Ever wondered why your smartphone is a specific size/shape/color? Or thought about who designed your phone or came up with its name? We spend so much time with our smartphones that it’s natural to speculate how these devices came to be. And many of the stories behind these gadgets are truly fascinating. However, the super-competitive […]
Category / BLOG
I recently published a story about a topic that gets very little attention within the tech industry, but that I think is intriguing: historical preservation at tech companies. I wanted to know: Which tech companies are preserving their histories? How are they doing it? Why are they doing it? And what can other tech companies learn […]
For the past five months, I’ve spent at least two days a week learning how to code. My curriculum consisted primarily of front-end Web technologies with a little back-end coding. I also took classes that I knew would be helpful for online content/strategy/management work, e.g., Photoshop and WordPress.org. Here’s what I studied, specifically: HTML, including HTML5 CSS, […]
Normally it’s tough for new smartphone makers to stand out in the jam-packed smartphone market. One notable exception is the China-based start-up Xiaomi. Over the past year, Xiaomi has racked up a number of superlatives and accolades for its stylish, reasonably-priced phones and innovative business model. Though Xiaomi didn’t ship its first smartphone until August 2011 and only sells […]
I hate clutter. I love selling extraneous stuff and making money. But because I mostly donate my belongings or take them to secondhand/consignment stores, I don’t have an established selling presence on sites like eBay or Amazon. These characteristics make me an ideal candidate for eBay’s Valet program, which sells products for people on eBay […]
Until recently, I regarded the Korean island of Jeju simply as a resort destination. Jeju, which is South Korea’s largest island and southernmost point, boasts balmy temperatures year-round, dormant volcanoes that are ideal for hiking, and picturesque waterfalls. In 2011, UNESCO named Jeju one of the world’s “New 7 Wonders of Nature.” Many people, including Koreans, […]
The rapid-fire pace of the smartphone industry made my newly published book, The Smartphone, (more information here) a moving target. Every time I thought I was done writing, news would break and I would need to update the manuscript again. I kept making changes to my book as late as I possibly could, which was risky, […]
I realize updates have been infrequent on this blog. The main reason: I was busy writing a book. You can now see what I’ve been laboring on – my book, The Smartphone: Anatomy of an Industry was published on September 9. As the title makes plain, it’s a book about the smartphone industry. Though it’s a […]
I spent a good chunk of my career at Forbes. Now I’m writing there again, on a freelance basis – specifically for Forbes Asia magazine. Last month, I worked on Forbes Asia’s annual “Fab 50” list, which is a curated list of Asia’s best companies, as determined by a proprietary formula. I wrote all the […]
The intersection of technology, culture, and society fascinates me. I was an American Studies major in college and I seriously considered doing a double major in anthropology. I find the topic of Internet addiction particularly intriguing because it sparks complex questions about the pros and cons of technological progress and the role of government and policy (in […]
