Category Archives: mobile

Not Two: Stillness and Digital Life at a Korean Monastery

Posted on January 11, 2012 by An Xiao

Pico Iyer has a lovely article out in the latest New York Times focusing on "The Joy of Quiet". It’s a great read and has a few lovely gems: In barely one generation we’ve moved from exulting in the time-saving devices that have so expanded our lives to trying to get away from them — [...]

Texting in the Philippines, Sustainable Design in Malaysia, and the Southeast Asian Design Community

Posted on June 30, 2011 by An Xiao

Have a new photo essay in Design Observer this week. This time, I’m focused on Manila’s rich SMS/texting culture, and how that influences the design of storefronts, public space and even Starbucks trinkets. Did you know that the Philippines is the world leader in texting per user? In the United States, users send, on average, [...]

One of the best Twitter exchanges I’ve seen in a while

Posted on May 31, 2011 by An Xiao

Tricia Wang’s terrific exploration of the instant photo phenomenon (suishoupai/随手拍) on Weibo has gotten me thinking about unexpected uses of social media and the way we take ownership of a medium beyond its original intent. Here’s one of those beautiful exchanges that shows what happens when you combine a real-time social space like Twitter, a [...]

Tools of the Trade

Posted on April 29, 2011 by An Xiao

Tools of the trade at a local barber’s in Manila: an electric razor and a phone. The latter has replaced the owner’s landline phone to manage business, socialize, pass the time.

Modes of Literacy

Posted on March 9, 2011 by An Xiao

Thinking lately about modes of literacy. Ever since moving here, my Chinese literacy has shot up, but I still struggle. While I can scan a heavy text of philosophy swiftly, I read even basic characters slowly, piecing together meaning one by one. Foreigners I know who’ve lived here for years and can carry on conversations [...]

One Month in Beijing

Posted on February 12, 2011 by An Xiao

One month in Beijing. What’s changed since the first day? Helping my cab drivers navigate the city, a welcoming party for colleagues from Oslo… and snow, glorious government-sponsored snow. Let the disorientation period end… time to really discover this city. Below, images from Nuren Jie (女人街), or Ladies’ Street, one of Beijing’s many winding markets, [...]

Baby’s Badass Burgers and Coolhaus

Posted on December 14, 2010 by An Xiao

The future of the mobile web? Sometimes it can be as simple as knowing when and where the ice cream truck is. When I grew up, it was the Mexican food trucks and their music and bells. Now, in Los Angeles, it’s Twitter. Could something like this go semantic? Think of tying this all in [...]