25+ China People You Should Follow On Twitter. Not One "China Expert" Among Them.
A few weeks ago, a client who will be opening a factory in China within a couple of months told me how much he has been learning about China by following people on Twitter and following their news links. He then asked me who if I had a list of “China people” he should be following.
I said about all I could tell him is that he should go through the people I follow on Twitter and pull out those related to China. The problem there is that I follow about 900 people and many of them have absolutely nothing at all to do with China. This morning, while perusing Ad Age China, I came across an excellent article by Normandy Madden (yes, she was named after the region in France) entitled, “25 China Experts You Should Follow on Twitter
The caveat is that I do not believe any of the 25 people on the list are China experts (myself included) and I would guess all 25 would agree with me on this. Calling someone a “China expert” is like calling someone an expert on the United States. There are no U.S. experts. There are US historians expert on particular historical periods. There are US economists, expert on particular aspects of the US economy. There are US lawyers, expert on particular aspects of US law. Etc., etc., etc. Same is true of China. Having said that, here’s the list:
William Bao Bean, venture capitalist at Softbank focused on early stage tech, media, telco and consumer investments in Asia
Follow: @williambaobean
Sage Brennan, independent media and internet analyst and TEDx organizer in Shanghai
Follow: @sagebrennan
Richard Burger, blogger and editor at the Chinese newspaper Global Times
Follow:@ThePekingDuck
Simon Cousins, CEO of the PR and strategic communications agency Illuminant Partners in Beijing
Follow: @illuminantceo
Thomas Crampton, director of digital influence, Asia-Pacific at Ogilvy & Mather in Hong Kong
Follow: @ThomasCrampton
Oli D., Shanghai-based blogger
Follow: @djodcouk
Paul Denlinger, ex-VP at Chinadotcom and founder of China Business Strategy, which advises internet startups
Follow: @pdenlinger
David Feng, founder of Civitology, a network of mass transit-based China city sites
Follow: @DavidFeng
Andrew Galbraith, deputy editor, China Economic Review in Shanghai
Follow: @apgalbraith
Jeremy Goldkorn, founder and editor In Chief of Danwei.org in Beijing
Follow: @goldkorn
Dan Harris, China law blogger
Follow: @DanHarris
Lonnie Hodge, CEO at CFM, Asia Director at Pitchengine, Educator and Social Median
Follow: @lonniehodge
Kaiser Kuo, Beijing-based China tech watcher, Youku.com consultant and guitarist in one of China’s top heavy metal bands, Tang Dynasty
Follow: @kaiserkuo
Ray Kwong, Asia market entry adviser in Beijing
Follow: @raykwong
Andy Lee, digital media and finance consultant in China
Follow: @andylee
Kevin Lee, magazine brand manager and integrated media strategist in Beijing
Follow: @kevinkclee
Kristie Lu Stout, Hong Kong-based anchor/correspondent on CNN International
Follow: @klustout
Ryan McLaughlin, writer and web designer in China
Follow: @thehumanaught
Will Moss, American spin doctor in Beijing
Follow: @imagethief
Jay Oatway, Hong Kong-based journalist covering tech news, culture, digital media, trends and social media
Follow: @JayOatway
Philip Pan, Moscow bureau chief of the Washington Post, formerly based in Beijing, author of the book “Out of Mao’s Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China”
Follow: @panphil
Adam Schokora, manager, digital, China at Edelman in Shanghai
Follow: @ajschokora
Dan Washburn, writer and founding editor of Shanghaiist
Follow: @danwashburn
Steven Weathers, TV host, video producer and founder of American English Circle in Shanghai
Follow: @sdweathers
David Wolf, communications strategist in Beijing
Follow: @wolfgroupasia
I sent this list to my client and told him this is a great place to start but that plenty of people are missing from this list. Who would you add? Do you know of any other good lists?