:: Aric S. Queen is currently roaming around the United States on his friend’s bus – aimlessly from what I can gather. Additionally though, he’s a Clear Channel radio / television host, a former executive producer of ChinesePod.com, GigShanghai, and Soul Fire Radio, executive producer of the Johnson & Johnson “Bao Bao Radio” series, director / producer of “Theshanghaishow,” and “Urban Yoga.” In his spare time, which he has a lot of, he used to produce shorts on Shanghai bands (he also used to write about for Shanghaiist) and previously wrote a column for City Weekend (Shanghai). His previous daily vlog that used to be sent to US and UK televisions, titled: “Shanghai Diaries” (on Current TV) earned him the 2008 “Most Prolific Vlogger Award,” and now has now been combined with his travel / lifestyle show entitled “Shanghai [Exile] Diaires,” also on Current TV. And now, as if he needs more on his plate, Aric recently launched a superb new podcast called “Rough Sundays,” featuring old gospel, blues, folk, Motown, and an eclectic spattering of everything else. I caught up with Aric over the weekend to learn a bit more about his latest endeavor. Follow Aric on Twitter at: @aricsqueen.

56minus1: Tell us about your new show, what is “Rough Sundays” all about?

Aric S. Queen: You ever have a foggy morning the day after a big night at the pub? This show is the soundtrack – old gospel, blues, jazz, folk, and a shitload of Otis Redding. Something that goes well with 3 cups of coffee, some pancakes, and half-a-pack of cigarettes on a day that probably won’t see your face.

56minus1: What was the inspiration behind doing this show?

Aric S. Queen: Well, it came about by a few experiences – when I lived in Shanghai, my girlfriend at the time and I seemingly used to have one too many the night before so we could play Coltrane and Herbie Hancock all day; Sherpas (a Shanghai food delivery service) on redial and not changing out of our sweats – that was the first. The second was when I moved back to the States and on a Sunday morning was on the way with my dad to this old country church, so I threw on this cd by the ‘Roberta Martin Singers’ and as soon as the first track came on, we both kind of looked at eachother and winked – that’s when I realized that if two generations could agree on a track, I was onto something.

56minus1: After the first few episodes, how’s the response been so far?

Aric S. Queen: 15,000+ listens / downloads in less than 3 weeks.

56minus1: Who / what are some things we won’t hear on this show?

Aric S. Queen: Well, that’s tough, you know? I mean, there’s the obvious, a tune that would have to be played loud. Nor would I play any of this ‘new gospel’ shit, but, I mean, take Otis Redding for example, my favorite artist and someone I’ll always end the show with, but half of his tracks are more 3am plays, as opposed to 11am. Same goes for Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Zeppelin, Serge Gainsbourg, et al; so, hopefully, you’ll never hear a track that brings you down, although, if you’re going through your own stuff, I can’t help that. People might be surprised by the hip hop I want to incorporate though, I mean, there are some amazing tracks by (A) Tribe (Called Quest), Gang Starr, Mos Def and more that would fit perfectly, but I’ll probably have to introduce those slowly.

56minus1: Safe to say this is your favorite type of music?

Aric S. Queen: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, my time in Shanghai was spent on that quote/unquote “indie” circuit, although it was only “indie” because there wasn’t much of a scene. I was raised on Otis and The Temptations and have yet to find any artist who compares. in fact, I’ve never met anyone who has a bad thing to say about Motown – which should tell you something. Plus, the scene these days is so fucking saturated by anyone with garageband and a Myspace, I can’t imagine liking anything else.

56minus1: Equipment question – you’ve recorded so far from a bus in the Florida keys, SXSW in Austin, and we’ve heard rumors of a show being done from Wayne Coyne’s (Flaming Lips lead singer) home – what gear are you using for all of this?

Aric S. Queen: Ha. okay, well, first off, there’s a chance I’ll be over at Wayne’s when we pass through Oklahoma City. One of the people on the bus I live with [56minus1 editorial note: Queen is currently traveling the U.S. in a 48 foot touring bus with 2 other friends] is quite close to him, so if he’s there, we’ll sit down and run through his “Sunday Pics” – but it’s not set in stone. Per the gear, man, of all the years I’ve been in the biz, I can honestly say that the Zoom H2 Portable Recorder is the most amazing mic I’ve ever put my hands on. We’ve had it in-studio recording demos with a 5-piece (band), I used it as a boom on a shoot, I tape my voice-overs for it, and it’s perfect for podcasting. Seriously, check out the reviews on Amazon, it’s insane – all for under $300. If you’re thinking about any of the things I just mentioned, pick one up. If you don’t like it, I’ll buy it off of ya.

56minus1: How much did the makers of Zoom H2 Portable Recorder pay you to whore for it’s product on my blog?

Aric S. Queen: I know, right? In all seriousness, when you’ve gone through portable recorder after portable recorder and finally find one worth the hype and cheap – it deserves to be mentioned. But I like the cheeky way of mentioning you get a lot of traffic on your site.

56minus1: A rumor – you raised money for this show / tech on your blog?

Aric S. Queen: True. I spent all of my money in India a few months back, but really wanted to get this show off the ground, so I just mentioned on my blog that if I could get 10 people to sponsor $45 each (and in turn, I’d plug their charity or whatever), I could do it; and within a week, I had the cash; really amazing, to be honest.

56minus1: Favorite song played to date?

Aric S. Queen: Ugh, can you change that to ’songs’? I’ll give ya 5 and will purposely leave out Otis Redding (even though ‘For Your Precious Love’ is the single handed best song ever written in the history of writing music):

Lou Reed – Caroline Says (part two)
The Roberta Martin Singers – The Old Ship of Zion
Nick Drake – Saturday Sun
Mavis Staples / Lucky Peterson – Wade in the Water
The Benny Goodman Boys – Blue (and Broken Hearted)

…agh! now I want to go back and change 3 of those. Okay, ask the next question before I can change it up.

56minus1: When and where can we find the new show?

Aric S. Queen: Every Sunday on Roughsundays.com, but tell me what nice things I’d need to do to cross-post it here as well, ha ha.

56minus1: Thanks Aric

[56minus1 editorial note: Aric will be cross-posting "Rough Sundays" on 56minus1.com; it is archived here. Embedded below is the latest show, episode 3, with everything from funk-to-indie, a black Jew-to-Scottish folktronica, a 10-foot tall Satan, and more. It's excellent.]

// AjS

:: since 2007 Kenneth Tan has been the editor and main contributor to Shanghaiist.com, a popular English language blog focused on Shanghai. I caught up with Ken for a short chat about his new job at Gays.com, the “digital” gay scene in China, and his men’s lingerie shop MANifesto.com.cn. Follow Ken on Twitter at @singaporeano.

56minus1: I hear you are leaving your role at Shanghaiist.com what the hell are they going to do with out you?

Kenneth Tan: Haha. Yes, after two years of non-stop editing, it’s just time to move on to a new challenge. Shanghaiist is going to do fine without me. Elaine Chow, our new editor, who also writes for Gizmodo, has been doing one helluva kickass job. I will still be posting on Shanghaiist every now and then, just not daily like I used to.

56minus1: Do you want to contribute to 56minus1?

Kenneth Tan: Would love to but don’t think I can spare the time Adam! As it is, I can barely find time to write my own blog!

56minus1: I understand you have been working on a new site called Gays.com – what is your role there?

Kenneth Tan:  Yes I’ve been working on Gays.com for about one and a half years now. I help devise the overall strategy and direction of the network and also take care of marketing and corporate communications for the site.

56minus1: Tell us a little bit about Gays.com. Start with how you guys managed to secure get such a, uh, perfect URL?

Kenneth Tan: Our purchase of the domain name Gays.com in late 2006 for the price of USD 500,000 was one of the most talked about sales in the domain name industry for that year. It took us a while to decide what to do with the site, but eventually we chose to position Gays.com as the world’s first social network for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community for real people, real names, and real world connections. You see, prior to Gays.com, gay and lesbian social networks were either dating or hookup sites, and so for obvious reasons, the two communities never really got to mingle together online. We’re here to bridge the gap and build a social network that will include people from across the LGBT spectrum. We’re also here to challenge people to step out with their real names and identities, and not hide behind an online nickname like they’re used to. It’s about time the gay Internet landscape came out of the closet!

56minus1: Tell us more about the sites users and general demographics.

Kenneth Tan: Gays.com is currently shaping up to be a very international community. Our 60,000 members come from 145 countries across all six continents and represented among the top cities on the network are a good mix of North American, European and Asian cities. Shanghai and Beijing both figure among the top ten cities on the site, buoyed by a large and active gay expatriate community.

On the whole though, we expect most of our growth in the early phase to be driven by North America and Europe. In China as in many other parts of Asia, people prefer to hang out online anonymously. It will take some time before more gay Asians are willing to “come out” on the Internet in an authentic social environment. And let’s not forget the linguistic diversity across Asia. Taking all these considerations in mind, we think we’re actually doing pretty well in Asia. Later this year, we’ll be making our site available first in all the major European languages and then in the Asian languages, and I believe this will bring about a significant boost in traffic to the site.

56minus1: Besides the Web site, what else has Gays.com been working on?

Kenneth Tan: Our latest project — and one which we’re really proud of — is the IDAHO Challenge. IDAHO stands for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, a day observed on May 17 every year, which happens to coincide with the anniversary of our launch. This being our very first birthday, we decided to do something really ambitious and the result was this joint undertaking between Gays.com and the Paris-based IDAHO Committee, which has been instrumental in the new UN statement to decriminalize homosexuality, now signed by 67 countries around the world. The Challenge is simple — we want LGBT people from all around the world to get in front of their video camera, and tell us their name, where they come from and how proud they are to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, like in the video you see below:

Take up the IDAHO Challenge from Gays.com on Vimeo.

56minus1: Tell us about the “digital gay” (or Gay 2.0) scene in China?

Kenneth Tan: Most people find it hard to believe when I tell them that China has a thriving online gay scene. There is a plethora of gay portals, online forums, mailing lists, chatrooms, QQ groups available today and it is through the Internet that I’ve witnessed firsthand how gay Chinese people are organizing themselves into sports clubs, language exchange groups, arts groups, and so on. Gay life has flourished all across China in just the last few years and this is no doubt all thanks to the Internet. The Web has facilitated the coming out of a whole new generation of young gay men and women, from the cities to the villages.

I happen to be acquainted with a few of these masterminds behind some of the bigger gay Chinese portals and I will tell you for one that these guys experience little to no harrassment from the powers that be. Most of them manage to fly under the radar by actively self-censoring their sites to make sure they are free of pornographic content.

Some important blogs to watch if you’re interested in following LGBT developments in China would be those of Li Yinhe (a sociologist, sexologist and activist who has submitted proposals to legalise gay marriage to the CPPCC three times), Cheng Qingsong (film critic and script writer), and QAF Beijing (soon QueerComrades.com), China’s first and longest running queer Webcast which will be introducing its third season soon.

56minus1: How is your men’s lingerie business doing?

Kenneth Tan: MANifesto continues to serve its customers online and through our two stores in Shanghai (located in Shanghai Studio) and Beijing (right next to the Forbidden City). We remain very proud of the fact today that we pretty much pioneered the category of designer men’s underwear and swimwear targeted at the gay and metrosexual crowd in China. Within a year of our launch, counterfeits of our designs started appearing all over Taobao and to be frank it’s been a pain in the you-know-where dealing with them, but that’s the risk that any entrepreneur has to take on when he or she decides to do business in China. My dream is still to some day be able to develop our own inhouse label but that looks like it will have to take a back seat for now due to my other commitments!

56minus1: Thanks Ken.

// AjS

:: “my high school teacher is a rock legend…” Anyone remember the Chainsaw Kittens? They were one of the great pre-alternative bands of the early 90s; credited with starting the whole “alternative” genre (which was later made popular by Nirvana, of course) along with the Pixies, Sonic Youth, and, uh, Redd Kross.

In 2000, after Chainsaw Kittens last album All American, the band’s front man, Tyson Meade, suddenly vanished from the U.S. music scene, and rumor had it that he up and moved to China. Well, that rumor turned out to be true. Tyson moved to Shanghai and is still there / here now, enjoying life as a high school English teacher.

Listen below for excepts from an entertaining phone interview I conducted with Tyson about his life in Shanghai and, more importantly, the reason behind his decision to give up being a full-time rock musician. In the interview, Tyson also looks back on his music career and shares some amazing rock ‘n roll stories involving John Lydon (of the Sex Pistols and P.I.L) and Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins (who is close friends with Tyson and the Chainsaw Kittens as one of their albums was released on James Iha and D’arcy’s Scratchie label). Have a listen.

Also, if you are interested in Tyson’s adventures in Shanghai, check out his blog.  // LY

:: this video is the ninth in a Danwei.org series of short interviews conducted at this year’s Chinese blogger conference (cnbloggercon 2008, Guangzhou, November 15 & 16th).

In this interview, Guo “Daxia” (郭”大虾”), a controversial and prolific grassroots Chinese blogger well-known for tackling many of China’s most sensitive social issues on his blog (which has long been blocked / inaccessible in mainland China), discusses his experience blogging, “civic consciousness” in China, the influence social media is having on official policymakers, censorship, free speech / public discourse, and the Chinese government propaganda department loosing control.

This video is also available on Tudou for faster loading in China.

To see other interviews from this series, link here.

Filming, editing, and interviewing: Adam J. Schokora
Subtitles: Alice Liu
Music: B6

:: Sam Flemming is the co-founder and CEO of CIC (blog), the first and leading Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) research and consulting firm in China. His company is at the forefront of exploring Chinese digital culture and helping companies and brands understand how Chinese Internet Word of Mouth is impacting and can be used to inform marketing communications, customer relationships, and research and development.

56minus1: Why is IWOM relevant for companies / brands in China? We all know about the crisis side of things online in China, with nationalistic “fenqing,” etc., but what kind of opportunities does the world of Chinese IWOM present companies / brands in China?

Sam Flemming: Ultimately, we see IWOM as INTELLIGENCE that enables brands to understand and take part in the way IWOM is redefining the relationship between institutions (like brands) and consumers. This is the theme of our recently released white paper series, see part 4 here; I also wrote about this here. IWOM is an essential part (among many) of the marketing communications mix: it’s part of crisis / reputation monitoring, marketing effectiveness measurement, market research, marketing (i.e. online community marketing), competitive intelligence, and creative inspiration. IWOM is, in essence, reshaping each of these different marketing communications disciplines.

What are some of the biggest mistakes you and your team see companies / brands / agencies making online in China regarding IWOM (or digital marketing / PR / interactive work)? Why are they mistakes?

Sam Flemming: One big mistake is thinking they can control IWOM by posting fake messages or getting negative messages deleted (see great example here; the whole Sanlu Milk powder case is also worthy of mention). IWOM is made up of the hundreds of millions of voices of the Internet community and to assume that as a single institution the brand can control IWOM is a fantasy at best.

Without naming names or pointing fingers, tell us a little bit about the darker side of the Chinese Internet (i.e. astroturfing, portals’ manipulation of scandalous brand crises for page views, its overly commercial nature, sketchy forum administers working with astroturfers, privacy issues, etc.)

Sam Flemming: Here’s my quick take on some of the “hot button” issues:

1. The biggest difference of IWOM in the West and in China is that Chinese IWOM is hosted on very commercial platforms like portals, whereas in the US, for example, blogs are not. When platforms are commercial, the incentives for the platforms to do most anything to drive page views, including courting controversy, is very strong.
2. Astroturfing is relatively cheap due to lower labor costs in China and it offers a very tangible solution for agencies or managers to appear to “do” something “web 2.0″ even if it doesn’t have much effect (other than alienating and harming the community). You and I both shared thoughts on this here.
3. Some forum administrators will work with astroturfing agencies to post messages for a fee, this is true; this actually points to the larger trend that IWOM platforms are commercial and need to generate revenue for the value that they provide (i.e. connecting brands to consumers). Charging brands to connect / participate “in the conversation” within a community that takes time / effort / money to build and maintain is not inherently wrong, especially when it can provide distinct value. Why shouldn’t Twitter charge brands for commercial accounts when companies like Dell have reportedly generated US$1 million in 1.5 years (in the West, not in China). However, such processes / policies should be transparent, and they most often not in China.
4. Monitoring and removal of content is largely done by the commercial IWOM platforms themselves; it is in their best interest to not have content that is offensive or breaks any law.

56minus1: What are some of the smartest / most-effective campaigns you and your team see companies / brands / agencies executing online in China regarding IWOM (or digital marketing / PR / interactive)? Why are they smart / effective?

Sam Flemming: I outline our view of “IWOM centered marketing” here where I talk about how Johnson Baby has done great things with its Mom Ambassador program and how Intel used a simple but powerful approach to generate buzz within the Intel (aka “I-fan”) community.

56minus1: Can u share a few examples of CIC clients using CIC insights to inform their digital marketing / PR / interactive strategies or campaigns?

Sam Flemming: I can’t get into too many specifics, but our insights about sports communities regularly feed into the creative for Nike digital and media. We track campaign effectiveness of several other clients by tracking various elements of IWOM buzz (see here for example measurements) and combine these findings with other digital and market research agencies to put together comprehensive reports that provide a detailed understanding of campaign performance from all important angles. We also work with R&D departments to assist in their product development and with PR departments for reputation monitoring. You can see plenty of case studies of how brands use IWOM intelligence to help drive their communications in our recent “The Internet is THE Community” white papers, especially part one and part four.

56minus1: Who “gets” IWOM and the “digital imperative” best in China? PR firms, advertising agencies, interactive / digital agencies, etc.? Or, are they all hopeless? Who gets its the least (or is the most hopeless)? Why? What brands really get it?

Sam Flemming: Digital agencies seem to do better, in general, since they are more familiar with the overall digital environment. PR and advertising still view social media as a last minute add on. These are generalizations, and there are always exceptions. Of course the agencies and clients who get IWOM the best are the ones who work with companies like us.  ;-)

56minus1: What are three (or more if you have more) IWOM (or digital marketing / PR / interactive) trends in China to keep a look for in the near future?

Sam Flemming:

1. SNS audiences prove finicky: SNS will continue to grow, but the key challenge will be for the SNS players to garner loyalty. Xiaonei was 2007 / 2008. Kaixin is 2008 / 2009. What’s next? I am not sure there is much loyalty with Chinese netizens.
2. Development of vertical SNS: I predicted last year that vertical SNS like Babytree would become more popular. I still think this will happen as there are already so many BBS verticals with powerful communities (i.e. Xcar and HoopChina), that it seems like a no brainer for existing BBS communities to leverage SNS functions or new SNS verticals to develop within popular topic areas.
3. Refinement of communications strategies based on different roles of blogs, BBS, and SNS: Blogs are driven by self expression (i.e. content driven by “me’”), BBS are driven by information / topics (i.e. content driven by “topics”), and SNS are driven by netizen relationships. Like any good conversationalist or community member, brands need to shape their communication approach based on understanding the motivations and purpose of each communication space. This was a topic that came out in our IWOM summit meetings with 17 of our clients late last year. I also wrote about it in detail here.

56minus1: What’s special or unique about Chinese netizens and local Internet culture? Interesting examples?

Sam Flemming: I would say the sheer force of the Internet as a primary and mainstream media which both influences and serves as a channel for consumers, especially in top tier cities, is unmatched by any other market, at least in the West (Korea could make some claims here). We continually document examples in our white papers (see especially our IWOM watch half year reviews like this one and special IWOM watch on the Sichuan earthquake here) and on our blogs www.seeisee.com/sam (English) and www.seeisee.com (Chinese). Another unique element is that, as I mentioned above, the hottest social media platforms are largely commercial which can lend to a different dynamic than the West (i.e. there may be a certain tendency to highlight controversy).

56minus1: Does CIC have plans to move from a research / consulting firm to an agency that executes digital / interactive campaigns? Considering CIC’s insight and understanding of the space in China, seems like a logical step. Why haven’t you done it already?

Sam Flemming: We believe it important to serve as 3rd party, credible, and objective partner in providing research and consulting to our clients. If we execute, then we lose that unique positioning. We don’t think the market needs more agencies; we think agencies need to better learn to appreciate how IWOM can inform their strategy and execution.

56minus1: Talk about your business. When did the company start? How have you grown over the years? Practices? Products? Offices, staff numbers, company culture, plans for the future, hiring, etc.

Sam Flemming: Founded in 2004, CIC has always focused exclusively on IWOM research and consulting. We have developed our own proprietary text mining technology for the unique Chinese social media landscape and have a dedicated team of analysts who understand IWOM, communications and vertical industries in China (esp. auto, mobile phone, consumer electronics, cosmetics, baby, sports, and beverage). I do think we have a unique company culture as an independent agency which is “out of the box” as part of its very DNA.

56minus1: Thanks Sam.

// AjS

:: David Feng is one of those rare individuals that simply defies the bounds of a proper “introduction paragraph”…in short, he’s extraordinary. Odd and savant-like at times, sane and illuminating at others…among many (MANY) other things, he’s one of China’s leading übergeeks and 2.0 overachievers.

56minus1: Tell us more about David Feng. Ready, set…go!

David Feng: My official bio mentions that I’m some kind of World Citizen that’s been to 17 countries and speaks 10 languages, and those on Twitter know me as a total Mac and subway freak. However, that’s just part of the story. There are actually three “things” that I sink my teeth into deep, and those are Macs (and tech in general), media, and — get this — “other things.”

My tech involvements used to be Mac-only, but they’ve now expanded into more 2.0 stuff. Apart from my uninterrupted Tweeting, I manage techblog86, an English-language blog about China’s tech, mobile and start-up worlds, and keep tabs on the Mac world as a co-founder and current leader of the BeiMac user group — a group that started out as Beijing’s Mac community. It’s a unique group. It’s not just a Mac community group, it’s far more…it’s a bridge linking Macintosh China (as I call it) to the rest of the planet. We’re here to make China a “Mac nation,” much like the U.S. and Japan.

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and even Dopplr.

Like I said, I’m also actively involved in the media…to that end, I host my own shows (and have even produced a few video podcasts some years ago). You can catch me on Radio Beijing every Saturday evening, talking about exotic trips and interesting things around the planet. I’ve also hosted many language contests and have given quite a number of speeches to all sorts of audiences, and am in on the media biz online, covering Macs and technology since 2002, with over 3,000 articles in both English and Chinese to my credit.

In terms of “other” projects, I have this City 2.0 site called Beijingology, which is a city encyclopedia — or at that — a wiki for the city of Beijing. This project alone has been in the works for nearly 500 days…here it is: a city wiki with nearly 1,500 articles that delves into just about every aspect of Beijing. I did this because I’ve been snapping away, something like, over 40,000 photos since 2002, and I wanted somewhere to “dump” all this Beijing data. (I tried the Wikipedia; it’s GFDL license was odd; all my Beijing freeway articles have ended up on official Beijing government Web sites, without the least bit of credit!)

But that’s still just part of me. I also co-blog with City Weekend in Beijing, as well as with the folks at CN Reviews, where I turn out insightful reviews on the Chinese blogosphere / 2.0 space, etc.

I’m thinking of starting a start-up…it’ll either be Beijing-ish or tech-ish focused.

I’m also authoring a Beijing subway guide book at the moment.

I went to international school in Switzerland, starting out in grade 1, and was fluent in about 5 languages by the age 16…I’ve managed to add 5 more languages since then. University studies continued after I returned to China, where I got myself a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of International Business and Economics, and a master’s degree in art from the Communication University of China. I feel terribly old saying this, but I’m already thinking about my doctorate…

56minus1: Where and how did you pick up such a posh British accent?

David Feng: I fell ill in late 1999 and watched an excessive amount of BBC WORLD when I was recovering…the flu went away, but the accent stuck.

56minus1: Your thoughts on Microsoft’s recent anti-piracy / dark screen “black out” initiative in China?

Bad move.

56minus1: As many — I’m sure — are baffled by it, could you please explain your obsessive-compulsive Twitter behavior? What motivates you to such annoying excess?

David Feng: I view Twitter as a combo tool with the power to disseminate everything you’re thinking about — of course, in 140 characters or less. I think of it as a mix of a doodle book, an open mic, a notepad, an IM service, and a propaganda agency.

The doodle book analogy has some history. In 5th grade, we had doodle books, so when our teacher read us a story we could doodle whatever we wanted to…I remembered creating prototypes of super-complex freeway overpasses while listening to haunted witch stories…but, I digress. [56minus1: huh?]

I Tweet about everything. To date, there have been a few classics. For example, after this guy finished a meal at the Terminal 3 Yoshinoya in the Beijing Airport, he dumped the whole thing into the trash bin — including the porcelain bowl! I Tweeted that.

Another classic…once my IKEA laptop bag had a bad zipper and caught the clothes of a passenger on a Line 1 Beijing subway train. I got off at Xidan, but not without dragging her off the train as well! IKEA was instantly given a hate tweet (two actually) in ALL CAPS.

During the China 2.0 tour and the Chinese Blogger Conference, I tweeted minute by minute notes on just about every event, meeting, presentations, etc.

I don’t Tweet to “out Tweet” people, and I don’t Tweet “just about anything” or “Tweet just for the hell of it.” I do @replies, and as of late, they’ve taken a huge share of my Tweets. I also favorite Tweets en masse — I am now hovering around my 2,000th fav’d Tweet.

I mimic Beijing subway announcements with my Tweets before I sleep and after I wake up…I feel there’s got to be something else to Tweet rather than “good night” or “good morning”…

56minus1: You’re a hardcore Mac fan, tell us about your love affair with all-things-Mac.

David Feng: Back in 1989, I first set my hands on a computer. I was condemned to creating DOS batch files (after I failed to create a working executive file / application) on some astronomy project. The thing would roll across the screen, make out-of-this-world beeps at exactly all the wrong times, and play Mary Had A Little Lamb when you least expected it. To advance from one screen to the next, you had to push a different button each time. It was total hell.

(If I wasn’t doing that kinda stuff, I was happily speeding away on Test Drive: The Duel, crashing or overtaking anything that got in my way. Car, trees, canyons, you name it!)

My first-ever encounter with a Mac was in 1991. Back in the day, these things were a far cry from the state-of-the-art machines they are now; we “made do” (very well, in fact) with black-and-white screens, 9-point pixelated text, and the ability to run only one application at a time. I fell in love with this computing environment.

I started begging my parents for a portable Mac and taking laptops from the school’s computer lab. I eventually got my first Mac in 1993. My teacher at the time, Mr. D’Arcy, understood my enthusiasm for Mac…when Mr. D’Arcy’s classes started involving HyperCard — a Hyperlink-based WYSIWYG application that you can program in — it was absolutely heaven on earth. I started creating “click-ready” tutorials for new Mac people. In 1997, I came out with my masterpiece: a simulation travel guide application that could show users which trip they wanted to take, and print out reservation forms.

I’ve used the Mac Classic, the Mac II, the Mac LC, the Quadras, Performas, and even a Centris from Matthias, a classmate from my primary school days. Then, of course, came the Power Macs, the PowerBooks, and all that kind of stuff. The MacBook I use now is my 12-Bth Mac (that’s because I don’t do the number 13 — it’s Mac 11, Mac 12-A, Mac 12-B, Mac 14 for me).

56minus1: If you could advise Steve Jobs on Apple’s China strategy (maybe you already are), what would you tell him?

David Feng: Don’t sell stuff here at USA prices. This is the PRC. China is not the 51st state of the U.S.A.

Localize. Don’t assume that U.S. market stuff will work in the PRC. China is not the 51st state of the U.S.A.

Make an attempt to understand the whole situation — the whole country, the whole people. Sink your teeth into China and make it a long-term effort rather than just establishing a “face project” presence in here or grabbing people’s money and running back to 1 Infinite Loop with the loot. China is not the 51st state of the U.S.A.

56minus1: Is it true you use 3 mobile phones simultaneously (2 of those being iPhones)?

David Feng: I do — and I’m thinking of replacing my badly beaten-up Nokia E62 with another iPhone, making 3. Currently, my Nokia (aka, Number One) is mostly just for Tweeting, checking email, etc….it also acts as a Bluetooth GPRS modem.

Number Two’s only reason for existence is because it does standard traditional Chinese characters. The authorities have a 2001 law to, in essence, force everyone in China to use simplified Chinese characters, but I’m against eliminating traditional characters…I see it as eliminating the true culture of Chinese characters, and at that, Chinese culture in general. I send out traditional-character Tweets by composing them on Number Two and then texting them over to Number One, where they get published via my Twitter SMS number.

Number Three has a new mission — to take photos. At about 5 million megapixels, this is one of the best camera phones ever. I also use Number Three for ringing up and texting friends, but it’s photo capabilities are pretty much unparalleled.

My iPod touch doesn’t count as “Number Four,” but it’s the only mobile WiFi device I have on me all of the time. It does mobile Tweets via Hahlo now, and it also does mobile Facebook pretty well.

56minus1: What are your biggest and boldest predictions / thoughts on trends for the Chinese Internet over the next 18 months? What can we expect?

I’m hoping that, in the foreseeable future, China roles out something big…something on a global scale. Way too often, the Web 2.0 “bigs” are US-based. The Web is a worldwide thing. (Sorry, David Pogue. It’s no longer just a US-Western European-Japanese thing.)

We’re talking about “bigs” with worldwide reach and international recognition like Twitter, Facebook, and TechCrunch. China does have variants or (if you must) “copies” of stuff like Facebook, but too often, the user base is Chinese-only.

Someone needs to start something in the People’s Republic and make waves — both at home and abroad. And they need to do this a la 2.0.

The Chinese Internet will continue to remain rather unstable as long as we have a bunch of nervous people punching policy buttons with their hands a la Parkinson’s Disease 2.0. Encourage free development and growth, dump irrelevant limits, though, and you’ll just have smacked your thumb on the lift off button for PRC 2.0. [56minus1: A la, uh...what?]

56minus1: You recently attended (and spoke) at the annual Chinese Blogger Conference (CNBloggerCon), your impressions on this year’s event? Best presentation / session? Most interesting person you met there?

This year’s event showed the grassroots nature of the Chinese blogosphere at its very best. Far away from any five-star hotels or deluxe conference centers, we held the event at something that I can only describe as Guangzhou’s version of Beijing’s 798.

The best sessions came from a number of people. David Feng (the other David Feng, @Fenng on Twitter) launched into tech details that I could actually make sense of. Goldred from Taiwan did easily the most impressive, and close-to-the-audience presentation of day 1. Day 2 belonged to Shel Israel (@shelisrael on Twitter).

The most interesting person I met there was none other than the Scobleizer (Robert Scoble, @scobleizer on Twitter). I had been tracking this guy since late 2007. It was refreshing and a real pleasure to meet the real Scobleizer in real life. Robert was true to his Tweets — little difference between the Scobleizer on the Web and the real guy.

56minus1: Tell us about your presentation at CNBloggerCon?

David Feng: The inspiration behind my presentation is rooted in the events of, about, April 2008, when “stuff happened” in China…Tibet. Olympic torch relay protests. Global media distortion. Not good. Beijing 2008 was being compared to Berlin 1936. Stuff like the Dali Lama, Tibet, and all that stuff became all the rage.

I have a Swiss passport and stand up for Western values such as constitutional rule of law, democracy, freedom of speech, equality, etc. But, when the Chinese nation is in trouble or being unfairly attacked, it didn’t matter that I no longer had a PRC passport, I took it to heart — it’s my China.

I couldn’t have agreed more with the fact that China was “in the pits” and needed help getting itself out…so, I dispelled some of those myths about China with my presentation. Yet, I also wanted to side with those who wanted more freedom — the harmonization, it seems, is way too much. I had two views — a Chinese one and a Western one. I wanted to be a bridge who understand sentiment from both sides. I wanted to make both sides talk. Most importantly, I wanted to show that the Chinese could be more “international” — as in, world-oriented and aware of stuff happening in foreign lands.

With all that in mind, I came up with the idea of an “international Chinese” for my presentation, and did my bit on CN Reviews too.

56minus1: Who will win the SNS war in China? The C2C war? The microblogging war? The video sharing site war?

David Feng: Xiaonei will probably clinch victory in the SNS war. I know that Twitter has massive momentum to make it big in China, but microblogs aren’t that popular here…there could also be local victories too, as one deciding factor could be that local microblogs have local text message numbers. The video sharing site war will yield two winners: Tudou for harmonized content and YouTube for un-harmonized content. I’ve been to both Tudou and Youku offices, what I saw at Tudou gives it the upper edge.

56minus1: Who wins your “Best or most ‘Web 2.0′ Web site” award in China? Why?

David Feng: Sorry — don’t seem to have any that stand out real well…

56minus1: When do you see Internet censorship no longer being an issue in China? How can China get there?

David Feng: Harmonization and censorship will be around, I think, until there’s a big “reshuffling” at Zhongnanhai or with the Censorship Gods. Those folks want to keep the People’s Republic stable by all means, and the effort they put into doing so defies explanation.

China will be un-harmonized, eventually, but not for another 10 to 20 more years, I guess. Social improvements and better education will be key. But then again, miracles can happen. The Berlin Wall fell just months after the (former) East German press boasted that it would stand for another hundred years.

Anything is possible in the People’s Republic.

We’re already seeing some efforts being made. We can use Wikipedia.com these days. Then again, we might get Wikipedia harmonized after you publish this interview…!

56minus1: You are an “expert” on the Beijing subway system…how did your fascination with the local underground come about?

I went underground because I was trapped in mass jams during rush hour in Beijing. To me, the subway is one of those “GUARANTEED jam-free” ways to get around. Once I’m shown something good, I can never get enough of it…I’ll always come back looking for more. So, when I heard about Line 5 opening up late last year, that was it….and then, when in 2006, they expanded Super Pass usage to all lines, that (also) was it. 2007 brought Line 5 into the system, and 2008 added three more lines…wow.

I won’t say I know everything, but I have an idea of how Beijing will look with 19+ lines in the year 2015. I have an idea of where all the stops will be on future subway lines (except for the link to the Fragrant Hills). I also know quite a bit about the history of the subway system, and even (maybe just a bit) about those hidden stations in the northwest on Line 1.

The craziest thing about the Beijing subway system is — of course — the announcement system. THe Line 13 and Batong Line announcements (when trains arrive) sound like the announcer is about to doze off over the microphone…the newer English announcements have a pitiful laowai (non-Chinese) announcer making magnificent botch-ups with the pronunciation of station names…I also can’t stand those non-automated announcements — that “Jing Er Hua Yin” (Beijing accented Mandarin)…cringe.

I’m keeping an eye on where this thing’s next sprawl will be. And when Line 4 opens next year, I’ll be there…

56minus1: Thanks David.

// AjS

:: Jenny Zhu is the unforgettable voice and personality behind Chinesepod.com’s world-famous Chinese language learning podcasts.

56minus1: Rumor has it you are dating / engaged to Praxis Language (ChinesePod parent company) founder and CEO Hank Horkoff. What’s it like to date the boss?

Jenny Zhu: 56minus1 isn’t a gossip blog, right?

56minus1: No, its not.

56minus1: Are you tired of doing ChinesePod podcasts? How long do you plan on doing this? Whats on the horizon for Jenny Zhu?

Jenny Zhu: My alter ego must be a flaming narcissist, because I completely in love being in the studio, and I’ve never felt tired of it. It also helps that we do a new lesson everyday. I won’t be in the ChinesePod podcasts forever though, but I hope to always be involved in some way. As I always say to this question, I hope to age gracefully on ChinesePod. In terms of future plans, most of my working life has been about mobile learning. That’s what I know and love. So I hope to remain in the field but extend beyond teaching Chinese. Well, that’s getting too geeky.

56minus1: In many ways ChinesePod is Jenny Zhu, but Jenny Zhu is certainly not just ChinesePod, what would ChinesePod do if / when you leave?

Jenny Zhu: That’s way too flattering. But much more powerful than my role is the core value of ChinesePod. It’s authentic, quirky and always pushing the envelope in learning. That will always stay no matter who hosts the lessons.

56minus1: What do you think of foreigners that live and work in China and dont speak Chinese? What value could they possible add to modern China?

Jenny Zhu: I think not everyone is in the situation that allows them to learn Chinese, especially if you are a busy professional. But I also think that attitude is important too, whether you embrace the life, culture, and language, etc. I lived overseas for 10 years and I benefitted hugely from learning a different language, because it opens the door to another world. But on the other hand, people who don’t speak Chinese bring something very valuable too: diversity. The fact that one can live here happily the way they are is very imporatnt in its own right.

56minus1: Recently there has been a big stir online in China about a Shanghai radio station that broadcasted a program in which the host said Shanghainese people speaking the local Shanghai dialect in public was a bad habit and that Shanghai people use it to show that they are superior to other Chinese people, foreigners, etc. You are Shanghainese (sorta), what are your thoughts on this? Do you think Shanghainese is a “bad habit” of a language? Your thoughts on local Shanghainese culture vs. non-Shanghainese Chinese or foreign culture?

Jenny Zhu: That’s not news. Shanghainese traditionally felt a sense of superiority over outsiders (Chinese from elsewhere and foreigners) because the city was the quintessential metroplis in China. And it was quite an exclusive and negative attitude. For many decades, some people would even express that quite openly, e.g. discriminating those who didn’t speak the dialect. But that has changed a lot now. There is such a large number of non-natives living in Shanghai, and that’s had a significant impact on how we define local identity and see non-locals. I think every city has to have its own defining character, but it should never be exclusive and dismissive of others. As with myself, although I’m native, I always spoke Mandarin at home. But when I was a kid, I did feel obliged to speak Shanghainese when I went out-and-about for reasons you talked about. However, I don’t feel that way now.

56minus1: Jenny Zhu is said to be hugely narcissistic, tell us about that.

Jenny Zhu: It’s official, I’m a self-confessed narcissist. But I think a healthy sense of narcissism is quite important to work of a performance nature. You need to be acutely aware of what you are doing and get yourself pumped in order to make the content engaging to the listener. That engagingness is especially important for an educational podcast.

56minus1: What did you think of Liu Xiang’s (lack of) performance in the Beijing Olympics?

Jenny Zhu: Seeing him exit the stadium was shocking and sad. But it’s good character building for us. We need to take the load off the poor kid and off sports in general .

56minus1: What about your new-ish blog, JennyZhu.com? When and why did you start that? Why is it in English? What kind of content are you focusing on?

Jenny Zhu: I started my blog right before the Olympics (wishing to capitalise on the hype). Well, what really drove me to blog is the implications of the China hype. There is a lot of curiosity, fascination but also misunderstanding about China and vice versa. And I think that affects us who live in a cross cultural environment on a very personal level. You want to observe and share your thoughts. I blog in English because a large chunk of my socialisation is in English, and that I hope the blog will be of some value to learners of Chinese or those interested in China.

56minus1: Everyone that knows you knows that you are a “5 dollar word” kind of person. Your English and Chinese vocabulary is mega impressive. Why is that? Are you trying too hard? Or, is it just a result of your passion for languages and linguistics?

Jenny Zhu: I’m rubbish at math, absolutely hopeless. But as often the case with those that don’t excel in math and science, I tend to be more of a language person. More importantly, I went to Singapore when I was 14 and was schooled in English for 10 years. It’s a combination of some talent, but mostly passion, hard work and TV. I came of age watching Jeopardy and David Letterman.

56minus1: Tell the world something it doesnt know about Jenny Zhu and won’t find out anywhere else.

Jenny Zhu: I’ve never gotten drunk in my life. But that’s because the most I’ve ever had to drink is a full glass of wine over the span of 2 hours. I think I’m dangerously safe, no?

56minus1: You probably have some online stalkers, tell us some details. Also, are you currently stalking anyone?

Jenny Zhu: Fortunately, I’m only aware of people who freqeuently comment on ChinesePod and my blog, not stalkers. Does checking on Taobao every 10 mins makes me a stalker?

56minus1: No.

56minus1: Ken Carroll’s Chinese is terrible, isnt it? Tell us how bad it is. And John Pasden, his Chinese is incredible…how good is it?

Jenny Zhu: Terrible? No way! Ken has a very authentic command of Chinese. Everything he says is structured in a way that a native would speak. He is a strong believer in the communicative approach to language learning. And he is the best embodiment of that, although he occasionally misses a tone. John Pasden, what more needs to be said about someone who completes his master’s in linguistics, all in Chinese! To quote a ChinesePod user, he is a ‘mountain of linguistic strength’. And they [Ken and John] are just awesome people.

56minus1: If you could vote in the upcoming US presidential election, who would you vote for?

Jenny Zhu: Obama! For reasons well reiterated. He really does respresent many core values that America is founded on, which are very powerful and inspiring universally.

56minus1: Whats your favorite color?

Jenny Zhu: White. Simple, clean.

56minus1: What do you want to learn more about in life / the world?

Jenny Zhu: Being at peace with myself and the world, live with gratitude and always always have passion for what happens in the world and doing something to make it slightly better.

56minus1: What are you listening to these days? Reading? Watching?

Jenny Zhu: I can’t function without The Economist, Open Source, HBR Idea Cast, the Bugle, the Daily Show, and Letterman. I’m also addicted to MadMen and Saturday Night Live.

56minus1: Thanks Jenny.

// AjS