The best Web 2.0 watchdog in Beijing is Tangos at China Web2.0 Review. Last week, he updated us on a new version of YeeYan that actually translates Chinese-language blog posts froma variety of sources into English.
There is not a lot up there yet - literally 5-6 stories although they are good ones:
Yahoo's Fiasco in China - Introduction
Yahoo's Fiasco in China - Losing from the Starting Line
Yahoo's Fiasco in China - To Invest More or Not?
US Internet companies' top 10 mistakes in China (1)
It looks like they intend to fillout categories beyond tech including: Science and Health, Life and Culture, Travel and World, Online Video. Even if they only get to a handful of great posts a week, it goes a long way to bridging a divide. The translations are a bit spotty but better than straight Google machine translations which can get a bit goofy.
Just read the "top 10 mistakes..." post and you'll get a clear picture of the perceived hubris of western internet companies:
"1. Prefer elite user's penny despite general public's fortune v.s. sweep both white-collar's wealth and everyone's pennies
It is a vital mistake from those US internet sharks which they haven't realized yet. All the executives are from HK or TW; all their employees are seating in the slick office building in Shanghai. Their visions are limited. White-collars and top 500 corporations are primary target customers of their product design, website style, and marketing promotions. They never consider general public nor small businesses.
Their education, aptitudes and vision lead to the exclusion of the grass root at heart. They often ignore those kids in the internet cafes, nor those internet users from thousands of small towns (Note these two groups already account for more than half of China's internet population). Even the most generally beloved TV show, "Super Girls"(the Chinese remake of American Idols), is deeply contempt by them..."
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