Betty B.

It's a good alternative to more established sites and magazines like Cityweekend, particularly when it comes to dive bars / clubs / music venues. I am a frequent user of its maps (visually helpful) and tips though I dislike the way its voice is too "cool" and pretentious... as if this online magazine was the best and ultimate thing to read on what's happening in Shanghai. Maybe more apt to younger crowds than more mature people. The layout is seriously amazing and rocks, but contents leave a lot to be desired. I also don't like the massive use of profanity in their weekly newsletter.

THIS is the eBay killer. I am based in China and use this website for almost everything... from buying groceries to top-up codes for my mobile phones. It's incredibly safe, fast, and the vendors on this site have an internal system (called AliWangWang) for customer service. Again, it's super safe... but YOU NEED TO SPEAK CHINESE or no chances to use it. Taobao also offers a "trusted" platform for business called Tmall.com, which is something like a walled Taobao for 100% legit businesses. For example I constantly buy a lot of shoes from this shop on Tmall called Tstage.cn and through AliWangWang I can ask details about styles and sizes, or return something. And returns on Taobao are almost always free and included in the service. I wish a marketplace like Taobao existed in the West. I will be lost the time I return home from China!

I think it's a great new business model. I've bought some gigs and, although the quality of services is not consistent, I repute this website to be a great source of cheap freelance work. Its diversity is impressive and, if I may say, one great point to improve would be ensuring the quality and trustworthiness of users and their gigs. Obviously I don't know which technical solution would be able to handle this, but Fiverr could grow into THE reference for freelance buyers and sellers if they could guarantee quality and reliability with 99.9% certainty.

Cityweekend is my first source of information and news about restaurants in Shanghai and music/nightlife events. The directory listings are sincerely the best ones in town and I use them almost every single time I go out with friends (the user reviews, although their quality may vary, are a great help in orienting your choice!). I would really like to see more relevant articles and stories, as well as some social networking functions, but hey! It's all free and you can't really complain too much. Family content (for older expats etc.) is also great.