Tell the world your story
kencarroll
December 29, 2008, 06:41 AM posted in General DiscussionWe've recently had requests from journalists to talk to you, the good people of the ChinesePod community. I'm wondering if you would care to join me in the wonderful world of international PR by submititng your story for me to share with them. They seem particularly interested in the following:
- Success stories/case studies: If you have moved successfully through the levels and you'd like to briefly describe that.
- A heritage story: someone who is of Chinese heritage but who used CPod to learn the language.
- A business story: anyone who could describe how they use CPod in a business context.
- Travel, food, or culture: If you use CPod fior any of these reasons and how.
- Actually, I'd e happy to hear any stories of how and why you successfuly used CPod.
All we 're looking for is a few hundred words and the willingness to talk on the phone if the journalist calls you. Feel free to pm me or just leave your contact in this thread. That'd be just smashing!
Ken
missxu
January 14, 2009, 07:27 AMHello all-
Firstly, great job. Love it.
I've been traveling or living "abroad" for the past 10+ years which has required me to ramp up in various languages. I currently live between Guangzhou, London, and San Francisco with visits to Bocas (Panama) + Paris.
I'm a 3rd culture kid. I was born into a Chinese heritage, spent my youth split between the US + Macau and then went on to work in four different countries. I talk a lot about cultural, social, + language differences in my blog (whetdigest.blogs.com, if you'd like to take a peek).
I have listened to Chinesepod in the past (a friend was using the web site) + would love to be able to stick in references to specific language lessons into my blog. My interests are not limited to Chinese (nor is my writing) as my flatmates/dear friends are Italian and French + my main squeeze is German (but lives in Panama).
I see that you guys have an affiliate program but it's not super easy to use + it seems like we can only stick badges to the overall web site. Perhaps I'm not understanding something correctly?
Would love to learn more about this + share my stories.
Kind regards (from frigid London today),
MissXu
www.twitter.com/MissXu
chanelle77
December 29, 2008, 10:19 AMHappy to help if you need more input. I tried to send PM but failed I think. Feel free to contact me if necessary :-).
kencarroll
December 29, 2008, 10:29 AMThank u so much, chanelle, for the wonderful description - I received it. I think it has some really interesting details that could make for a great story.
I'll let you know if we hear from the reporters.
Best,
Ken
jamestheron
December 29, 2008, 05:49 PMI also sent a PM, but don't know if it was successfully sent.
mark
December 29, 2008, 06:35 PMWhen I pushed the PM "send message" button, there was no indication the message was successfully sent. Well, the button turned grey, but that might mean it was still working on it. I use Firefox, it that helps.
kencarroll
December 29, 2008, 11:19 PMI have actually been receiving your pms. Thx so much for those. Please keep them coming. This is fun!
RJ
December 30, 2008, 12:46 AMpm is misbehaving today although the messages go, there is no confirmation. No screen change, and that is new. Something changed since yesterday.
kencarroll
December 30, 2008, 03:20 AMIt is misbehaving, but pls keep the descriptions coming!
light487
December 30, 2008, 08:34 AMHere's a blog entry I just wrote which end up with a bit of a ChinesePOD plug at the end. If you wish to syndicate bits and pieces of it, let me know:
suxiaoya
December 29, 2008, 09:42 AMIt would be great to hear from you if you've been a user since the beginning, or have a special/unusual motivation for learning Mandarin.
All stories are welcome!
kencarroll
January 13, 2009, 05:31 AMAny more?
Joachim
January 13, 2009, 05:55 AMMaybe, apart from you Cpod hosts, we have some some sort of celebrity amongst us? Any winner of a nobel prize, Fields medal, Olympic medal, Man Booker prize, Oscar, Golden Globe, Bambi, Palme d'Or de Cannes etc. around? You may certainly contact Ken without us knowing it. (Although, we'd be desperate to know!)
pearltowerpete
January 13, 2009, 06:05 AMHi Joachim
If you're still visiting these forums in about 2030, I hope to be able to surprise you with the announcement that I am accepting a Nobel Peace Prize for my work in sustainable agriculture in urban China.
Is that enough incentive for you to pay for another 20+ years of CPod? ;-)
Joachim
January 13, 2009, 06:16 AMHi pearltowerpete: 2030: Will Chinesepod be still around? Will I still have to LEARN Chinese? And btw: I sincerely hope that sustainable agriculture - even in urban China - will be soooo much a middle of the road thing that probably it would not merit a Nobel prize of any sort.
pearltowerpete
January 13, 2009, 06:22 AMHi Joachim
Here are my predictions:
I am sure that ChinesePod will still be going strong in 2030. As will FinnishPod, JapanesePod, and !XhosaPod.
You will have mastered the language and moved on to Sanskrit, although you will still drop in to leave the occasional insightful comment.
I hope you're right about the urban agriculture thing. Anyway, actively wanting a Nobel Peace Prize probably puts you out of the running for it...
Joachim
January 13, 2009, 08:00 AMHi pearltowerpete: To put things into perspective, let's take ourselves back 20 years.
It is early 1989 and the world hasn't yet heard of the internet as we know it today.
PC use 286 or 386 processors with 20/ 40 MB hard disc space.
Mobile phones are the size of bricks, nobody puts too much money on the idea that the Berlin wall would be history in a few months.
Add too this the acceleration as evident in Moore's law (viz. Ray Kurzweill) and you'll get an amazing picture of what will change and what will not.
kencarroll
January 14, 2009, 03:47 AMWe are getting some traction with the stories amongst journalists, but I'd like to hear more of your tales! Please feel free.
frank
January 14, 2009, 04:46 AMJoachim, you've touched on one of my favorite subjects. It is amazing how far we've come in just 20 years, but look back a little further and it's simply mind-boggling.
For something like 50,000 years we're riding around on horseback. We've got horse-drawn carts, sure, but we don't really push the envelope too much there. Then one day someone invents the internal combustion engine and it is ON. Barely 70 years later we put a man on the moon.
Astonishing.
light487
December 29, 2008, 08:33 AMI've sent something similar to suxiaoya recently by email.. may be you could use that.. I don't know.