A Refresher Post

Even though I've been blogging for less than a year, I've already noticed that one relative weakness of the blog format is that older but still relevant posts get buried quickly and newer readers who may be interested in them may never become aware of their existence.  To try to deal with this issue, I have several areas on the side of the blog web site that highlight or index posts.  However, they each have their own weaknesses, none of which I can easily address.  I also see that Blogger is now offering some new blog formats that look like attempts to deal with the burying issue.  While some of them seem to be a step on the right direction I'm not yet sold on them for a variety of reasons ranging from usability concerns to them not yet fully implementing some standard features.  Regardless, any changes to the web site won't likely impact those who read posts through readers and such.

So, I'm going to try something new with this post and reference some "old" posts that I think may be of interest to newer readers.  For those who have been reading this blog from the beginning, consider it a trip down memory lane and fear not, new material is on the way.  In addition to simply providing links, I'll include brief summaries and sometimes some additional thoughts.  In no particular order, here are 5 posts:

• Google's Problems in China: Perceptions of a Chinese Internet User in Guiyang – The reason a young lady in Guiyang, Guizhou is worried that she may lose access to Google shows how sometimes people’s pragmatic concerns matter the most.  Her feelings of why Google is having some struggles in China shine a light on a key issue in China.

• China Scenes: Villages Around Kaili, Guizhou – One of my favorite photo posts and it shows a side of China that is very different from what is seen in Beijing or Shanghai.  It's also where as I was leaving a village one of several traditionally dressed villagers came up to me unannounced and insisted I drink something out of a ram's horn.  I think they were there to welcome some visitors but decided I shouldn't miss out on the fun.  The most surprising part was that the horn contained a very strong alcohol and she poured the entire contents down my throat.  Sadly, I have no photo of that event so maybe I'll just have to go back someday.

• Facebook in China: A Chance to Connect and Understand – The post uses Facebook as an example, but really it's about how Facebook or similar services with international reach such as Google+, Twitter, or even Amazon.com (though that may not be as obvious from the piece), could meet a key need for some in China (whether or not they'll be allowed to so is another matter).  It's one of my longest posts (and also one of my most visited), but there's actually much more I could say on the topics it raises.  I will likely be writing more on some of them in the near future.

• The Different Colors of China – An experience I had with a friend from Hong Kong in Guangxi provides an example of how China's diversity makes it challenging to understand, even for Chinese.

• Writing on the Wall: China's Implicit Communication – This is actually one of several guest blog posts I wrote on James Fallows' blog at The Atlantic.  It's about how some writing on a wall in Xiapu, Fujian province highlights the roles implicit communication and fake products can play in China.

That's all for now.  If this seems to work, I'll do it periodically in the future.  Feedback is definitely most welcome.