Rebecca Fannin is a journalist, media founder, and author of four books, most recently Silicon Heartland (2023). Rebecca’s journalistic career has taken her from editor of Pulitzer-owned International Business magazine in New York to Silicon Valley tech publication Red Herring as international news editor to Asia’s emerging markets, where she was one of the first American journalists covering China’s entrepreneurial boom. A Forbes columnist for 10 years and currently a special writer for CNBC, she also has written for Harvard Business Review and Techonomy. In 2010, she formed Silicondragonventures.com covering global innovation, startups and venture investment trends.
Her forward-looking and resource-rich books (Silicon Dragon, Startup Asia, Tech Titans of China and Silicon Heartland) have launched her as a commentator and public speaker. A guest on BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox News, and NPR, and a quoted authority in The New York Times, she has spoken at SXSW, the Brookings Institution, Asia Society, Harvard, Yale, and Oxford. She also has provided expert testimony to Congress about the Internet.
books
What to Read: Silicon Heartland–Transforming the Midwest from Rust Belt to Tech Belt
In an excerpt from her new book, Silicon Heartland, Rebecca A. Fannin discusses how her experience as an onsite reporter of emerging economies throughout Asia allowed her to recognize a developing region, this time in the American heartland.
apps
China’s Pioneering Consumer Tech Businesses
The Chinese web has evolved beyond just copying Facebook, YouTube and Google, to innovating its own mobile-first digital platforms and ways of making money.
apps
How to Understand China’s Social E-Commerce Giant
If you're interested in e-commerce, pay attention to rapidly-growing Pinduoduo--a Chinese fusion of elements that call to mind Costco, Disneyland, and QVC.
Alibaba
China Releases a Tech Dragon: the BAT
Isolated from American competition, Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent dominate China and have grown remarkably for a decade. Now they are legitimate rivals to the American tech giants. (From the latest Techonomy Magazine)
China: Trade, Tech, and Tolerance
Session Description: Two experts assess where we’re headed. The transcript can be found below, with a PDF version available here. China: Trade, Tech, and Tolerance (Transcription by RA Fisher Ink) Fannin: I’m Rebecca Fannin. I’m the founder, editor, and author of Silicon Dragon and also a journalist writing for various publications, including Techonomy, and a weekly […]
Conferences
Techonomy 19
The theme for Techonomy 2019 in Half Moon Bay, California was “Reset and Restore: Governing Tech, Retrieving Ethics, and Acting on Climate.” We are in a unique period when corporate responsibility and big-picture thinking is absolutely essential.
Conferences
Techonomy 17
“The idea that fake news on Facebook…influenced the election in any way, I think is a pretty crazy idea,” said Mark Zuckerberg onstage at Techonomy 2016. He has subsequently recanted.
Speakers & Participants
Techonomy 19 – Speakers & Participants
The theme for Techonomy 2019 in Half Moon Bay, California was “Reset and Restore: Governing Tech, Retrieving Ethics, and Acting on Climate.” We are in a unique period when corporate responsibility and big-picture thinking is absolutely essential.
