Praising the bridge blogs - Kaiser Kuo

Kaiser Kuo by Fantake via Flickr

Internet watcher Kaiser Kuo is very enthusiastic about an emerging feature on the Chinese internet, Chinese bloggers who translate what is happening at the Chinese internet into English. From AFP:

"Bridge blogs have become an incredibly precious resource," said Kaiser Kuo, a Beijing-based Internet consultant. "I just wish there were more of them and they covered a broader range of what people are talking about online.

"The hype-worthy is just the tip of the iceberg, there's a lot down there," he said.

Although far from weighty, chinaSMACK [on of those bridge blogs]captures the "Internet memes" -- jokes, concepts and catchphrases that are shaping Chinese culture online and beyond, Kuo said.

"The Chinese Internet for some reason seems to be a lot more tightly integrated. A meme will start in one corner and will bounce its way up to every corner a whole lot faster in China," Kuo said.

Shaun Rein follows Kaiser Kuo's enthusiasm in the AFP article:

Like the US celebrity news site TMZ.com, chinaSMACK is a cultural weather vane, said Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group.

"It's one of my must-reads everyday," Rein said, adding it captures youth and digital culture well.

"It has a great finger on the pulse of the Internet culture in China that is a lot more vibrant than Americans think," he said.

In the AFP article also an interview with Fauna, the leading force behind ChinaSmack.

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Both Kaiser Kuo and Shaun Rein are speakers at the China Speakers Bureau. When you want to share their insights at your conference, do let us know.