Ethnography of Tech

VR malls, mobile payments and tuhao-themed parties (#cxinchina 2016 edition)

Posted on by xuhulk

Editor’s note: Below is a selection of our favorite Instagram posts that  Christina published during her 2016 trip to Beijing, Chengdu & Shanghai to research technology, youth culture and trends.

 

Technology

There are VR kiosks in almost every mid-high end mall I’ve been into in Beijing and Shanghai, as well…

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Chinese Comics Review

Evading Hong Kong’s self-censors: Ah To’s absurd yet poignant comics about life and politics

Posted on by Jason Li

Fuck It Suck It Up book release gif

It was nearing the end of May. With less than two months to go before the Hong Kong Book Fair 2016, Ah To’s book still hadn’t yet hit the presses. In fact, it was looking like the book might not be published at all. Talks had broken down between the author-illustrator and his unnamed, major Hong Kong publisher. Despite a promising start,…

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Explaining why Twitter is worth less than its “Chinese clone”

Posted on by Jason Li
Weibo versus Twitter. Source: Aw Guo.
Weibo versus Twitter. Source: Aw Guo.

A few days ago, Tech In Asia published the provocatively titled article, Twitter is now worth less than its Chinese clone. Coming fresh off the heels of Twitter’s recently-failed acquisition talks, the article definitely resonated with many members of the tech community. But as many of us know,…

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Starting Up in Shenzhen

How the internet is making hardware startups as fast as software in Shenzhen

Posted on by An Xiao Mina

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Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from ‘Created’ in China: Shenzhen is making hardware like Silicon Valley makes apps, written by An Xiao Mina and originally published on Fusion.

China is amidst a massive transition from a country primarily of manufacturers to one of makers. Lei Gao is part of this new generation…

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Debunking Silicon Valley myths about WeChat’s conversational UI & other findings

Posted on by Jason Li

The Nielsen Norman Group recently wrapped up a great study involving 26 individuals in Beijing and Tangshan about their use of WeChat. Their report, WeChat: China’s Integrated Internet User Experience is well worth a read. But in case you’re pressed for time, we’ve written up our annotated highlights below.

Early on, Cheng and Nielsen (the authors of the article) point out…

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Chinese Comics Review

The psychedelic art of an Adventure Time-inspired Chinese webcomic

Posted on by Jason Li

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Electrocat and Lightning Dog is an indie webcomic set in a futuristic world of talking animals, aliens and psychedelic strawberries. Inspired by Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time, it follows the tried-and-true formula of two best friends going on random adventures, except that Electrocat and Lightning Dog is even more zany and non-linear than its progenitor.

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Hong Kong’s Animation-Comic-Games Convention 2016: Mostly a frenzy of shopping with a shrinking presence of local creators

Posted on by Jason Li

ACGHK1

It was business as usual at this year’s ACG (Animation-Comic-Game) Con in Hong Kong. Big international videogame and toy brands dominated, and attendees diligently lined up to shop for Japanese manga merch, to play test games in VR, or to marvel at finely-crafted toy figurines from Japan or the US. This 90% off gacha booth was, for example, swamped…

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