living in shanghai | the west african "anchor"'s drifting in china
2024-09-24
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"eat with your phone first." derek takes a photo before eating, and then watches short videos on his phone while eating his burger.
showing himself on social media is part of derek's daily life. he enjoys browsing short videos and posting social media content. born in 1999, this young man from nigeria is currently interning at an internet technology company in shanghai. as the foreign face of the company, derek's main job is to appear on camera as a host and introduce the products produced by the cooperative factories.
"you can speak chinese to me more, i'm practicing." derek speaks chinese well. this year is his fifth year in china. before that, derek went to shanghai several times every year. a few months ago, he planned to settle here.
traveled to many cities and currently settled in shanghai
derek's mother is a civil servant and his father runs a factory. when he was a teenager, derek often traveled alone in nigeria. therefore, his parents did not seem to worry too much about his wandering life, and only contacted him occasionally through social software.
perhaps because he was born between the 1990s and 2000s, derek has a very obvious "mobile" quality. during his time in china, derek has traveled to many cities. the first city he settled in was jinan, shandong, and then baoding, hebei. later, he lived in beijing, shenzhen, and quanzhou. he has also stayed in some cities in zhejiang and jiangsu in the yangtze river delta. currently, he has temporarily found a sense of "home" in shanghai.
during his travels across china, derek almost relied on intuition to choose different destinations. "if you like it, stay a little longer." he said that discovering differences in different cities and meeting different people is one of the motivations for his continuous travel. of course, he has also encountered many difficulties. most of the time, he chooses to cry and then forget about it.
"shanghai is very big. compared with other cities, it is more open, free and flexible. there are many people here, chinese and foreigners, and you can easily make friends." derek said. now, in this international metropolis, derek has more life choices. in addition to all kinds of friends, there are also various fun parties and museums. derek does not drink, but this does not prevent him from dancing at parties.
“i’m good at making short videos”
derek currently works for shanghai twelve network technology co., ltd., which mainly shoots various short videos for external users and participates in the production and operation of social media content. these short videos, which are all in english, take users into chinese factories, understand the details of chinese manufacturing, and help chinese factories export their products overseas.
many overseas people have learned about various chinese factories through these short videos, established connections with them, and purchased high-quality and low-cost chinese products.
"i chose this job because i also love watching short videos," derek said. "i'm good at this. writing scripts and shooting are easy for me."
every day, he brainstorms with his team, investigates each creative branch to see if there are similar works, and selects the top 10 most successful short videos for analysis and record. after that, derek begins to write his own ideas and scripts, and further investigates and confirms all information and details. only then does the filming phase begin. finally, he has to ensure that 100% of this information can reach users through short videos before uploading them to social media.
enjoy working while walking
when he was a child, his parents gave derek a huge box filled with all kinds of clothes and shoes. he tried on all the clothes. later, his family gave him a bigger box filled with clothes. this inspired derek to become a model. at the age of 17, derek began to study various modeling courses.
before coming to china, derek worked as a model abroad. in his personal short video account, there are many short videos of him wearing fashionable clothes walking on the streets or in the studio.
in 2020, derek tried to open an account on social media. he found that short videos allowed him to better showcase himself. with the development of the internet, many companies need social media marketing, and there is also a great demand for short videos. this flexible work rhythm is in line with the characteristics of a professional model who shuttles between different stages, works on the move, and has mobility.
more importantly, these characteristics also match derek's pursuit of life. he is an employee of a company during the day, a model at night (or in other free time), and a short video producer when traveling. different cities, different professions, fluid and fresh.
derek's short video account records many details of his life - which brand he served as a model for and completed the shooting task yesterday, which city he went to and perceived which details today, and which train he will take and eat delicious food on the road tomorrow... this is the way a young man from west africa lives and works in china, and it is also his way of exploring the world.
by lin jia
