:: sharing information on the Chinese Internet is no more complicated than simple cut-and-paste. Netizens who come across something that appeals to them often full-scale copy-and-paste it into a blog or BBS forum post (most of the time without attribution) and share it directly. And of course, friends / colleagues frequently just resort to sharing links / content via instant messaging or email. Yet more sophisticated and useful tools do exist to help Chinese netizens organize and share articles, Web pages, and all sorts of other online content on a larger / public scale. Known by the names “bookmarking” (书签) or “social bookmarking” (网摘, literally “web digest”), these systems provide netizens with a handy link or button that will submit the current page / piece of content to a personal or public index, and allow users to add tags to classify information in what’s known as a “folksonomy” (分众分类法). Although still occasionally standalone Web sites (like the well-known Delicious.com), these services are more commonly folded into other social networking Web sites, or have additional community-oriented functionality, as the list below demonstrates.

Digg clones ::
The Chinese Internet has given birth to a slew of Digg clones: Web sites whose users submit short descriptions of interesting Web content and then collectively vote the submissions up (“dig”) or down (“bury”). These have found varying degrees of success — it takes a critical mass of users to make the voting process interesting / valuable for the community, and many sites die off after failing to build up a viable community. A number of special-interest Digg clones have survived. Leitie (雷贴网) and Zkaoo are geared toward wacky, funny videos, and links. Netizens’ constant thirst for new ways to be amused have generated votes and comments on both these sites. Another problem faced by sites with user-generated content is spam: unscrupulous marketers can exploit the system to swamp genuinely interesting content with their crass advertising. Some sites are better at self-moderating than others. Digg-style voting has been put to more successful use in news sites, where votes determine how stories are ranked / placed on the page. Tech site CNBeta, for example, offers a “Dig view” on its front page that ranks and displays stories by popularity, and user comments are promoted to featured status through a similar voting process.

365key ::
365key was one of the earliest bookmarking and tagging systems in mainland China. The site is associated with the tech Web site Donews, and at the bottom of every Donews article (and on other sites that use the 365key system) users can click a link that says “Save this page on 365key” (收藏此页到365Key) to bookmark the page. For pages that aren’t 365key-enabled, users have the option of using a browser plug-in or a Javascript bookmarklet, or they can manually add the link. The site also provides a Digg-like system for voting up articles; the most “dug” links are featured on the front page of the site. 365key’s navigation bar has special categories for major online communities such as IT168, Mop, VeryCD, and CSDN Tech, which feature the latest and most popular links from those sites that have been bookmarked on 365key. A lot of other independent bookmarkers, such as Leshou, Quzhai (formerly at http://www.quzhai.com), and Shouker followed in 365key’s wake, but few made much of a long-term impression on the Chinese internet.

RSS oriented systems ::
Just as how Google Reader offers a “shared items” feature, many Chinese RSS readers allow their users to summarize, tag, share, and vote on items in their feeds. Zhuaxia, a popular feed reader, supports both bookmarking and recommending, and provides a variety of views for checking out what other users are interested in. The “popular articles” view  (热文) lists the highest-ranked recent posts (there’s also a separate chart for popular videos), and users can also look at the most popular articles from the past month or year (note: this is all done through Javascript, so it’s impossible to provide direct links). Xianguo, another web-based RSS reader, emphasizes the voting even more: its front page is dominated by a ranking of the current most popular articles, with a sidebar that features posts shared by popular users. Additional functions of these and other RSS applications were shared in an earlier 56minus1 post. Top-rated articles on both Zhuaxia and Xianguo have far more votes than standalone Digg-like sites, probably because their RSS functionality attracts more users than voting on its own.

social network sharing ::
One of the most popular applications on Chinese SNS Web sites is a function that allows users to syndicate jokes, photos, popular posts, videos, and other Web content to their friends. This functionality is known by various names. Xiaonei calls it “sharing.” A chain of shares from friend to friend will often give an interesting topic a huge amount of attention within a short period of time and spur conversation other places on the Internet. Some Xiaonei users have gained minor celebrity status by finding and distributing interesting content that captures the attention of tens of thousands of other Xiaonei users. Huluwa is an example: this user has 847 friends on Xiaonei itself, plus a group of fans on Douban. Kaixin001 provides a similar functionality through its “repost” function (转帖), which allows friends to share links and content within the Kaixin001 domain. Douban, an SNS based around culture and the arts, uses the term “recommend” for this functionality, and provides a handy bookmarklet allowing site members to add links to their personal Douban feed for sharing with friends.

in-house systems ::
Portals and search engines have their own bookmarking tools. QQ’s bookmark service (QQ书签) integrates the standard link+description+tags format with its social network, including its wildly-popular instant message platform. Bookmarks can be collected through the QQ browser toolbar, other browser plugins and scripts, or through code users insert into the HTML of their own Web sites, and then they can be uploaded into the QQ IM application for use outside the Web browser. The front page of QQ’s bookmarks Web site lists popular links, many of which have been bookmarked by thousands of people. Baidu’s “search saver” tool (搜藏) allows users to build up their own index of bookmarked, tagged pages. Bookmarks can be either public or private; public bookmarks are aggregated into a tagged archive and shared among other Baidu users. Links to Sina’s Vivi still shows up on lots of pages, but that bookmarking system appears to have given up the ghost in 2006 or so — tags no longer work and groups have long since gone dormant. In its place is a system integrated with Sina’s blog service; Sina bloggers can click on a “save” (收藏) link at the bottom of a blog post to put them into a “favorites” list that is viewable to any visitor to their own blog.

// AjS

[Friday 5 is the product of my work at Edelman Digital (China). Link here for the full Friday 5 archive. If you'd like to be added to the bilingual (English & Chinese) Friday 5 email distribution list, please send me an email at: adam DOT schokora AT edelman DOT com.]

:: firstly, in case some readers don’t know, what does RSS stand for? Simple, RSS = Real Simple Syndication. Moving on.

With the wealth of information available online, it can be handy to have an easy way to aggregate and organize this information in one place via subscriptions to news sites, blogs, search results, and other frequently-updated Web sites that syndicate their content – an “RSS reader” can help u do that. Just to be crystal clear, an RSS reader is simply a program that helps a user read their subscribed RSS feeds by aggregating and organizing them in one convenient locations. Although many people choose standalone RSS readers, a Web-based reader is useful for keeping all your feeds (or subscriptions) accessible regardless of what computer you happen to be using (just as long as it connects to the Internet).

is a powerful reader that’s popular in the English-language sphere, and also works well with Chinese feeds. It is widely-used by more technically-oriented Chinese bloggers and netizens, but a lingering uncertainty over whether it will always be ‘reachable’ from the mainland makes local China-based RSS readers a reasonable alternative.

In China, RSS is a more mature area than other Web 2.0 technologies like social networks and microblogs; local RSS readers have been around long enough for several shakeups to have occurred in the marketplace, leaving names like Gougou and Topim nothing more than dim memories.

Here are five of the top Chinese players in the local RSS game:

Zhuaxia (抓虾) ::
Zhuaxia (“Grab shrimp,” a homonym for “grab it”) has been the leading Chinese RSS reader for a few years now. It features an attractive, responsive interface using AJAX technology and a full-text search of all feeds / subscriptions aggregated by the site. Zhuaxia’s administrators keep a blog where they introduce new features and occasionally present interesting observations they’ve made by surveying all the feeds in aggregate – when a worm or virus strikes certain blog providers, for example.

Xianguo (鲜果) ::
Xianguo (“Fresh Fruit”), launched in 2007, is a more recent entry into the RSS game. One of its innovations in the Chinese RSS reader market was to implement keyboard shortcuts for common actions. It has an AJAX interface like Zhuaxia that’s very Web2.0, and it offers a blog post ranking system (vote up / vote down) in the style of Digg.

Feedsky (飞递) ::
Feedsky is a Feedburner-like tool for managing feeds you generate yourself, and for finding feeds that other users generate. Since Feedburner is currently blocked in mainland China, this is a useful alternative. The system keeps statistics about subscription volume and reader activity and supplies a Firefox toolbar plugin. It doesn’t offer any reader functionality, but it supports feed searching by tags and categories.

POTU (周博通) ::
This Web-based reader started out as a standalone software program, which it still offers for download. It features search by tag and category, and supplies OPML files (indices of all feeds on a site) for a number of popular news and industry Web sites.

Feedou (飞豆) ::
Feedou (“Flying Bean”) is a combination RSS subscription / feed reader, collaborative tagger like the social bookmark system del.icio.us , and article / post vote system (like Digg). Other readers have these functions to some extent, but Feedou’s homepage is a list of the top-rated articles of the moment, which can be very handy when trying to keep your thumb on the pulse of online news.

// AjS

[Friday 5 is the product of my work at Edelman Digital (China). Link here for the full Friday 5 archive. If you'd like to be added to the bilingual (English & Chinese) Friday 5 email distribution list, please send me an email at: adam DOT schokora AT edelman DOT com.]

:: Beijing-based rockers Carsick Cars have made their first official music video for a song Mogu Mogu (蘑菇, 蘑菇, “Mushroom, Mushroom”). The video was directed by David Harris. It’s excellent. Enjoy. H/T Sean Leow.  // AjS

:: this post if for the late Ian Talty, a photographer known best for his graffiti snaps who tragically drown on Sunday. Thanks for all the great photographs.  // AjS

:: I received an email today from Woody Fu (a producer at MTV | iggy) introducing me to a couple segments he recently did with a gentleman named Christoph Niemann. I found them to be quite interesting.

Christoph is an illustrator / designer who created a children’s book called The Pet Dragon. The book also functions (unintentionally) as a 101 to learning Chinese language through its fun anthropomorphization of the a characters.

In the first video below, Christoph discusses the trials of making the book (he’s German, and English is his 2nd language – he has zero formal Chinese education).

In the second video, Woody tries stumping Christoph with increasingly difficult Chinese characters to make images out of.  // AjS

:: my good friend Helen Lee (of insh) will be presenting her fall / winter collection, MIGRATE, this evening as part of Shanghai’s 2009 Fashion Week. Link here for more details: English / Chinese.  Doors open at 7:30. Come hang out with the cool kids. It will be great. // AjS

[photo by Yocky Zhang, photoshoping by 55, clothing design by Helen Lee]

:: this is beyond creativity and into the realm of genius. Just amazing. I haven’t seen aantyhing as interesting as this in a very long time. (Pardon the hyperbole, but it’s true.)

The video below was James Houston’s final project for a graphic design course at the Glasgow School of Art. It was also supposed to be a submission for an online contest Radiohead held to remix “Nude,” a track from the band’s In Rainbows album. James missed the contest deadline, but published his submission anyway. James’ thoughts on the project:

This was quite a difficult task for everybody that entered (the contest), as Nude is in 6/8 timing, and 63 bpm. Most music that’s played in clubs is around 120 bpm and usually 4/4 timing. It’s pretty difficult to seamlessly mix a waltz beat into a DJ set.

Based on the lyric (and alternate title for the song) “Big Ideas: Don’t get any,” I grouped together a collection of old redundant hardware and placed them in a situation where they’re trying their best to do something that they’re not exactly designed to do, and not quite getting there.

It doesn’t sound great, as it’s not supposed to.

Check out more of James’ video work here; all of it is superb, especially this commercial he did for MTV. H/T Ben Houge. Bravo, well done.  // AjS

:: I came across this old instruction manual for a Hong Deng (红灯) model 265 radio while doing some research for this post. What a simple, compelling cover. It’s almost beautiful. There is something special about the green used, and of course the fonts. Excellent.

For the most comprehensive collection of old-school Chinese radio instruction manual covers you could possibly imagine, link here (it’s worth it). Bravo, well done.  // AjS

:: while strolling through the Taikang Rd. gallery / boutique district in Shanghai today, I came across a recently-opened second-hand shop that sells legit old stuff (i.e. what hipsters refer to as “retro”). The shop doesn’t have a proper name yet, nor business cards, but it’s located next to the back door of #2 on alley 274. Check it out, it’s full of fun stuff.

I took some snaps, see below: a circa 1986 Shanghai-made Hong Deng (红灯) brand over-the-shoulder boombox (RMB 1000), and a circa 1980 Suzhou-made Huqiu (虎丘) brand camera, model 121 (RMB 300).  // AjS

:: taken today in Shanghai on Huaihai Rd. (at the Sinan Rd. intersection); a beautiful blue sky. I can’t recall the last time I saw such a site here.  // AjS

:: so, I have a new show called Rough Sundays. It’s basically great and if you’re not listening, it’s okay, because there’s a good chance your friend is and they’ll fill you in soon enough. Old gospel + blues + Motown + funk + soul + a lot of Otis Redding = a great show (as mentioned).

I have gone ahead and posted the pilot + the first four episodes below, I hope you like it. I’ll be cross posting Rough Sundays on 56minus1 here. // a

Rough Sundays – pilot:

roberta martin singers – ‘the old ship of zion’
nick drake – ’saturday sun’
eartha kitt – ‘i’m a funny dame’
john coltrane – ‘naima’
patsy cline – ‘crazy’
tom waits – ‘in shades’
thomas a. dorsey – ‘if you see my Savior’
keb mo’ – ‘city boy’
the staple singers – ‘will the circle be unbroken’
otis redding – ‘old man trouble’

Rough Sundays – show #1:

lou reed – ‘caroline says [alt]‘
mavis staples/lucky peterson – ‘wade in the water’
django reinhardt – ‘for sentimental reasons’
fats waller – ‘vipers drag’
david bryne/brian eno – ‘one fine day’
bessie smith – ‘me & my gin’
ray charles – ‘makin’ whopee [live]‘
omara portuondo – ‘veija luna’
benny goodman boys – ‘blue [and broken-hearted]‘
otis redding – ‘a fool for you’

Rough Sundays – show #2: [recorded from SXSW in Austin, Texas]

bob schneider – ’round & round’
blind willy johnson – ‘church I’m fully saved today’
okkervil river – ’savannah smiles’
janis joplin – ‘get it while you can’
stevie ray vaughn – ‘life without you’
devendra barnhart – ‘at the hop’
toni price – ‘west texas lullaby’
daniel johnston – ‘hey joe’
willie nelson – ‘hello walls’
the polyphonic spree – ‘light & day / reach for the sun’

Rough Sundays – show 3:

nina simone – ‘the family’
chet baker – ‘alone together’
pinback – ‘loro’
the louvin brothers – ’satan is real’
the beta band – ‘dry the rain’
carmen mcrae & sammy davis jr. – ‘happy to meet your acquaintance’
funkadelic – ‘adolescent funk’
georgia peach & her gospel singers – ‘the Lord send me’
fred astaire – ‘I concentrate on you’
otis redding – ‘you’ve made a man out of me’

Rough Sundays – show #4:

mahalia jackson – ‘I bow on my knees’
john lee hooker – ‘blues before sunrise’
cat power – ‘lived in bars’
frank sinatra – ‘one of those things’
led zeppelin – ‘tangerine’
brother joe may – ’search me Lord’
ella fitzgerald – ‘good morning, heartache’
edmund hall celeste quartet featuring charlie christian – ‘profoundly blue’
gilberto gil – ‘three little birds’
otis redding – ‘down in the valley’

…so, that’s the first month or so. Stay tuned, as I will be cross-posting Rough Sundays on 56minus1 here.

[Aric S. Queen is a guest contributor to 56minus1]

:: a time-lapse video short / advertisement by Kirsten Murray and three of her creative comrades (Matt McArthur, Anna Muckart, and Ben Symes) for the VISION (Magazine) art and design exhibition in 2007. Music by Four Tet. Bravo, well done.  // AjS

Vision from Kirsten Murray on Vimeo.

:: I‘m a fan of RAY (and Penny), an up-and-coming multimedia Chinese designer (duo). RAY represents everything that excites me about the creative class in China, plus the work is just superb. Check out a video short below titled Magic Cube & Ping Pong.

The story takes place in the city of Magic Cube, where people’s heads are made of Rubik’s cubes. During a friendly game of ping pong, the ball is accidentally misplayed and flies out the window, setting the protagonist off on a journey. Eventually, he meets a beautiful magic cube girl…and so the story goes. Watch it. You’ll love it. To see more of RAY’s video productions, link here – all of them are excellent.  // AjS

:: I ran into Shanghai-based graffiti artist DEZIO today at the BLENDER: Digital Culture Festival; he was kind enough to gift me a very cool set of playing cards featuring photographs of his tags and pieces. Many of the pieces are from Shanghai or elsewhere in China, but the set also includes work he’s done around the world, including in France, Croatia, Germany, and other parts of Asia.

A creative, fun way to present one’s credentials. I was most impressed and appreciative. Have a look below. Thank you DEZIO. // AjS

:: see below for some snaps taken at this weekend’s BLENDER: Digital Culture Festival in Shanghai; Popil and DEZIO doing some freestyle mark-ups. For the full Flickr set link here. DEZIO was kind enough to gift me a set of poker cards featuring his work. If interested, link here for a short documentary I produced about graffiti in Shanghai featuring Popil.  // AjS