Cultural preferences for entertainment make China’s beer market #1
SMASH! Beer seeps through the fabric and in an instant my pants and socks are soaked. I look to my right and a red-faced balding Chinese man with a double chin begins to apologize as though he had just committed a crime. No one dares get up as the floor is covered in broken glass. [...]
Fleshing Out The Truth: Chinese netizens unite to deliver their own form of justice
“Yesterday after work I went online and took part in renrou sousuo. The girl’s boyfriend cheated on her while she was away on vacation in Hong Kong, so she posted all of his personal information on her blog. He deserves to be punished!”
I don’t think I have ever been more confused than the time when [...]
It takes more than just “showing up†to reach Chinese consumers
I came across this post on the China Web2.0 Review blog about Lenovo’s recent online social media marketing campaign for its Ideapad S10 notebook computer. According to the post, the campaign made use of BBS, QQ emoticons, video and widgets/apps on Xiaonei.com. A video advertisement for the S10 posted on Youku was viewed over 1.7 [...]
Paper Or Plastic? How Gen Y Consumers Differ From Their Parents
Beijing winters can be brutal. There is not much in terms of snow, but between the lashing cold winds filled with dust and pollution and the painfully dry air that leads to constant coughing, the last place you want to be in the winter is outside. Yesterday, I stood outside waiting to withdraw money from [...]
88: It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye
An SMS and online spin on a contemporary form of farewell
Before your first visit to China you ask your Chinese-speaking friend for a quick lesson in Mandarin Chinese. She tells you:
â€œä½ å¥½â€ ni hao.
Hello.
“谢谢†xie xie.
Thank you.
“å†è§â€ zai jian.
Goodbye.
After you arrive in Beijing, you are eager to start practicing the only three phrases you know with [...]
Quick Observation: Fubai - It’s Not Just For Corrupt Government Officials Anymore
“咱们今晚去è…败，好ä¸å¥½ï¼Ÿ”
My co-worker asks me if I want to go fubai （è…败）with him tonight. I am utterly confused, because as a Chinese student I learned that the word fubai is generally used to describe corrupt government officials.
There is a new definition of the word spreading around the BBS message boards. Online, fubai (abbreviated FB) most often [...]
Online Gaming in China - An Escape From Reality
Looking through my last post on a Chinese perspective of Kaixin, Erica’s comment about Xiaonei being too much like real life really jumped out at me. Through my own observations I have found that there is a fairly large number of Chinese who actively seek out a means to separate themselves from the intense pressure [...]
Observer ABC: Making Sense of the Message
Many of you may have been curious about the meaning of the SMS message in my previous post covering the bulk SMS phenomenon in China. The content is not the most relevant to the Chinese marketplace, but it is still an interesting lesson on Chinese culture.
I found the SMS message online on xf1.cn. It is [...]
SMS & IM: Communication Tools For “Indirect Directness”
How much money do you make? How much did you pay for your apartment? These are just a few of the typical questions that you may be asked the first time you meet a new Chinese friend or coworker. Why then would that same person be hesitant to be equally direct when it comes to [...]
Open Your Eyes…WIDER
China’s upper/middle class are consuming more than just luxury goods
The delicious smell of Beijing roast duck mixed with the spicy scent of mapo tofu fills my nose. After our waitress finishes cleaning away the previous customers’ excess duck bones and multicolored array of various spilt sauces, I take off my glasses to rest my eyes [...]
