China 2.0
A twin and proud member of the Yarabe clan. Sharp passion for Japan & China studies...Recent passion for internet, mobile tech & entrepreneurship..power level ^9000. Currently lives and works in Guangzhou, China.
This is where it all comes together people. Enjoy it.
about.me/lukeyarabe or flickr.com/lukeyarabe for more pictures and thoughts.
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Social Issues Not a Concern For Asia Execs
A survey conducted in 2011 by the Asia Business Council sought the opinions of 64 Asian Business Executives across 13 countries on the topic of critical issues for business in Asia. Only 20% saw “Social Issues” as “Very Important.” On the contrary, 51% saw energy and the environment as “Very Important” issues to their businesses, with 43% selecting “Finance and Business.”
The same study reveals that 71% of the participating executives invested or increased their investments in China in the last 12 months. 69% plan to do the same in the next one to three years. Will social issues continue to be of marginal importance in the coming years? I certainly hope not but it may take something drastic, perhaps a major strike or accident, for concerns to shift towards the protection of worker’s well-beings a priority in the face of profit maximization in China.
Apple has made promises to raise wages and cut daily work hours in response to a recent Fair Labor Association investigation. The company, as well as other large multinational companies with large investments in China, now awaits the fallout.
The Asia Business Council works “for the economic development and competitiveness of Asia in the global marketplace.” It is an independent organization of top executives, typically from leading Asian companies or MNCs with significant Asian operations.
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Social Issues Not a Concern For Asia Execs
A survey conducted in 2011 by the Asia Business Council sought the opinions of 64 Asian Business Executives across 13 countries on the topic of critical issues for business in Asia. Only 20% saw “Social Issues” as “Very Important.” On the contrary, 51% saw energy and the environment as “Very Important” issues to their businesses, with 43% selecting “Finance and Business.”
The same study reveals that 71% of the participating executives invested or increased their investments in China in the last 12 months. 69% plan to do the same in the next one to three years. Will social issues continue to be only marginally important in coming years? It may take something drastic in China, perhaps a major strike or accident, for concerns to shift towards the protection of worker’s well-beings a priority in the face of profit maximization. Keep in mind that the market valuation of member countries in this survey is over $2 trillion as of August 2011.
Apple has made promises to raise wages and cut daily work hours in response to a recent Fair Labor Association investigation. The company, as well as other large multinational companies with large investments in China, now awaits the fallout.
The Asia Business Council works “for the economic development and competitiveness of Asia in the global marketplace.” It is an independent organization of top executives, typically from leading Asian companies or MNCs with significant Asian operations.
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Five days ago, I said this was to be an epic post. Then I remembered the rules of sharing content online, even if its from your heart. You don’t do it. Because while you want it to be said, you don’t wanna deal with the repercussions. Also, sharing your little feelings and stuff about how much you love your family and friends and the whole Canton Fair experience is too mushy gushy for an external audience that don’t give a shit.
So, I’m in the quandary of not really wanting to express myself fully on Facebook even though I gave it a decent effort. Each description was like a five paragraph middle school paper. So I kept most of my thoughts to myself and I’ll probably talk to my mom at length about how awesome the week was and how much I enjoyed her Shantou family and so forth. But as far as telling the full story to a wider audience is concerned, I thought maybe I’d do so through my Tumblr. Thus, my post last week saying this was gonna be an epic post. Then I realized that Tumblr’s still kinda public even though I bet less than 10 people read it in total. But the fact that it is public means I can’t say everything. I’m writing our social media guideline policy document at work. I don’t wanna contradict myself. That would be downright foolish and hilarious, but not to my boss.
And how I write on Facebook and Tumblr and such is that I don’t give a f*ck about grammar and properness. Its my own thoughts and when I write those thoughts down, I shouldn’t have to put a lens on it for you guys cause that’s messing up my thoughts and that ain’t ballin to me.
So, I realized that what I really think, my deepest thoughts and opinions on a lot of shit, I can’t say through my blog or through Facebook or come anywhere even close. That’s not whatchu do.
And thus, I keep a journal. On my tablet. Its 7 inches. Perfect for taking journal notes anytime: at work, on the move, in the john, one or two hands, pecking away and recording your innermost thoughts on daily happenings or what you read about on Techcrunch all in your little journal on your tablet. Its sick. I enjoy it. And one day, its gonna go public. In my book. When I’m rich. And nobody can tell me what to do or say in public.
And its not like I’m hating on Obama or straight up dissing somebody. But anything anywhere near sensitive on any level, I can’t say it. I have to keep it to myself. And what if I forget? Where’s facebook and Tumblr and Twitter and all those things when I need them? I can’t publish my thought to them. I have to keep it to myself. Or put it in my journal. Which is becoming second nature. I love it. I frees my mind when I can put a thought down. And I got a shit ton to do too, in and out of work. So I need a free mind. And I’m at that ripe age where I got an opinion and thoughts and shit on everything. But again, like Dmitry Shapiro of Anybeat said on “this week in venture capital” with Mark Suster, I can’t say shit in public. I can’t even say ‘shit’ in public, on Facebook, or it may upset my relatives, which is what Facebook is for: relatives and friends and such.
So where am I to turn? Forums? Comment sections of websites and stuff? I could. But I don’t really want to cause how am I supposed to remember what comment I made on the Economist or on Fast Company or on the Diplomat five weeks later? I just want it all in my little journal and even though nobody can see it but me, eventually, somebody will be sitting next to me. And I’ll share what I thought a few months ago on this or that, a few days ago, an hour ago.
So then what becomes of my Tumblr blog? I can’t really say what I want cause some of its controversial and some of its personal. Even if only 5 people read it. I guess I can’t say anything on Tumblr. So do I keep it? If it would allow me to upload more than 10MB of pictures per post, I would. But it don’t. So I have to compress my pictures before I post them. And they end up looking kinda lousy. Don’t Tumblr know 3.5MB per picture is like the standard? That means we can only put like 2.
I don’t even like posting to Facebook a ton. Only to remind people of the epic LSU game that’s happening a week from now. November 5th. Since I’m in China, it’ll be in the morning. I’ll be watching the hype all night. I’ll be watching the game. I’ll be really inefficient that weekend. But it’ll be a sick game and I hope LSU comes out on top. I don’t even have to hope. They’re an unbelievable team this year.
So again, no facebook really, no tumblr, and lol twitter. So I’m left with my best thoughts and my journal.
You know what that means? That means I don’t really care to upkeep my Facebook. Or Tumblr I guess (its been a good run). Or Twitter. Or lol LinkedIn. But I want a profile. I want people to know who I am, what I think, what I like to do, how creative and cool and insightful and real I am.
It starts with my journal. then my pictures. then my little social media presence. then my resume. then a little about my family, and a little biographical information about who I am. That’s all I need.
I want to put it all in an app. With live feeds and colorful pictures and a little external social media sprinkled here and there, and a little resume so people don’t have to look for me on linkedin, cause who really does anyway?
Brief aside. I read Dave McClure’s 500Startups and he said something like - you need to keep a linkedin profile, and a blog, and search engine optimization or something like that - my initial reaction was this: I don’t do nothing for nobody. I blog for me, not for you. If recruiters wanna find me, come find me. But don’t expect to be dazzled by LinkedIn. cause I haven’t updated that for months. I think. Though hell, I probably will soon cause that’s procedure for people my age.
Back to what I was thinking about. I want an app. For me. With all the vital information. That I can show whoever’s next to me, like my friends or family or whatever, if I want. And it’ll have sick pictures and sick content and sick thoughts and sick customization. All my passions, my stories, my goals, my mentors, my supports, and who I respect. And somewhere I can ask a community anything I want. Like Quora. But not like Quora. I can’t say anything I want on Quora. I want this to be like Mobile Roadie’s sick solutions for Madonna and Taylor Swift. But sicker. I wanna replace Madonna and Taylor Swift. Why shouldn’t I be able to?
I can’t program. I tried to learn Python. Gave up after a couple solid weeks. I honestly don’t care about programming. I care about people. I’m sorry. Ok. Programming is hard. And I wish I could. I’m just not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and try to learn it all. even if its just piece by piece. Maybe later in my life. I respect programmers.
So I gotta build this app somehow. What’s the first step? I don’t know. But the plan is really simple. Find one person to talk to about this. Get their input. Make some changes. Talk to someone else. One person at a time. Its not so daunting if you really think about it. I’ll get it done. I know i will. And I’ll be the first customer. I don’t know if I could call myself a customer if the app’s probably gonna be for free. But I’ll be the first user. Fine.
And i hope there’s a billion more that join me. And it’ll be the place you an go to for help, the place you can go to help others, and somewhere where u can express who you really are and what you really think to yourself and others you choose like a normal social network. And it’ll be really sick. Cause people can say what they want.
Now how to get that kinda thing approved in China…
If this is my last tumblr post, damn. I liked tumblr. I thought it was the bomb. It still may be. and I may use it in the future again.
Anyway, next on my checklist to see what I gotta do next on my laundry list.
Oh, laundry. Damn I miss my mom. :/
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Epic post to follow. Suffice it to say I made the right decision in going to the Canton Fair this week to see some of my family and close friends. Its been 5 months. I’m looking forward to another crazy but awesome week in my life and am a very happy man writing this post right now. More pictures and stuff to come.
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Was down in Hong Kong earlier this week to renew my visa. Here’s my thoughts on the city.
First of all, plenty of people that I’ve met in China have raved about Hong Kong the city and the night life, though a few have had less glowing remarks about the people. Over the summer, Facebook posts about Hong Kong were mostly positive. Two of my Russian friends that I met earlier this summer brought back one of those touristy guide books and suggested all the things I should do there: shopping, eating, clubbing, the Ferry, Victoria Peak, the Avenue of Stars, going to Central to see all the business people, etc.
Aside from eating Burger King for a couple days, I spent most of my time just wandering the city between Tsim Sha Tsui and the Wanchai metro stations. And as I gazed at the splendor and magnificence of Hong Kong, I found myself deep into thought so many times that I had to stop to take notes or risk forgetting everything…or running into people.
The following thoughts aren’t meant to be very deep. I didn’t even take any pictures, though I will the next time I go in three weeks. Here we go:
1) There is a big difference between Hong Kong and China’s biggest cities of Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. I can’t really describe it but it reminds me of the first and second time I went to California. I went to Los Angeles, California for the first time when I was 12 for a wedding (and Disneyland - there’s one too in HK by the way). It blew me away. I’d spent much of my life in the Midwest (Indiana), South (Baton Rouge and Richmond), and East (New Jersey) and had no idea what to expect from the West coast. I loved the palm trees, the weather, the greenery, the wide-open six-lane highways, driving by the Coliseum and the Staples Center, Disneyland of course, the Mexican scene and food, and the vibe in general. I thought I could feel the same thing in Hong Kong with the exception that Hong Kong was a lot more crowded. But there were palm trees, and policemen that seemed nice, and order. It reminded me of what I could expect from Japan. Brought back good memories. I don’t think I could live in Hong Kong but if I ever have a reason to move to California, I’d probably take it in a heartbeat (sorry Nebraska).
2) The Well-off People.
Again, I spent most of my time around Tsim Sha Tsui and Wanchai, which were probably some of the wealthier areas of the city so I don’t want to make generalizations. But this is my blog so I can. I thought in general the guys looked taller, paler, stronger, more confident, and healthier. I saw the most tattooed Asian men in my life as well. That was a bit surprising considering I see no one with tattoos in China. In general, an attractive girl would pass by me every five seconds. This is different than Guangzhou for a few reasons 1) I go to work here so I don’t see a lot of college-aged girls, only those a bit older. 2) there’s a pretty popular club about a hundred yards away from the office that attracts some quite sexy Chinese women and a a few modelling agencies near our office that bring a ton of European models to our crosswalks and McDonalds. However, in Hong Kong, the girls didn’t have to be going to a club or part of a modelling agency to stand out.
2) The Poor People.
So besides the guys and girls I mentioned above, there were the rest. These consist of foreigners, the destitute, the middle class, and the taxi drivers. Observation 1: There were quite a few British people walking around and their accents were still sharply British. I don’t really have much of an opinion on British people in general but our company has a good team in London that I like. Observation 2: There were a ton of Middle Easterners, Africans, Indians, etc. A lot of these guys were obviously doing well, but others had the less glamorous roles of trying to sell tailored clothing and other things that I didn’t feel like buying. These guys were generally nice and spoke English, which is hardly surprising but considering I’ve been in China for the last seven months it was a change of pace. Observation 3: The destitute. Just like in any country, the poor were really poor. What made me feel a little bad for these guys was that they had to live in a city with so much modernity, class, savvy, fashion, and wealth and among people were generations removed from any kind of poverty whatsoever. That is probably the primary reason why I would not like to live in Hong Kong or New York or Tokyo or any really big city. I don’t really like to see a lot of poverty among cities with such fast paces of life because to me it feels like everyone’s working too hard that they compeltely ignore these people or have no choice but to ignore them. It made me feel that I would rather live in a suburban (not rural because even I get bored) or semi-urban setting because at least I wouln’t feel the need to live or think at such a quick pace and can instead focus on myself, my family, my friends, my work, and my community and try to make it better. And the smaller or slower the city, the more of a difference you feel you could make. Observation 4: The taxi drivers. They spoke English and were very helpful. As were the hotel staff when I needed directions or help finding a place. Also, they drove on the right side of the car, which reminded me of Singapore I believe.
3) The sky and the quiet. This one’s short. I was relieved that when I looked to the sky I could see the stars. Can’t do that in Guangzhou. I also liked how quiet it was at night. Where I live in Guangzhou, I hear cars honking and construction workers building 24/7. It forces me to close my windows at night just to hear myself think even if I want the fresh air. But in Hong Kong, granted I wasn’t wandering the party section of the city, I got to experience a calm quiet that I believe is very important for a city to have. People need to be able to hear themselves think.
4) Cars yield for passengers at crosswalks. China has much to learn here.
5) In Hong Kong, you can tell that money is made. At the same time, you can tell that money is blown like the wind. Sitting on a bench from Tsim Sha Tsui gazing at Central (the section with all the tall buildings for the financiers and upper middle class workers, I could see why there were people actually shopping at high-end fashion stores in Tsim Sha Tsui. They were making bank and had to spend it someway or another.
6) You can vote here. I saw a billboard for a politician as soon as I walked out of the train station. I had to do a double take. Haven’t seen any sort of political activity in Guangzhou.
7) Lots and lots of iPhones. Again, I spent a lot of time in TST and Wanchai but I saw a ton of iPhones. Good for Apple. It reminded me of when I first started at Harvard and saw a ton of Macbook Pros at my Life Science lecture. I didn’t know so many people used Apple products.
8) I’m glad that I went to Hong Kong and am actually quite excited to go back in the next three weeks to close a client project. But again, I’m happy that my parents raised me and exposed me to small towns, suburban life, big cities, and all the rest.
Cue John Mellencamp’s Small Town here.
Ok dad. That was Hong Kong. I’ll try to keep you guys updated via more blog posts more often.
http://postary.com/twitter/mileslennon/why-are-95-of-blogs-abandoned
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I’m a lucky man. Had a great weekend. Relaxed on Saturday. Played tennis with Manav Friday and Sunday.
My roommate took my clothes out the washer and hung em up for me! How sweet. Gotta return the favor next time I see her.
Closed out Sunday night with my friends from GCC and Anna Yeung. You will all be missed. A lot. Well, a little bit. Will spend nights on the tennis courts to drown away the loneliness… : )
Skyped the family around midnight. Paul’s finally home after a summer doing neuro/brain research in Houston. Bo’s home too after a summer at MIT. I’m the only one that’s still thousands of miles away from home.
No worries though. I feel like there’s a higher calling for me here. Just gotta figure out what it is. Everyday I think about it.
In the meantime, still gotta lot of work to do, friends to make, and people to help. Have a good start to the semester everyone and safe travels back home and to school wherever it may be.
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Hey Dad! Happy Birthday from China! I had a great meeting with some friends and acquaintances over dinner. We ate at the same Indian restaurant. It was fantastic. Food’s much much better than the Oven.
Finally played tennis with Manav a couple nights ago as well. We were both really rusty but plan to play tennis once or twice a week if he’s not travelling. We played on artificial grass courts. It was really cool.
No new updates. Still working hard and learning new stuff everyday. August 17th 2011 is a special day for you and the way its looking right now, its gonna be a special day for me as well.
Hopefully the weather cools down soon. Enjoy the rest of the tennis season, golf season, and the start of the football season.
a tout a l’heure.
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Part 3: August 14th, 2011. A good day. I wanna get to sleep by midnight tonight (rarely happens these days) so I’ll keep the post short and let the pictures do the talking.
We went to Daniel’s family’s house for a quick visit…spent the next three hours there…
We picked lychee. It was a team effort. Brought a ton (literally?) of lychee back to the office for the rest of the guys to eat over the course of the week.
Daniel’s village was quite quaint. It was an hour out of the city. Reminded us of what the real China is like cause Zhu Jiang New Town is not China. The air felt great and for a bunch of busy people, it was a quite a relaxing experience. Its been a while since I’ve visited such rural areas (Shantou in April was similar but a bit more developed). Good times though. We’ll have to come back for a barbecue sometime with the whole office.
Also got me thinking about what happiness really is: family, food, home, air con, and maybe a car and a TV. Don’t need much else. Thankfully I got more than that. It was a good evening too. Went to dinner with Alex and we had a good conversation. Half of August is in the books. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the next half…lychee i guess in the near future.
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Part 2: August 14th, 2011. A good day. I wanna get to sleep by midnight tonight (rarely happens these days) so I’ll keep the post short and let the pictures do the talking.
Went to a driving range to practice our swings. For some, it was an effort in futility. For others it was good exercise. We spent the afternoon trying to hit 200 yards. i think between the three of the rookies we got it once.
Its not as easy as it looks on TV. Should practice more with dad.
