Focus

Trading skills is an online headache

By Huang Yuli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-11 08:08

There might be little luck for most low-income workers chasing cheap flats to rent, but that doesn't put off netizen Susie Gao - in return for a home, she is offering knowledge.

Gao posted a message on Chinese classified website ganji.com on Sept 27, stating that she wants a room and is willing to teach the subjects of Chinese and geography in return.

She didn't mention her occupation or age, but did suggest an ideal exchange partner - male, aged 25 to 30. The advert also included her cell phone number and instant messaging QQ number.

Gao, in her 20s and an employee of the hotel industry, is one of numerous city dwellers wanting to exchange skills over the Internet. According to Wang Jing, a spokeswoman for ganji.com, the site sees about 50 new posts daily for "skill trading" in Beijing.

"Among them, Haidian and Chaoyang districts contribute the most," she said. "Foreign languages and computer skills are the most popular."

This was Gao's experience too - she posted her advert after learning how a friend found success by offering a language.

"This person speaks really good English and had managed to get a rent-free room by teaching it to the exchange partner," she said.

One day after she posted her advert, Gao received a call from a man who claimed he had a room in his two-bedroom apartment in Daxing district.

The location of the flat was far from Gao's workplace, but this wasn't why she turned it down.

"The man never told me what skill he wanted to exchange. He was obviously looking for something else," Gao said.

During the National Day holiday, Gao received endless messages from interested partners but none were suitable.

She said the best result came from a man who claimed to work in the banking industry. He needed someone to clean his apartment.

"But most other people are just looking for sex partners - some say it directly while others are quite obscure," she said.

Song Chao, a programmer with more than 10 years of work experience, is facing a similar problem. While he genuinely wants to pick up a range of new skills, the process is never straightforward.

Song has met several exchange partners, one of which was a woman living in Tongzhou district. She wanted to trade her English to learn drawing from Song, but they only met once.

"It was too far away," said Song, who works and lives in Haidian district. Gas for the return journey would be about 60 yuan, which was more expensive than a training school.

Additionally, Song said not all skills can be traded equally. English, for example, needs constant practice while driving is relatively quick to master. Other factors also come into play, such as the need for a car and the risk of letting someone else drive it, which don't occur when teaching a language.

Song also said many people are "looking for sex under the cover of a skill exchange".

Both Gao and Song are single and said they wouldn't reject a chance to find a partner, but they do want more than just physical contact.

"I thought it would be great to find someone who shares my interests, but this now seems impossible," said Song.

But while Song appears pessimistic, Gao remains hopeful. Despite a barrage of messages from one-night-stand hopefuls, she has not deleted her website post, claiming she is "just curious".

As with all online connections, safety is a top priority. Ganji.com spokeswoman Wang warned skill exchange participators to verify each other's identities in order to avoid being deceived.

She also suggested not transferring money into a stranger's account and never to go alone to an unfamiliar place.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/11/2010)