I’m interested in virtuality, experience, and culture; Zafka Zhang is a metaverse researcher, blogger, and evangelist, directs research at China’s virtual world HiPiHi, and according to his Twitterstream, recently started his own youth insights and marketing company, China Youthology青年志; Li Feng is an Instructional Technology Specialist at University of Massachusetts Lowell…

I’m doing some interviews with people who are playing with different reality media, and Justin.TV is a great example. The site recently got its one millionth user.  Most are like me, I’m guessing, and just sign up so they can navigate the site better.  But some are doing what Justin.TV is set up to do: broadcasting some…

We reported over a year ago on the release of the first mini-PC based on a China-developed processor. But according to Fool’s Mountain, it seems like that it either didn’t really ship or perhaps it didn’t register on his radar. So, there is a supposed new release that is the “second” first-ever commercial product based on an indigenous Chinese…

My friend Nod has some new work up on the Behance network. It’s a pretty mix of the traditional and modern, of analog and digital.

See the rest of the series here.

For your viewing pleasure: the homepage of some of the players in The Lost Ring (see previous post).

Mei Hui, China

Diego, Spain

Markus, Germany

Lucie, UK

Monica, Spain…

The Lost Ring is an early and important multi-language, multi-cultural collaboration in China, and a gorgeous lab for experimenting with culture and virtual expression.  My colleague at the Institute for the Future, Jane McGonigal, is the puppetmaster for an alternate reality game (ARG) called The Lost Ring which is…

Spotted on the web, a luxury concept hotel in Guilin: the Hotel of Modern Art (HOMA) Libre.

They are the only Chinese hotel that is part of the global Relais & Chateaux (luxury hotel and gourmet restaurants) alliance.

Book one of the 46 individually-designed rooms now…

Click for full-sized image with translations.

There’s more here. Via Longyin Review.

As someone who struggles with a nicotine habit, I have a love-hate relationship with cigarettes. But you could, and probably someone already has, write a book or two on the social role of cigarettes in post-’49 China. Cigarettes were everywhere when I first came to China in 1985, and were a powerful currency, something you could use to get things done, or to warm…