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Big data behind China’s “Health Code” system

Big data behind China’s “Health Code” system

As a common application of digital epidemic prevention, China's "Health Code" system has played an important role in epidemic prevention and control and has become one of the highlights of China's digital epidemic response to the COVID -19 outbreak....
“U can’t touch this!” – Does sense of touch is needed in online shopping experience?

“U can’t touch this!” – Does sense of touch is needed in online shopping experience?

In the last decade, consumer purchases behaviour has changed. The explosive growth of e-commerce generates the tendency to design immersive shopping environment. The most advanced interactive technology focuses on the visual improvement of cybershopping, such as creating a 3D...
Health QR code (system): reasonable data collection or tracking surveillance under the fantasy of Big Data?

Health QR code (system): reasonable data collection or tracking surveillance under the fantasy of Big Data?

Health Code, a personal QR code created by the government of Hangzhou in cooperation with mobile giant Alipay and designed for collecting and controlling the covid-19 cases, was initially launched in Hangzhou on February 11th, 2020 and was widely...
The Worrisome Biometrics: Deepfakes, ZAO and Privacy Issue

The Worrisome Biometrics: Deepfakes, ZAO and Privacy Issue

In early September, a face-swapping app called ZAO attracted universal attention in China. Using the technology of “Deepfakes”, it allows users to swap their faces into famous characters’ in the film and TV show clips. ZAO prevailed like the...
Deepfakes, Privacy Paradoxes and Black Boxes

Deepfakes, Privacy Paradoxes and Black Boxes

“I do worry about my privacy,” Huang said. “Because no one cares about my data when I’m a nobody. But if people think they can make money from my information, it makes me worry about the security of my...
China’s Dystopian Social Credit System Within Western Borders

China’s Dystopian Social Credit System Within Western Borders

Imagine a world where your every move, online and offline, gets monitored and scored by big companies and the government. This idea gets even more chilling when your online activities, behaviour, relationships and financial data ultimately determine whether you...
Qutoutiao: Make Digital Reading More “Valuable”

Qutoutiao: Make Digital Reading More “Valuable”

With 48.8 million “employees”,Qutoutiao Inc. (means “fun headlines”), a two-year old mobile-news company becomes one of the biggest news and video aggregator in China. Being available at application stores since Jun. 2016, the number of Qutoutiao’s users has witnessed...
China’s Social Credit System could bring George Orwell’s 1984 character ‘Big Brother’ to life by allowing Big Data Surveillance to control Chinese public life

China’s Social Credit System could bring George Orwell’s 1984 character ‘Big Brother’ to life by allowing Big Data Surveillance to control Chinese public life

Any person who has seen the critically acclaimed Netflix show ‘Black Mirror’ will think the following is straight out of a dystopian futurology thriller. Unfortunately, the idea of every member in society being attributed a ‘social credit score’ based...
Internet Imperialized

Internet Imperialized

In 2010, Google.cn redirected users to Google.com.hk. Google released an official blog post announcing that it would no longer censor search results for Chinese users. The decision proceeded an allegation that U.S. companies (Google included) had been attacked by...

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: an interview on Chinese internet usage

How do we find happiness? I cannot answer that question for you, but it is relevant to everybody. The state of happiness was deemed so important by the Founding Fathers of the United States that they added it to...
Weibo Revolution

Weibo Revolution

As China is famous for their copied and rip-off products there is no difference in the digital sphere. Services and platforms that we have learned to love, resent or can’t go without also exist within the borders of China...

The HK iPhone 4 hunt

Arriving in Hong Kong felt a little weird for me, as frequent mainland visitor with Chinese origin. It was a like coming home, but this time home was a bit off. Now after a couple of days I realize...
Bow down for your Google overlord

Bow down for your Google overlord

The Church of Google worships their God as a female Goddess. She is all knowing, omnipresent, potentially immortal and infinite. The Church of Google has touched me, therefore I shall spread the word.

Baidu Tieba: A Reflection of Manuel Castell’s Theories

Manuel Castells is a sociologist, he was born in Spain and now is a professor in t the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and also a have taught in University of California, Berkeley. He especially researches into information society...
Chinese Cyber World: A World in Itself

Chinese Cyber World: A World in Itself

Let’s start with an interesting conversation between a Chinese (C) and a westerner (W): W: Oh, it is so nice to meet you! Do you have facebook? C: no. I am sorry. W: Do you have MSN? C: yea,...
How to Pave a Digital Silk Road

How to Pave a Digital Silk Road

If somebody would have told me 1 year ago that as a result of my New Media Master’s thesis research on the Internet industry in China I would be moving to Beijing, I would have reacted: ‘Right, and I...

Online video in China leading the way

An interesting video report by The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) on online video and TV in China and the way that it will influence the West in the near future
Tangos Chan on the Chinese Internet (Beijing 05/13/2008)

Tangos Chan on the Chinese Internet (Beijing 05/13/2008)

This post contains parts of a 2 hour interview I did with Tangos Chan from China Web2.0 Review. Among others I asked him about his views on the globalization of Chinese Internet companies, the future of the Chinese Internet market, and the...

Patterns in China’s Economic Development

For my Masters thesis I am doing research on the global emergence of Chinese Internet companies. The theoretical part of my thesis consists of several studies on successfull development of other Asian countries in the past. The current emergence...
China Internet Experiences

China Internet Experiences

Finally, after a 24 hour delay due to an annual trade fair in Guangzhou I am on my way to Shanghai. While listening to the snoring of my opposite bunk bed neighbor, smelling the noodles of the next door...
Chinese Internet companies expanding overseas

Chinese Internet companies expanding overseas

This Friday it is finally happening; I will head off to China for my research! After months of stalking people with interview requests and reading everything I could about Internet in China, I am going to visit some of...
Chinese low-wage workers disloyal for a reason

Chinese low-wage workers disloyal for a reason

I am currently reading a lot for my research and an interesting book I finished a few days ago is Fast Boat to China from Andrew Ross. In Fast Boat to China Andrew approaches the global outsourcing trend in a different way...
Google Strikes Back in China’s Holiday Migration Chaos

Google Strikes Back in China’s Holiday Migration Chaos

The last few weeks it has been in the news numerous times; in Guangzhou, South China, snow and ice storms have stranded tens of millions of people, most of them migrant workers traveling to their families to celebrate the...
Virtual Worlds in Modern China

Virtual Worlds in Modern China

Since the launch of Second Life (SL) by Linden Lab in 2003 it has attracted the attention of many Chinese users. Despite the popularity of SL in China and partly because SL has never been officially launched in China,...