this facts will remain in unhappiness and he can not Leaving it. For this reason we must acknowledge and recognize this tow power and her influence. So it is the only way to get rid of bad ideas and the creation of brilliant ideas to reach for happiness
5- The conflict between the two influential force is three main kinds. To provide security and peace of living and social and psychological. All of these very important but the provision of psychological security is the foundation to provide both the living and social security. it cares about the composition with a strong personality wise and wonderful talent which we can achieve success in social relations and the requirements of a decent life. This is the opposite of weak personal stupid that will be unsuccessful in the face of life’s problems and weak ties in social. For this reason the security and peace of the psychological is more important and the foundation of achievement of human happiness
6- First- to get security and peace of living : – Because of man can not live without eating , housing , clothing ,furniture, transport And other things so the mind and wisdom spirit inspires us to do the works with patience ,activity ,Creates and mastering the useful work to earn the money which provide us requirements of decent living that we have mentioned . Also refused to laziness and neglect and chaos in the works that were the spirit of evil embellished to us in the name of comfort which makes us suffering poverty, underdevelopment and deprivation
7- Second, to get social security and peace :- because that human could not live alone without society which provided to him love and help, education, protection and entertainment and others Which consists of his family and relatives , friends , community ,nation so the mind and wisdom spirit inspires us to commitment to true beliefs and tactics and treatment . Such as treate them by emotion of love , brotherhood , friendship , respect , visit , Justice, humility, tolerance, and help . This will repair our community to us. Also refused treat them with sexual arousal which insulting others and it is the opposite of emotion of love and which must be disciplined within the limits of legal marriage . Also refused treat them with injustice , Offend, contempt and arrogance which were the spirit of evil embellished to some of us In form of pleasure, liberty, or value which corrupts the social relations and lead to the emergence of hostility and fighting and the dispersion of communities
8-Third – to provide psychological security :- – Because humans could not live with the spiritual emptiness and suffering psychological Such as anxiety and anger, hatred, boredom, ,pessimism , fear and folly which destroy self and make the weak man and stupid , outcast, desperate, failed, Hating life. For this reason he looking with full force to what removes this disease and creates a self- reassurance and love ,courage , strength , activity, and the wisdom that has ever known in his childhood . This is the basis for achieving social security and living . For this reason the spirit of wisdom inspire us begin the search to solve this problem through take advantage from the experiences of happy and high-societys also meditation in our lives happy childhood also compare it with our present dismal to discover the secret of this transformation
9- Also inspire us Contemplations about life around us and within ourselves to discover the mystery and the reasons for our sense of happy or misery and questions about the secret of our created and the creation of the organelle universe and the creation of these many blessings which we enjoy it. All of this logically can not Create from scratch and from here we discover the great fact and the logical secret that is, For this magnificent universe and the many good things that we see a great creator who Is created us and the many good things that We gave , that is the great God . so From the law which says every action must be a reaction so we must believe to our God , love , praying, and thank him For his mercy and generosity us . When we recognize this major logical fact and to do our duty towards him And obey him to do good work and away from the corruption so the spirit of wisdom and happiness which is from God spirit and from his command will grows in Ourselves and gives us all the wonderful and great attributes of him which had previously mentioned . this is the most influential for the emergence of human happines. For these reasons we will be happy, successful and decent and this is the hope of every human being in life. Throughout history and in our time too many people have discovered these facts and they reached to happiness by faith in the great God and useful work. We hopes to benefit from their experiences and get to the happiness which get lost by many
10- We must also refused to Satan absurdities Which were he embellished to us Such as disbelief in the great God and belief to statues or animals, or people like us suffer as we suffer and they could not save themselves. If We obeyed the devil in this false stuff the good spirit will be away and the spirit of evil will dominate us and gave in ourself all his destructive characteristics which we mentioned before. This is the cause of humans suffering and failure which leads to hate life and wish for death . for this we should be striving self and satan to stop all evil acts and beliefs . So we must strive with all our strength to work and benevolent beliefs to grow in our souls the great spirit that protect us from evil and create in ourself joy , optimism , hope , love of life and people. These actions and beliefs have been divided into five main sections which is
1 – Patience and wisdo – an insistence on learning and understanding of the right wise beneficial ideas , words , actions and beliefs and application in our lives and the most important of these
2 – Faith in God and purity – These two the most important of these wise ideas and beliefs. It means loving God and worship him and uphold justice and morality and away from the mistakes and Injustice
3 – Friendship and entertainment – which means love of people and respect them to gain their respect and many benefits and recreation for ourselves and enjoy life With them in a fair
4 – Gain and Reform – to provide comfortable livelihood also development it
5 – Charity and duty – mercy to the poors and help them to feel comfortable and pe- rform all our duties
11-This is the Instructions of heavenly messages Jewish and Christian and Islam which all From the same source and tell us to faith in the great god and thanked him , do good works , charity and friendship for others and also warn us of the absurdities of the devil .These messages have created In the past a great nations and a luxury civilizations but unfortunately some of these changed their correct teachings. so the great God sends a new message and the message of Islam is the newest message and did not come another message after it . This is indicate that it still on the correct teachings
12 – We should also know that this our short lives Is testing and a prelude to eternal life. that life which have not a death after it . When God gives a life to people after their death and make a judgment for their actions and beliefs. So who believe in the right facts he will be a wise and happy in this new life and he will be In the heaven more happy and wise. also who is in the torment and ignorant ,unjust and ungrateful in this life he will be after his death In hell more torment and misery and meanness. For this the humans decide their fate and future by themselves depends on their work and belief and their personalities. So God is equitable and does not oppressive.
These are some sayings of the scientists about faith and religion taken from the book – Let the anxiety and Start a life
a famous psychologist said – the days Which was infested with speech of antagonism between science and religion was gone and This debate ended Without return . Why? Because the latest science, a psychiatry is preaches to principles of religion . Why ? Because psychiatrists are know that a strong faith and adheres to the religion and prayer able to overcome anxiety, fears, nervous tension and a cure a lot of mental illness and physical ailments and he Has said a famous fact which says the true religion human never and Does not suffering from mental illness
Another famous psychologist Said- in the past during thirty years many people from the various of the civilized world Consult me and I has treated hundreds of patients with this I did not find a problem of one of those who have reached middle age not due to their lack of faith and violating the teachings of religion and did not recover one of these patients before he regains his faith and uses religion orders and prohibitions to face a life
Finally – please If you find this message may interest of others send it to them and thanks..
Wow, I will need some time to contemplate this, thanks for posting.