CNReboot: Welcome to the New and Improved CNReviews.com

To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure we should write a self-referential post about our reboot but eventually I decided we ought to at least introduce a little of what’s going on with CNReviews and, more importantly, what we’re hoping to achieve going forward.

But first, a little back story…

Elliott and Min originally started CNR in the final few days of 2007. I’m not entirely sure what they had in mind but I’m sure it had something to do with eugenics. Soon after, they brought on a number of contributors. Amongst those who posted the most were David Feng and myself while the sexier contributors didn’t stay long. Probably the smell.

Over the year that followed, CNR didn’t quite live up to my expectations and we mostly stagnated, with an occasional blip or so. You see, we were largely lost in the wilderness, and the dehydration meant we lacked a clear focus on just what the hell we were doing and where the hell we were trying to go. Unsatisfied with our squandered potential, I pulled Elliott aside and we grunted our conspiracy to club David Feng over the head and drink his blood to revitalize ourselves so we could figure out some sort of master plan.

David escaped our clutches.

He fled into the safety of his personal project, Civitology. Elliott and I were left to our own devices. Then, in the very moment our mouths hung open underneath the dripping drops of dew that gathered on the rusty awnings of migrant worker sheds, we immaculately conceived a hail-mary plan. It would involve me leading the charge in reorganizing, revamping, and rebooting CNR to better approximate our fevered dreams of what a damn good China blog could be.

All the warm fuzzy feelings of what CNR ought to be…

When Elliott first approached me to write for CNR, he pitched it to me as a noble venture towards bridging China with the rest of the world. The very fact that you’re reading this suggests you’re at least somewhat aware of China being our generation’s “big story.” It isn’t just about China’s economic growth, it’s about how China is repositioning itself in our world and in our consciousness. More importantly, it’s about how we’re repositioning ourselves with regards to China and all that it represents.

It is with that seed of an idea that I went to the drawing board, intent to tear down CNReviews and reimagine what it could be. Elliott and I discussed at length — while sharpening our wooden hunting spears — how best CNR could serve the growing legions of people who are taking either a proactive or reactive interest in the Middle Kingdom. We want to bridge not just the Chinese with the non-Chinese, but also those who “get it” with those who, well, “don’t.”

We’re not interested in promoting China.

We’re promoting the idea that China is interesting.

And the specifics please…

Elliott and I sat back and watched a lot of the other English-language China blogs and websites, looking them up and down, eying their curves, and thinking dirty thoughts. In between our catcalls and the quivers of our loins, we decided that CNR should stick to issues that matter on a day-to-day basis for those looking to survive, make sense of, and succeed in China.

We want to appeal to the average person out there, so CNR needs to be both relevant and accessible.  Simply put, the experiences and insights we share ought to give you options, and empower you to do something practical with them. To that end, we want to answer three big questions:

1. What does China offer me?
2. How do I make it in China?
3. Just what the hell is going on?

To answer those questions, CNR will cover three specific areas:

• People: Those you should know, learn from, or morbidly stalk.
• Business: Before money and success comes ideas and execution. They’re hard. Let’s start somewhere.
• Life: You only have one life to live, and a lot of really interesting things should happen in that one life.

At all times, our content should explain how something or another relates to you, and also what you can do with it. Bonus points if we satisfy some deep-seated evolutionary need.

We’re also going to update on a daily basis, so subscribe to our RSS feed.

Pardon our dust…

I tore CNR down for us to rebuild it from the ground up, using the old CNR as fertilizer for mushrooms in the basement, and to be honest, there are quite a few boxes of old knicknacks that haven’t been sorted. As a result, CNR will a bit messy as we settle in, and some categories will look a bit empty, while we move old content and give birth to new ones. We beg your patience and more importantly, we hope you’ll give us a gander and your support by sticking around and giving us some feedback.

Oh, and we’re looking for some hip individuals with a penchant for sharing their observations, insights, and stories about, well, people, business, or life in China. If you’re keen and looking for a spiffy outlet working with some nifty people (like Elliott) or maybe to make a name for yourself, drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you.

Cheers,

Kai