The Straits Times this weekend reported that 72 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises surveyed across five Asian countries have a presence on social media platforms such as YouTube or Twitter.

While I am highly enthusiastic to find examples and evidence of social media usage in Asia, I would question how these SMEs were found to be polled. With just 100 companies polled across five countries, that would be an average of about 20 companies per country. More to the point, however, is how these companies were found.

My basis for questioning these numbers is not to undermine NetProfitQuest, who did the survey, but genuine surprise. I have spent a great deal of time in many contexts talking to small and medium-sized companies across Asia.

When companies lean into technology, I have found enthusiasm to use social media. When the company is family-owned and second generation, however, I often find a dynamic tension with the older generation holding back moves into social media.

For me, social media adoption often follows the sad truism that the rich get richer. Larger companies are often willing to experiment with some social media campaigns on whim since they cost so little. Once they get involved, they invariably get more and more involved. For the amount invested, however, a relatively small company could be on a level playing field with their largest rivals.

In sum, I laud the small companies who have taken the leap of faith into social media, but there are many, many more who have yet to seize the opportunities!