Posts Tagged ‘dan harris’

At the Foxhole, Gazing Out at the Touristy Masses and Drinking Too Much Joe
13:18 CET
What the frick am I going to blog about today?

What’s the deal with comments at blogs? Why do some blogs nab a ton of ‘em, while other well-deserving or well-meaning candidates aren’t nearly as well-trafficked or patronized?

Why do certain sleigh-ride sites (read: speeding downhill, quickly) score the bear’s share of online goggles, while those abundantly-more informative ones are left out in the cold to whither away and die a painful demise?

I’ve been contemplating these ideas over the past week, asking fellow China-blogging companions and online bombing-run wingmen for their opinions.

And you know what? I’ve been humbled by their responses. Really humbled. Inspired, too.

Let’s summarize these reflections, kids, perhaps ending up with some classic ADM sturm und drang about the nature of the Chinese blogging community and what this might entail for you, fellow China blogger, in your ceaseless efforts to attract and, more importantly, keep your portable audience.

Shall we begin? Yeah, um, uhuh. Let’s so do this, Chewie! Punch it!

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Much has been written over the past 72 hours about the fate of The Kro’s Nest, that soon-to-be formerly famous Beijing eatery that had, since its inception back in 2006 to much fanfare, been the mainstay for many a capital city pizza-and-beer craving expatriate.

For those who aren’t engrossed in such trivial matters, as we humble China bloggers and Beijing watchers sometimes appear to be, the line on this truly sordid tale sounds strikingly similar to a growing litany of bad business deals which have been littering Beijing’s cutthroat business scene of late. Beijing is rapidly becoming known for its backstabbing, double-crossing, and skullduggery and this can’t bode well for future investment.

Now I warn you in advance: there’s a heap of she-said/he-said shots across the bow and conjecture here: from what I’ve gathered in my own coverage of this case of greed, betrayal, aggression, and. now, slander (described so very eloquently here, here, and mostly here), emotions have been running very high and journalists are having a field day picking apart the unobjective emotionality of this story.

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Well almost “A-Team”…and it’s going to demand a standout on-screen performance from Liam Neeson to supplant George Peppard‘s memorable cigar-chomping steely image in our minds as the no-b.s., Wilkinson-sword sharp, always resolute under Katrina-force hurricane pressure, Col. John “Hannibal” Smith. Remember that dude? I certainly do. There I go dating myself again…

Anyways, the following sites are the five hot spots I check in with daily for my regular fill of Chinese blogging dish.

Thanks to the magic of global time zones coupled with the fact that the People’s Republic is well into early afternoon by the time I hunker down at the desk, mornings here in the Sketch Republic are usually flush with RSS content treasure as I kick off my daily grind at the warren. That means, I’ve got a heap of catching up to do within as short a stretch as possible, and believe me, every day it’s a delectable challenge.

Reading posts at these sites makes blogging all the more worthwhile. So come with me and learn why the following five are the gold standard of the English-language Chinese blogosphere.

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I’m happy I listen to people when they strongly suggest titles to read. In the case of Lawrence L. Allen’s Chocolate Fortunes: The Battle for the Hearts, Minds, and Wallets of China’s Consumers, this was a particularly sweet suggestion and many thanks to Dan Harris of Harris & Moure Law, the perennial award-winning blogmeister and commentator at China Law Blog, or as we Generation Xers like to call it, CLB.

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