Intel China's Modding Expo

Media Frenzy

Once the main events of Tuesday were over, there was no rest for the wicked. Wednesday morning started off promptly at 7:00AM with a wake-up call and a quick (emphasis on "quick") breakfast at the hotel. With meals scarfed and stomachs at least halfway full, it was on to do the second part of our media interviews - the online segment.

Intel had arranged for three separate online interviews to be given on Wednesday with each of China's largest technology based websites. Two of the interviews were to be conducted simultaneously, with the modders split evenly between them. Well, four and three, at least - apparently nobody volunteered to be cut in half. One group would go to PC-Online, one of China's two largest DIY hardware sites. The other group would go to Zol.com.cn, which is China's division of CNET. Each interview was video recorded and streamed live over the web.

After the first two interviews were conducted, the groups would then merge again to have an online interview at Sohu.com, China's largest web portal (think MSN or Yahoo). This interview wasn't recorded - instead, participants could log into an online chatroom and ask questions of the modders. The most popular questions would then be asked live by the host, and the reply entered into the chatroom.

PC Online

PC Online is a review site and retailer, which makes for an interesting hybrid. It was founded in 1997 to cater to China's then nascent DIY system builder population, which at the time lacked a comprehensive retailer that could provide both hardware and software that was anywhere close to cutting edge. Within a couple of years, the site began reviewing the products that it sold in order to help its customers make informed buying decisions. Now, it's tied with Zol.com.cn for readership of news and reviews while still providing its retail services.


The interview was attended by Zong Sanchuan, Magnus, Nick and myself (who did not participate). Questions ranged from "Where did you get your inspiration" to "Where do you see modding going in the future?", with some great answers. My personal favourite was on planning, where each of the modders had a completely different perspective. Nick's was that a good plan makes a better mod because you can account for problems early on, while Magnus said that much of modding is about creative problem solving, which only happens when you have problems. Sanchuan's response was somewhere along the lines of "Plans? Hmmm, those could have helped!"


Over 10,000 people tuned in to watch the interview live, with unknown others downloading the videos after the fact. Snippets from the interview can be viewed on Intel's website. Though much of it isn't in English, you can at least understand our modders and the questions they answered thanks to their interpreters.

Zol.com.cn

Zol is China's division of CNET and CNET Labs, making it a primary source for reviews of mainstream and high-end technology in China. The company now serves out a whopping 25 million page views per day thanks to its 64 subsidiaries producing 800 articles. This particular interview was attended by Mikael, Gert, eazo studio, and Li Yiqi. Geoff and Lulu went as well to provide moral support.


The hour-long Q&A session was broadcast live on Zol's website and before things started there were already over 1,600 readers sitting the the chat room waiting to ask the world famous modders questions and watch the video stream. By the end there was a total of 3,226 tuned in - not bad consider it was simultaneous with the PCOnline session.

The questions were similar to the other group, asking about design inspiration and techniques. The advice given by the modders was simple: take your time to get it right, and never give up. Modding doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars - you can "repurpose" all kinds of every day materials to create great mods.


Also on hand were three of the local Chinese modders, there to ask questions and seek advice from the more experienced international modders. They had brought along one of their own creations and Micke & Gert were asked what they thought. Clearly impressed by this first effort, they were full of praise but as any top modder will tell you, there is always room for improvement and top tips were doled out.

You can view a recording of the whole interview (how's your Chinese?) here if you'd like.

Sohu.com

After the more specialist site interviews were out of the way, it was time to go for the big one - Sohu.com. Sohu is the largest web portal in China by a long way, owning seven of the country's top websites and almost all of the best web 2.0 social networking. Attracting the attention of a company like this would require alot of weight - fortunately, Intel had just that.


The Sohu interview was a step beyond the Zol.com.cn interview in that it was almost entirely audience- asked questions. The host for the interview had little to do with what he was asking or the responses given, which made for a rather lacklustre experience. It almost felt more like the modders were talking to themselves about points thrown to them by the host, though online it appeared as if a rigorous conversation were taking place. Since the interview was not on video or even audio but instead through an IRC-like chat room, the whole mood was a little flat. That being said, we had a great time anyway.


Unlike the other two interviews, there is very little point to linking the Sohu one - it's entirely in Chinese! The beauty of an all-web interview meant that all English was removed from the final visible product, which is probably the main reason why they did that. Of course, if you're really all that curious, here it is. I still want the big fox, though...