Entrepreneur.com: As China continues its steamroller plan to dominate the world market, learning how to do business with potential Chinese partners is more and more important. Luckily, Joanne Yao has prepared a guide for making the most of your interactions while brokering deals in the Far East without stepping on too many cultural land mines. 3 Ways To Kill A Deal In China can help anyone looking to avoid faux pas in the sometimes confusing and perplexing ways of doing things, but focuses specifically on standard practices and how to conduct meetings and social outings with an eye towards understanding the hows and whys of banquets, negotiations, and gift-giving. A link to a portable Chinese business guide is is included in the article to tuck in your pocket for your next trip to the Orient.

PEHub:  Connie Loizos gives us a second round of venture capitalist interview goodness in her recent piece, Q&A with David Weiden of Khosla Ventures. Vinod is probably busy trying to keep on top of the rapidly changing clean-tech investment environment, so Weiden can serve as a good opportunity to see what things looks like from another partner's view. Loizos hones in on a subject matter of much discussion amongst VCs and startups: deal flow. Q: "How many deals a year do you do, and have you slowed down the pace in the last couple of months?" A: "I was doing five a year and next year, I’ll probably do another five. But overall, absolutely things are slowing down a lot. People’s styles are different. There are deals I wouldn’t have done before, and now they just won’t happen. They won’t close. So overall venture spending is pulling way back. But we’re sort of an unusual group because we’re investing our own money, so we were always a little more careful with our own dollars." A-ha! That old chestnut about spending one's own money vs. OPM (other people's money) rings true once again. I wonder if the bank bailout chiefs consider the funds they are using "OPM", or their very own?

Seeing Both Sides: Jeff Bussgang takes a moment to consider what's really at stake in the upcoming installment of a new President and what that will mean for venture capitalists in his recent post, Trust the VC (Famous Last Words?) Bussgang focuses on that most slippery of commodities, trust, and proposes to lift that sacred bond back to higher heights. "Restoring trust in our economy and government for Americans and the broader world community is a monumental task for President-elect Obama.  We VCs have the (admittedly smaller but still critical) task of navigating these tough times by demonstrating to our two major customers - our entrepreneur and our investors - that we are worthy of their trust." The trust that once glued together investors and investees has dissolved, resulting in a crash reminiscent of Humpty's and it is only that same paste that will put things back together again.

ArsTechnica.com: John Timmer visits a new approach to an old problem in his From the News Desk article, Fair use group comes up with classroom copyright primer. The primer, in summation, suggests a broadening of what is considered fair use: "In general, the document advises that faculty has broad abilities to use copyrighted material in educational materials, "including books, workbooks, podcasts, DVD compilations, videos, Web sites, and other materials designed for learning." But it goes beyond what might be expected, as it argues that curriculum materials that incorporate copyrighted works can be sold, provided that accomplishes an educational purpose. Students are given broad leeway for the use of copyrighted works in assignments but, provided their work is sufficiently transformative, the guidelines argue that they should also be able to perform or distribute their assignments in any context, including online." Whether or not these changes meet acceptance or resistance, bringing laws into alignment with common practice might be easier than trying to police rules that are both unenforceable and overly-restrictive. Thoughts?

IndustryWeek.com: Kraft Foods has a new plan for innovation and it's name is open collaboration. Jill Jusko reports: "By its own analysis, Kraft Foods holds 2.2% of all food-related patents. The percentage may be surprising, given that Kraft is one of the largest global food and beverage companies, employing more than 100,000 people and some 2,000 scientists and engineers. To Kraft, however, the percentage tells a different tale. It says many good ideas for food innovation exist outside its four walls. 'We recognize that we don't know everything,' explains Nanako Mura, associate program director, open innovation, at Kraft Foods." Ah, humility and the fruits it bears! By using the best from all of its vendor relationships, Kraft can capitalize on those business connections and spend more energy on what it does best: manufacture foodstuff. Is there a lesson here for all businesses? Maybe "Do what you know best, and outsource the rest." Read the cleverly-titled Kraft Crafts an Open Innovation Strategy for more information on this open outsourcing success story.