Something I've noticed about Chileans is how they looooooove their datos. Literally, data, or information, un dato is basically a referal. For example, if you need to go to the dentist, you can ask someone if they have a dato about a good dentist. This goes for anything, literally. From where to get a good cup of coffee to what colegio to send your kids too. If you don't believe me, you should come listen to the teacher's lounge at the Institute some night around 6:30pm, right before evening classes start. Datos fly through the room, from where to buy cute baby clothes to good websites to use for class.
Yesterday my new boss and I ordered sushi. Of course we asked L., who works in the office across the hall, for the menu of the sushi place she had ordered from yesterday. No way could we order from just any sushi place, we had to have a dato first. It was a good dato, I have to admit!
It would be interesting to do some sort of market study (I'm looking at you, Andrea) to see how much business is generated through the passing of datos versus advertising. I have a hunch that it might take awhile for businesses to get established here, because no one knows about them. It takes a few brave souls to venture in and vouch for the establishment before other people will check it out. Maybe (and I'm just guessing here) that is why foreign companies that have changed the names of businesses, like Home Depot, haven't succeeded because not enough people ventured in and vouched for them. Whereas everyone knows WalMart owns part of Lider, but I doubt Lider has suffered because of that.
Anyway, living here for as long as I have, I've totally jumped on the dato bandwagon. I love giving and recieving datos. Luckily, I'm also pretty adventurous so I like to check out new things and then start giving out the dato, like to a cute little café that I went to near the Starbucks on Ricardo Lyon (behind Paris) that has delicious lattes. A fellow teacher, who happens to be Chilean, is going on vacation to Montreál, and I happily gave her a few datos about things to do while she was there. She was tickled pink and eagerly wrote them all down. Another teacher, who is not Chilean, asked her why she was writing them down when she could easily look up things to do on the internet. She replied that it's better to do things that people know are good and fun, versus trusting a stranger's opinion.
So, got any good datos to share?
5 comments:
got no datos... so sad. Well, I have one dato, for pizza in Austin if you are ever here... ;-)
Los llamados "datos" se dan a conocer entre las personas generalmente como recomendación personal de un lugar en especial, algún cachureo que te interese que puede estar (mucho)más barato que en otras partes, o que persona "X" ofrece el mismo servicio por menos plata. Los datos no están necesariamente ligado al ahorrarte algunos pesos pero también a la solución de problemas cotidianos o que aparecen de vez en cuando. Es curioso pero nos e, los "datos" son parte de la interacción social chilena ahora que lo planteas, como estoy tan "chilenizado" desde que llegue a Chile el hecho de decirse o pedir datos ya está asimilado :P
Y si tengo un "dato" para ti concerniente a la entrada de como combatir el frío:
Tomas el secador de pelo, y lo prendes a la máxima potencia para calentar tu sabanas bajo la cama unos 3 o 4 minutos, solución práctica y más rápida que calentar agua para un guatero o frazada eléctrica ;)
Cheers ;)
PD: a lo mejor más adelante te doy otro "dato" para comer rico en Valparaiso :D
My business lives and dies by the dato.
I would say that those who pay $$ for advertising their business/services would kill for the simple "dato" scheme. This is why viral marketing is so important and I wonder if companies have completely adopted this here? It's a very interesting concept that I'd love to analyze: have current Chilean business embraced the only kinds of "datos" they can generate, such as Twitter or Four Square. It amazes me how many people AREN'T using Four Square when that in and of itself is a dato database!!
Anyhoo, I'm deviating but yes, in agreement that "datos" are key to living here in Chile. I also wonder how much marketing is accomplished by word-of-mouth (ie dato sharing) advertising?
excelente blog!!! me rei mucho con lo de los "datos" jajjaa, me encanta tu vision de Chile.
Saludos!
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