Joel Backaler is a consulting professional in Beijing. Joel also maintains a weblog named The China Observer (http://thechinaobserver.com) where he documents his research on the China marketplace with an emphasis on social media and consumer trends. Joel is a former U.S. State Department sponsored Fulbright Scholar. He also attended the world’s top Chinese language training center hosted by Beijing’s Tsinghua University, where he gained business level fluency in Mandarin Chinese. Joel holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and East Asian Studies from Connecticut College, and has accumulated over six years of China market experience through positions in management consulting, venture capital, social media entrepreneurship and research. Please visit The China Observer (http://thechinaobserver.com) blog for Joel’s contact information.