The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Stressed Chinese fight back — with pillows Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:56 PM PST SHANGHAI, Dec 27 — A whirlwind of pillows bearing the names of bosses and teachers filled the air as hundreds of Chinese gathered to blow off stress in Shanghai, staging a massive pillow battle. The annual event marked its fifth year with such a surge in interest from stressed young office workers and students that organisers held two nights of pillow fighting before Christmas Day and plan another for December 30. "Nowadays there are many white-collar workers and students that are facing huge pressures at work and at school, so we hope to give them an outlet to release their stress before the end of the year," said Eleven Wang, the founder and mastermind behind the epic pillow fights. "Sometimes we have pressure on us by our bosses, teachers and exams, so today we can go crazy. Everyone will get to write onto the pillows the names of their bosses, teachers and exam subjects, and enjoy and vent to the maximum. "After releasing the stress, we can once again face our daily life with joy." Pillows were handed out at the door as participants entered, then emotion stoked by a rock concert, with many on the floor of the huge event space rocking and waving their pillows in time to the music. Then came the fighting. Pillows filled the air, with many combatants opting for throwing rather than using them to whack opponents. A few hapless participants shielded their heads with as many pillows as they could hold, but most ventured eagerly into the fray. "I really enjoyed the fight, but my friend was useless," said 24-year-old Chen Yi. "He joined in for two ticks and could not go on, he was afraid of getting beaten by other people. "I thought it was pretty meaningful. I've just been working so much (at the office) and never get to break out in a sweat, so it felt really good." Others gamely said they enjoyed the experience even though they ended up as attackees rather than attackers. "I don't know who pushed me, but all of a sudden I was in the pile of pillows, where I became the target of many people, and was beaten by all sorts of people," said university student Zhu Shishan. "Very meaningful." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| App aims to make a social network more personal Posted: 26 Dec 2011 10:32 PM PST TORONTO, Dec 27 — Interested in sharing more personal moments of your life to a small group of friends rather than a large network? An app called Path could help. Originally conceived as a way to post photos and videos for close family and friends to see, the app was re-released this month as a "smart journal" to enable users to share more about their lives. "Because Path is a smaller network that's built for the people you love — the closest friends and family in your life — people are willing to share more intimate content as a result of that," said Matt Van Horn, a vice-president at Path. He said although some details of life might seem mundane when broadcast to the masses, they can take on a new light when shared with closer connections. "Taking a photo on the porch with your sister if you were to post to a larger network might not be that interesting. But if your mom, who is on the other side of the country, sees it then it's magical," he said. The app also learns a user's habits, such as favourite places, and can recognise deviations in patterns and broadcast them to their "path", the social stream visible to a user's connections. Path, inspired by British anthropologist and Oxford professor Robin Dunbar, limits the number of social connections a user can have to 150 people. It is considered the upper limit of the number of trusted relationships a person can have, and is a direct function of our biology. The average user on Path has five to 10 connections. Since Path's relaunch, it has had a 30-fold increase in the number of daily users, according to its creators. Although the app is free, users must pay for some features. But the company said it would not include ads on the site. "We believe in creating quality products that our users will want to pay for," Van Horn said. Path, available for iOS and Android devices, also integrates with Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Tumblr to allow cross-posting to the social networks. Similar apps for creating digital journals include Momento and Day One. "Facebook changed the world," said Horn. "People were themselves for the first time, putting their real name on the Internet, and then connecting with every person they had ever met. "But we really believe the next generation of social is going to be personal." — Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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