The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies, the largest concentration of social media and mobile users, and some of the world's most innovative tech companies.
- The world's largest annual human migration is in progress and search engine Baidu has used big data to map it. Baidu's map, which updates hourly, uses location-based data pulled from smartphone users to geo-locate the Chinese New Year (CNY) travel routes of its 350 million active users.
- Improved internet access in China is changing traditions. Thousands of pre-cooked CNY eve dinners were sold online and traditional lanterns have been a hit seller for e-commerce companies. CNY gift-giving has been transformed by the cashless 'virtual red envelope', sparking fierce competition between rival internet companies and social media networks.
- Did the Chinese Government just censor a semiofficial anthem performed by its own cyber censorship agency at a CNY event boasting about its influence over the internet?
- A Singaporean company has developed the perfect mobile app to help people returning home for CNY answer pesky questions from relatives (Q: why are you still single?), providing users with a range of pre-arranged answers (A: relationships are expensive!).
- The number of Chinese women renting fake boyfriends online to take home for CNY holidays has increased, as has the price, from US$128 to US$160 per day.
- Big data is being harnessed to highlight CNY consumption habits in China. Backed by 12 years of historical data, Dianping, a review and booking platform that relies on crowdsourcing opinions from its 190 million active users, has mapped out the most popular activities and places to eat in real-time, province by province.
- You judge who comes out on top in the CNY digital diplomacy stakes. President Obama, Prince William, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak or this humorous video from the US consulate in Hong Kong.
- A short film encouraging parents to welcome LGBT children home this CNY has gone viral in China, racking up 100 million views: