Michael Anti presented on the relationship between the Chinese government and its citizens regarding internet use and social media. He described it as a "cat and mouse game" where the government blocks sites but citizens find ways around it by using local versions of sites like Baidu instead of Google. Anti used humor with cat metaphors to illustrate how citizens express opinions within the restrictions. He argued the internet opens new potential for citizen voice if used strategically despite government limits.

2. Speaker & Thesis
Michael Anti is a journalist from Beijing who explains
what kind of “Internet” that the Chinese have and how
it‟s evolving to act as a tool for the citizens to actually
voice out their opinion.

3. Anti described the Chinese government
and the Internet-using citizen (Netizen)
relationship as a cat and mouse game.

4. Internet
vs.
“Chinanet”
The Chinese government has
blocked all sites whose servers
were not located in Beijing and
thus not easily available for
surveillance.
However, instead of depriving the
people of social networking,
clones have been created.
The image on the left shows that
sites like Google and Twitter have
Chinese clones such as Baidu
and Weibo.

5. This image illustrates how the limiting 140 character posts in Twitter
actually allows paragraphs to be written in Chinese. The Twitter clone,
Weibo, takes advantage of this and births a new blogging style called
„microblogging‟, which millions of Chinese Netizens use to voice their
opinions and thoughts. This opens up new potential power for the people.

6. “China is a SICK country.”
- Michael Anti
One of the opening statements in the presentation, Anti states that
China is a SICK country. This at first doesn‟t sound like it has any
meaning beyond the “ill” meaning, and I believe that “shock”
statement gathers a large amount of audience attention.
He then goes to describe that SICK is a terminology coined by
Facebook which stands for “Syria, Iran, China, and North Korea”;
four countries that have no access to Facebook.

7. “…[the] Chinese [has] not only one cat,
but also has local cats. Central cat and
local cats.”
- Michael Anti
Even though the subject is serious, Anti lightens up the
mood with humor, and many cat pictures. He uses the
felines for further illustration of the cat-and-mouse
situation in China, but the amount of cats within the
presentation makes the audience laugh in several areas.
This does well to
maintain
audience attention
throughout the talk.

8. TED Commandments
TED Commandment #3 best
reflects the speaker‟s
performance.
In the beginning, he states
that “China is complicated”
and does his best to describe
the social media situation
clearly.
He uses many relevant
examples, thoughtful and
consistent metaphors, and
brought many helpful visual
aids to further explain his
thoughts.

9. Dynamism: 3.5/5
Michael Anti used hand gestures throughout the presentation, however
that was the extent of his body movement. His facial expressions varied
and his vocal tone in delivery was clear and became powerful in important
segments.
I would suggest he would move around the stage a bit more instead of
staying stationary, but his overall dynamism was good.

10. Delivery: What I Learned
Even though spoken word is the key deliverer in
presentations, visual aids can help the audience retain
information better. The viewers will have some image to
tie the subject to and it allows them to understand the
subject clearly.
I‟ve noticed that whenever text is used, its only job is to
emphasize a number or a fact (for example, “There are
500 million Internet-users in China”), and it is used
sparingly.

11. Speaker Comparison
Sir Ken Robinson Michael Anti
Robinson was very Anti was very professional and
comfortable with his audience. sounded like he was giving a
He made it seem like he was very powerful meeting. He
talking to a group of good treated his audience like fellow
friends instead of a large peers, but kept close to his
auditorium of strangers. facts and puns and did not
sound like he was giving a
His tone and how he delivered casual conversation.
his words sounded very
natural and unscripted (in a
good way).

12. Speaker Comparison
Sir Ken Robinson Michael Anti
Told many stories that were Used many metaphors and
easily relatable to the recent media events to give a
audience. different kind of relatable
connection to the audience.
It felt like he was very open
with his emotions and wasn‟t He sounded very passionate
afraid to tell his personal about his thoughts and voiced
stories; telling details as to his opinion often.
what happened and even
adding in commentary.

13. Speaker Comparison
Sir Ken Robinson Michael Anti
Relied mainly on his voice to Used visuals to connect ideas
deliver his message and felt or to give humor during the
free to improvise on his talk.
presentation.
His message was very
I‟ve noticed that he listens to straightforward and delivered
the audience‟s reactions to the idea efficiently and
gauge how he should thoroughly.
continue.

14. Tips for Students
Be extremely lively! Movement attracts the eyes and
holds the audience‟s attention. Dynamic voice delivery
and hand gestures are fine, but sometimes it isn‟t
enough.
Don‟t be afraid to tell jokes! Don‟t fear to laugh yourself
either! Humor gives the viewers a short break to relax
after a large input of information.
Slides aren‟t evil if used correctly! Use a healthy amount
of images to transition your ideas from one to the next,
but make sure you deliver most of the information
through your speech.

15. Sources
Image sources:
http://cronkitehhh.personal.asu.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2012/02/Cat-and-Mouse.jpeg
Microsoft Clip Art
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_anti_behind_th
e_great_firewall_of_china.html