My Retirement.

I never post on blogger anymore. It's sort of lame. In lieu of setting up anything more permanent, all of my random blog musings are moving to a new website. Please mark your Google Readers accordingly. (and if you don't have Google Reader, than maybe the internet is not for you).

http://joeydembs.posterous.com

learn it, live it, love it.

Live in China? Have Money? A Vibrant Nightlife? P1.cn Wants You to Join Their SNS

Chances are, if you’re a young, affluent Chinese guy living in a large city of China, you’ve heard of P1.cn. Further chances are, your picture was taken by them and posted on their exclusively naughty and niche SNS community. You were probably then identified by a friend or co-worker and “tagged”. The next thing you know, you’re hooked into the P1.cn SNS world of exclusivity, affluence, and showmanship.  So goes the life of a P1.cn user.

In a recent story on the Chinese tech blog, Mobinode, Gang Lu spoke with the founder of P1.cn, Wang Yu, who explains P1’s remarkable SNS philosophy.

“We brought in photographers who were asked to spend time in night clubs, shopping malls, etc. They took photos of fashionable young guys, then invited them to P1.cn in person and asked for their permission to use the photos on P1 to attract more users. It’s the strategy P1 has been using until now (P1.cn membership is also invitation based). It’s simple but really works. It helps us be sure of identity verification and it also guarantees the high quality of our user base.”

P1’s extremely niche focus is representative of China’s fragmented youth online landscape. Some Chinese youth netizens are seeking alternatives to massive SNS and BBS forums where their voices may get drowned out in the crowds of 10 to 20 million users.

P1.cn also posts ads from companies traditionally geared towards wealthy and affluent customers, including Bentley and TAG Heuer.  Although the legitimacy of these ads is a question we choose not to delve into at this time, the future may point to an increased relationship between these affluent brands and P1’s affluent, niche community.

enoVate is an insights and design firm based in shanghai. we publish daily insights and develop creative solutions for China’s youth market. visit enoVate’s website for more information.

via psfk.com

my most recent article that I contributed to PSFK...

Posted via web from The Joey F. Dembs Extravaganza

In China Underworld, Hacking for Fun and Profit - NYTimes.com

Indeed, in China — as in parts of Eastern Europe and Russia — computer hacking has become something of a national sport, and a lucrative one. There are hacker conferences, hacker training academies and magazines with names like Hacker X Files and Hacker Defense, which offer tips on how to break into computers or build a Trojan horse, step by step.

For less than $6, one can even purchase the “Hacker’s Penetration Manual.” (Books on hacking are also sold, to a lesser extent, in the United States and elsewhere.)

And with 380 million Web users in China and a sizzling online gaming market, analysts say it is no wonder Chinese youths are so skilled at hacking. Many Chinese hackers interviewed over the last few weeks describe a loosely defined community of computer devotees working independently, but also selling services to corporations and even the military. Because it is difficult to trace hackers, exactly who is behind any specific attack and how and where they operate remains to a large extent a mystery, technology experts say.

And that is just the way Majia, the young Chinese hacker, wants it. On condition that he not be identified by his real name, Majia agreed two weeks ago to allow a reporter to visit his modest home in a poor town outside Changsha, and watch him work.

via nytimes.com

Great Article from the New York Times, extremely relevant in a post- apocalyptic global economic landscape - hacking is cash, hacking is life.

Posted via web from The Joey F. Dembs Extravaganza

Hello World. ((joey dembs, life is a sasquatch))

Hello, fellow readers, both from Life Is A Sasquatch and which ever country you have come from. This is my new experiment, Posterous. 

Posted via email from The Joey F. Dembs Experience

My Next Sneakers.

via hypebeast.com

loving these.

Posted via web from The Joey F. Dembs Experience

Shanghai's The Cottage Cafe

Anna and I stumbled on the cool, low-key Cottage Cafe yesterday while walking around a gorgeous day. This place feels sort of like a mix between a Salvation Army and an upscale coffee joint. We had a really great homemade ginger ale and some blue cheese bruscheta (and some extremely Chili rice and chicken, not worth mentioning..whoops). I half expected people to be smoking joints in the open air "Smoking Room" upstairs...

Smart Shanghai of course has a write-up.

(Photos taken from iPhone, click for larger)

New Apartment in Shanghai...

Well, it's been a long time. I have no excuses other than I've been busier than dirt and the Chinese government makes it difficult, ahem, stupidly hard to access Blogger. So here we are. Lucky for you, maybe not me, I know how to get on here. But it won't be a regular thing anymore. I'm working on a new personal blog / website to satiate everyone who needs to keep tabs on my personal life. I digress.

I MOVED. oh, and ANNA MOVED TO SHANGHAI. kind of a big deal. We're now living in a great apartment space in the heart of the French Concession. I know you're curious to see our new place. Well people, lucky for you (again, not me) I filmed a tour of our apartment! It's amazingly exciting, or a bit boring, whichever you prefer. Enjoy. (It's in two parts, so bear with me.)

Shanghai Apartment Tour Part 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Shanghai Apartment Tour Part 2 @ Yahoo! Video