The Useless Tree

Web/Tech

  • What Would Zhuangzi Tweet?

    I know I'm late to the game, but I just signed up for Twitter (find me there under "uselesstree").  It is, right now, quite a distraction: a new source of numerous items and commentary on China in both English and… Continue reading

  • Google and The Power of the Internet in China

    I have been meaning to blog about Guobin Yang's book, The Power of the Internet in China, (which I used in my class on Chinese politics) and yesterday's news of Google's travails with Chinese hackers makes this a good moment… Continue reading

  • The Tao of Virtuality

         Found an article on the China Daily site reporting on the Pew  Internet and American Life Project (which I had just noticed on the AP wire).       The report is large and covers a lot of ground,… Continue reading

  • Instantaneous Interaction: More on Confucian Facebook Friends

         A while back I posted some thoughts on what Confucianism might make of the social networking sites like Facebook. My initial sense was this: While, for Confucians, our family obligations are primary, we need friends, face-to-face friends, to… Continue reading