About William Moss
Trans-Pacific spin doctor. Head of Global Media Relations at TSMC. Occasional writer of humor and PR analysis. This is a personal blog and opinions are my own. More information at “About Imagethief“.
Also on Substack (where full posts live now), Bluesky, the usual places.
Archives
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- June 2024
- April 2023
- March 2021
- February 2021
- August 2019
- May 2018
- June 2015
- November 2014
- May 2014
- November 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- November 2009
- October 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- May 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- January 2005
- October 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
Tags
- Aging
- America
- Apartments
- Audio
- Aviation
- Beijing
- Books
- Bureaucracy
- Business
- Cats
- CCTV
- Censorship
- China
- China Daily
- China in the News
- Chinese
- Corruption
- Crisis Management
- Driving
- Economy
- Environment
- Ethics
- Food
- Generational Angst
- Global Times
- Humor
- Internet
- Journalism
- Korea
- Mandarin
- Marketing
- Media
- Memoir
- Motorola
- Music
- Nationalism
- Notices
- Olympics
- Palo Alto
- Parenthood
- Pets
- Politics
- Pop Culture
- Propaganda
- Public Relations
- Radio
- Rants
- Rectified.name
- Remebrances
- Renegades
- Reputation
- Resident Alien
- Role Playing Games
- San Francisco
- Science
- Scuba Diving
- Shanghai
- Silicon Valley
- Singapore
- Soft Power
- Substack
- Taiwan
- Technology
- The '80s
- Travel
- TSMC
- USA
- Video
- Weird
- Whatever
- Xinhua
Feed
Meta
Tag Archives: Internet
The Art of Keeping Your Mouth Shut
Never go to war with a popular TV program Way back in the early nineties, there was a popular sitcom called “Murphy Brown” set in a TV newsroom. The plot device of the lead character’s single motherhood offended then vice … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Crisis Management, Internet, Media, Public Relations, Reputation
Comments Off on The Art of Keeping Your Mouth Shut
Fandom Politics
When do the old rules of political communication become obsolete? Note: There are two things that have been on my mind as I observe everything happening in U.S. politics right now. I am using this space to think through them … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged America, Internet, Media, Politics, Propaganda, Public Relations
Comments Off on Fandom Politics
I’ll Be the Judge of the Air Quality in These Parts
When I was young, lithe* and had elastic knees I studied the Japanese martial art Aikido. Aikido is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, despite what you saw in all those Steven Segal movies, it is very much bound … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China, Environment, Internet, Politics, Public Relations, Rectified.name, Soft Power
Comments Off on I’ll Be the Judge of the Air Quality in These Parts
Facebook + Instagram + China = Take a Deep Breath
So, Facebook bought Instagram for a billion bucks. Awesome for those guys. I, alas, did not get rich in either of the Internet startups I participated in. But you can’t put a price on experience, right? Deep sigh. Anyway, Instagram … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Censorship, China, Facebook, Internet, Politics, Technology
Comments Off on Facebook + Instagram + China = Take a Deep Breath
Facebook’s China playbook
As you have undoubtedly heard by now, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend* were spotted in Shanghai on Wednesday. This has lead to a completelypredictable round of speculation as to whether this signals some new development in Facebook + … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Censorship, China, Facebook, Internet, Politics, Rectified.name, Technology
Comments Off on Facebook’s China playbook
Remembering Talk Talk China and the “Cycle of Funk”
A lot has changed in the China blogosphere since I first put (virtual) pen to paper for Imagethief in June, 2004. I can’t think of many blogs that are still around from those days in anything like their original form. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China, Internet, Rants, Resident Alien
Comments Off on Remembering Talk Talk China and the “Cycle of Funk”
China and the nature of Facebook
Reports have been percolating for a couple of weeks that Facebook will partner with Chinese search engine Baidu to launch Facebook China, or something similar. Anyone who has followed the history of foreign Internet firms in China knows that this … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Business, China, Ethics, Facebook, Google, Internet, Public Relations, Technology
Comments Off on China and the nature of Facebook
And you thought the milk business was so wholesome…
The milk business in China just can’t seem to stay out of trouble. A couple of months ago baby formula maker Synutra found itself the victim of allegationsthat its product was linked to early puberty in girls. Its shares ate … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Business, China, Internet, Public Relations, Reputation
Comments Off on And you thought the milk business was so wholesome…
Alibaba’s Alizila is PR. Be proud!
I just read a post from Forbes’ Hana Alberts on Alizila, a homegrown company news site for the Alibaba Group. Alibaba has hired an experienced journalist, Time Magazine veteran Jim Erickson, to develop the articles for the site: Erickson isn’t “selling out” … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China, Internet, Journalism, Media, Public Relations, Technology
Comments Off on Alibaba’s Alizila is PR. Be proud!
A handy cheat sheet for interpreting the Google China story
Should Google have been in China? Did they make the right move in pulling out? Will this influence the Chinese government? What does it mean for foreign businesses in China? Are they evil or not? Who knows? Not me. And … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Business, Censorship, China, China in the News, Crisis Management, Google, Internet, Media, Propaganda, Public Relations, Technology
Comments Off on A handy cheat sheet for interpreting the Google China story
Imagethief 