http://www.smh.com.au/news/iphone-i...-in-hot-pursuit/2008/08/28/1219516602946.html
Net mob search for iPhone girl's identity
Stephen Hutcheon in Beijing
August 28, 2008 - 6:06AM
Who is she? Chinese netizens are hunting the iPhone girl.
Who is she? Chinese netizens are hunting the iPhone girl.
Advertisement
China's "human flesh search engine" is in hot pursuit of an unnamed Chinese factory worker after photographs of her showed up unexpectedly on a new iPhone 3G purchased recently in Britain.
In one of the photos, a young woman dressed in a pink striped factory uniform and wearing a matching white cap and rubber gloves, is seen smiling and flashing a "V" sign as she leans over an iPhone assembly line.
The photos were discovered by an iPhone user in Britain who promptly posted his find on the MacRumors forum, setting off a global chain reaction of media interest and culminating in the quest by Chinese internet users to discover her identity.
The term "human flesh search engine" refers to this type of mob reaction by China's so-called netizens (internet citizens) to pool their collective resources in order to track someone down.
In China, Apple uses the giant Taiwanese company FoxConn to assemble its iPods and iPhones. The company's main factories are based in the Bao'an district of Shenzhen, the booming city next door to Hong Kong.
FoxConn representatives have confirmed to several Chinese newspapers that the woman - dubbed the "iPhone girl" - is an employee of the company.
The spokesman said workers had most probably been testing the phone's camera and had forgotten to delete the photos. He said those involved would not be fired for the mistake.
"Small mistakes are unavoidable," the news agency AFP quoted FoxConn spokesman Liu Kun as saying. "I would call this a beautiful mistake."
He said the factory worker in the photos was "quite nervous" after her face appeared on websites and in newspapers.
FoxConn, which employs over 270,000 people in its Shenzhen factories, has said it will not be revealing the woman's identity.
But Chinese journalists and bloggers have already narrowed the search down to the quality control section on the fifth floor of one of the FoxConn factory buildings - where up to 1000 employees reportedly work.
Of the six photos in the set found on the iPhone, two are of the "iPhone girl" and four are of the factory in which the phones are assembled.
The images have since been plastered all over the Chinese internet and as of the time of writing, there were over 20 million searches for the term "iPhone girl" recorded on Google's Chinese search site, google.cn.
In addition, the domain names iphonegirl.net and iphonegirl.cn have been snapped up by web users trying to cash in on the sudden surge of interest.
In 2006, Apple conducted an investigation into the work practises of FoxConn after reports emerged of sub-standard working conditions.
Apple found there were some instances of overcrowding in worker dormitories and some evidence of over-working and harsh treatment - all oversights FoxConn agreed to rectify.
Oh and PredatoryWasp86 is now famous.
