I was looking at this story for ages, thinking whether I wanted to post a link. I just couldn't get past that article image. The magazine's great leap into the future depends on an app which represents individual magazine issues using icons of 3.5" floppy disks. I didn't think China entered the computing era early enough to even have the 3.5" floppy disk. I'm not young anymore, and I only have the faintest memories of pulling the little metal slider back and forth as a kid. How on... I mean what the...

Eric Abrahamsen, March 22, 2015, 12:56p.m.

I supposed this is the thread to ask about disappearance around two months ago of 左岸文化网, formerly at eduww.com. It's been replaced by some sort of RMWX WeChat platform partnership venture, and (former?) editor Pan Suo 盘索 turns up all over the social media component of this Thinker醒客 app.

jdmartinsen, March 23, 2015, 1:59a.m.

I installed the 醒客 app just for a whirl. It's not quite as ugly as I expected, but it's still not attractive. It doesn't seem to have been going long enough to have a lot of content, but it could end up being fine. Pan Suo is definitely in evidence.

The WeChat platform is weird -- why would People's Literature be running a WeChat platform for other clients, which apparently include major banks? Diversification is a great thing, but...

Eric Abrahamsen, March 23, 2015, 5:41a.m.