CHINICT Day 1 Recap

Posted on May 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

A friend and I in attendance at CHINICT

This week I took part in the 8th edition of CHINICT, a technology and entrepreneurship conference in Beijing. It was a busy few days, and I did not have the opportunity to digest and solidify the content from the conference itself. But now that the whirlwind has passed, I wanted to personally spend some time to recap a small part of the conference; both to increase personal retention of information, and to help organize data for use in academic papers. And since I believe the information may be of value to others, I have decided to publish my brief summary on this blog. If you’re interested in learning more about what I gained from some of the speakers onstage, read on!

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Looking Beyond the Article – Economics professor in London: ‘They aren’t here to learn, they’re here to pass’ | Joris Luyendijk | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Posted on May 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Economics professor in London: ‘They aren’t here to learn, they’re here to pass’ | Joris Luyendijk | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.

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One of the investment banking capitals in the world.

There are many flaws in our education system. The idolization of the investment banking industry is one of them. It’s an absolute crime that our smartest and brightest are motivated by careers in banking and finance where their primary job description is to push imaginary money around on computer screens 60 hours a week and hope to end up with more unseen money at weeks end than when the week started. These are brilliant minds that would do great in pushing the boundaries of science through research or could contribute greatly towards policy creation though quantitative analysis. As a result, the boundaries pushed by our species have been artificially handicapped by a society that rewards the increase of a concept which is meaningless in and of itself. But this is changing, and I can’t wait for what I see as the next wave of opportunity for the youth in America and other developed countries.

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Conversation with Han Han, Chinese blogger – YouTube

Posted on May 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

A look into one of the most influential individuals on our planet today. Seemingly humble and naive in some of his responses, one can still decipher a underlying tone of strength and intelligence in his responses. Perhaps he himself may not be of utmost importance, but his compositions and legacy will carry through for generations to come.

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Commentary: Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality – Jim Tankersley – NationalJournal.com

Posted on May 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

Too Hot for TED: Income Inequality – Jim Tankersley – NationalJournal.com.

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A visual representation of income inequality.

Today we read about a TED Talk which got blocked/censored from the internet due to its controversial nature. While I understand that income inequality is a complex topic with no obvious and all-encompassing solution, I believe that there are certain characteristics of this trend which deserve further analysis. For more on this topic, read on!

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Further Review: Competition with Chinese Characteristics

Posted on May 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Franck Nazikian: Competition with Chinese Characteristics.

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I love this picture, it shows the world as connected via Facebook.

I recently published this post on behalf of my employer. While I am quite satisfied with the outcome, I realize that there are issues left unwritten or unsaid. In particular, I would like to highlight certain characteristics of China technology entrepreneurship which I feel are relevant to understanding this industry.

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China IT is ready, are You?

Posted on April 24, 2012 | 1 Comment

New game. Let's play find Jon!

During the past couple of decades, the world has gotten accustomed to the label “Made in China.” Over the years, China has worked to shed its reputation of poor quality and has transitioned to a location where companies feel comfortable manufacturing their entire product line – from the highest tier to the simple commodities. A similar shift is starting to develop in the IT industry. While Chinese Internet companies are relatively unknown within the international market, domestic firms have made marvelous technological and expansion developments in the past few years within China. Many of the social networking services in China are on par with international equivalents, and some are ready to challenge the current leaders on a global scale. Now is the time for us to divert attention towards the Chinese social networking scene and understand the progression in this region; it won’t be long before these services penetrate users abroad.

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Choose Your Own Adventure

Posted on April 19, 2012 | 4 Comments

A classic pose at a classic location.

As the product of a divorced “Tiger Mom”, I had a childhood which was simultaneously both free and restricted. My freedom was the result of being the eldest of three children to a single mother. As the oldest, I was expected to know better and required the least amount of what was an already scare resource in time spent attending to the children. But despite the limited amount of quantity in attention from my mother, the quality was high and she laid fierce rules as to what we were and (mostly) were not allowed to do. The list is pretty typical for those who also had a strict and demanding mother: no video games, no TV, no extracurricular activities that won’t benefit your CV, no going out with friends and (basically) no fun. One of the things I was allowed encouraged to do was read.

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