One of the things wrong with history… (11)
The American iconoclastic lawyer Clarence Darrow resigned himself to history’s repetitive nature, but never stopped challenging the powers to which most of us abandon control.
The British Olympic Team at The 1936 Berlin Olympics
Athletes have long been surrogates for our personal, school, community, and national wishes lies and dreams. We foist on them the responsibility of atoning for our own failures as sportsmen, parents and citizens. And visited on some are the the sins of governments who draft them as unwitting soldiers in wars of propaganda and ideology.
Section 51 of the International Olympic Committee charter, “provides for no kind of demonstration, or political, religious or racial propaganda in the Olympic sites, venues or other area.” That does not stop dozens of groups from calling on he most physically gifted and dedicated among us to end the bloodshed in Africa, restore the Dali Lama to sovereignty, or enforce Chinese intervention in Burma amid a long list of religious, humanitarian and political causes.
Many organizations are calling for a boycott of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing to further their agendas. Many decry China’s denial of human rights while remaining silent as, paradoxically, some governments, namely New Zealand, Belgium and Great Britain are forbidding their team members to speak their minds before, or during the contest, or face immediate expulsion from the games. It is the western pot calling the tea kettle black.
As a former athlete and coach I might bow to tradtion and refuse to dip the flag for the Olympic reviewing stand, but I could never in good conscience sign any document that demanded surrender of a basic human right.
The web’s most articulate journalist-blogger, Rebecca McKinnon, writes with moving precision about the house arrest of Chinese human rights blogger Hu Jia , his wife Zeng Jinyang and the world’s “youngest political prisoner” their 2-month old daughter Hu Qianci. In the article, Rebecca clearly articulates Beijing’s poorly staged suppression of dissent during the dress rehearsal phase of its first leading role on the world stage. It is exactly this kind of scrutiny of the aging, fumbling power-elite that we might lose by disengagement.
To boycott the Olympics, an arguable failure of policy in Moscow and Los Angeles, moves the spotlight off China, punishes athletes in lieu of policies and leaves the average Chinese citizen, denied full access to information, angered and dazed by a seemingly xenophobic west. To even call for a boycott of the Olympics is to give spin doctors an award- winning script full of perfect, indignant replies to what we can only imagine to be true. Engagement in lieu of boycott will enlighten and inform us all. As the chinese proverb states, 拔苗助长 , you cannot help sprouts to grow by pulling them up.
I am hoping that history repeats only by way of expose made possible by athletic achievements–think Jesse Owens in Berlin– and not because of “free world” demands for the conscription of players into a silent Nazi salute to the abolition of free speech.
Posted 11 February, 2008 in Chinese Media, Censorship, Human Rights, 中文, Human Rights China, Beijing Olympics, 中国, In the news, Intercultural Issues, War, China Editorials, China Sports, Tibet, China Olympics, Asia
Am I Hot or Not: Google vs Baidu (8)
He talks about Google trying to conjure up a potion to put some lead in its seach engine pencil in China. He fails to mention that they also need a dose of virtual Viagara in Korea, Russia and Japan to name three more….
But he does go on to say he is relatively, almost certain that Google might possibly join up with a Chinese music site to probably offer songs from Universal Music (home of the Soon-To-Be-Elevator-Music Artist’s Alliance) and conceivably (rumor has it) SonyBMG and EMI. Oh yes, and Stephen says “Warner Music, is also believed to have expressed an interest.”
He goes on to assert that Baidu is an “upstart search engine” (founded in 1999–one year after Google) operating in a “culture of piracy” and that it built its business on piracy and is getting “a large portion of its traffic from users searching for illegal music.” In Stephen’s world 7% is large– and no, I won’t make the obvious joke. The 7% represents music searches he assumes to be illegal.
He finshes up his article by expressing his belief that a Google led “experiment with advertising-funded free music in China would be a significant break with the past.” He fails to note that EMI and Baidu already have a deal to live stream Chinese songs and they are working on more aliances with companies and artists.
No I don’t have a rose-colored display on my computer and I know how prevalent IP theft is in China both on and off of the net. But, I also know China is not alone, but they do make good headlines.
Search for Utorrent software–the program that allows you to crib virtually anything–and you will find that it is not de-indexed by Google nor are most of the sites that post anything stealable from movies to games. Isohunt.com a favorite site for world-wide free-downloaders, was hosted in the US until very recently. And I don’t think YouTube is going to be winning any award’s from the folks at Creative Commons. How many steps removed must you be before we eliminate you from the accomplice’s list?
Baidu is in China the country the west loves to hate: they will happily exploit China to make a buck as they demonize them in the press.
On a lighter note: I look at Google and Baidu this way: Who would I want to take to the prom? Baidu is the nerdy kid with the cheaper clothes (Google’s R&D budget exceeds a quarter’s worth of gross revenue for Baidu) while Google is always in the running for Court King or Queen. Baidu saves , Google spends. Google wears contacts and a night retainer, Baidu has hardware and emo glasses. Baidu returns my phone calls, Google’s dance card must be full….
I love the underdog, the laughing dance partner with two left feet and the kids that are never picked for dodgeball: bloggers with humility instead of journalists without borders.
Cast your vote for hot or not:
Posted 9 February, 2008 in Seach engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, Internet marketing China, Search Engine Marketing, Chinese Media, Baidu, china expert seo services guangzhou, SEO China Expert, 中文, Seo China, Chinese Internet, Asian Humor, China Humor, Humor, China web 2.0, Asia, Intercultural Issues, The Internet, 中国, In the news, China Business, China SEO
Happy Lunar New Year (0)
Happy Year of the Mouse/Rat …Remember if you are a rat you should be wearing your lucky pants!
For those of you born in this year:
| The Rat is highly imaginative, charming and very generous. They can sometimes be quick tempered and overly critical. | |||
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Positive Traits |
charming, protective, compassionate, communicative, dynamic, familial, thrifty, skilful, sober upright, attractive, idealistic, prosperous, experimental, calm, sensual, loving, talented, adaptable, open-minded and brilliant entrepreneurs | ||
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Negative Traits |
possessive, picky, defensive, excessive, addictive, fickle, stingy, bumptious, bossy, exploitive, anxious, argumentative, opinionated, overbearing and self-obsessed | ||
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Chinese Symbols |
Animal Symbol |
Ancient Symbol |
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The Rat |
The Child |
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General Description |
Being born under this sign determines many talents, as well as other characteristics that may not be so commendable. Rats are very lively and need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. They can be calm and perceptive, but sometimes their brains can cause a mental restlessness, tempting them to take on too much, only to discover they are unable to meet their commitments. Rats are blessed with one of the best intellects going. Add to their intelligence a curiosity and a bright imagination, and they seem as sharp as a needle.The sign of the Rat is the first sign in the cycle giving Rat people exude great leadership qualities and are good at taking the lead. They don’t mind a lot of responsibility and they demonstrate a strong presence that other people respect. For those with the Rat nature, status and monetary satisfaction are the greatest motivation. | ||
Posted 7 February, 2008 in Chinese New Year, Confucius Slept Here, Asian Humor
Festival de año nuevo in Guangzhou… (3)
I have belonged to a Guangzhou expat group on Facebook for some time. It has kept me abreast of new happenings, restaurants and cultural events. though I rarely attend activities: they usually are hosted in clubs where talk is difficult and drinking, with intermittent dancing, is the activity of choice. Too, we dinosaurs from the days of bell-bottoms and idealism have generally been been replaced by the fashionably ambitious and youth-centric; so, it is tough on we professors who age externally, but remain youthful by association. I often find I don’t have lot in common socially with my contemporaries who are not,as I am, witness to ongoing cultural changes and they are more concerned about the price of their medication than the newest application on Twitter. And while I am grousing: I find that too many of the newer arrivals, old and young, are often disgruntled and have half of their clothes packed or half unpacked with plans for a midnight run should the culture get anymore overwhelming. And it is hard to find a good cheeses to go with their familiar whines…
Last evening I headed for a Mexican Fiesta (a $7.00 USD all-you-can-eat Buffet and no party favors) to meet some 30-odd people whose primary connection c was a chance meet-up created on Facebook by a GZ resident. What a testament to social networking, aye?
To my surprise there was not teacher (Isn’t every laowai in China an English teacher?) in the bunch and virtually everyone worked for a foreign company– most for emerging or established IT firms. I met the 30 year old CEO and founder of a German software development firm (who knew this blog–so, he has to be a good guy, right?), a marketer for a Japanese interactive ad agency, another marketing professional from an on-line game company, sourcing agents, a chocalateer and an on-line travel agent among others. What a geekish joy it was to actually talk in English to people loving their jobs, this city and who were bullish about Guangzhou being “the place to be for IT” in the future. I have been shouting that for two years and the voice back this time was not an echo…
One surprise: a Chinese student, of two years ago was in attendance. She quickly had the group eyeing me with suspicion as she told them how strict I had been as a teacher, that is until she revealed that her fear stemmed from my insistence she arrive on time for lessons and turn off her cell phone during class. I went from Lector to lamb in the squint of an eye and then told her, in gentle professorial tones that it was good to see her face for a change not distorted by the glow of an incoming text message.
I went home, watched Hillary Clinton on Letterman, and mused on how America and Guangzhou may be in for great change.
Feliz Año Nuevo!
Posted 6 February, 2008 in Guangzhou, Chinese Internet, The Internet, Chinese New Year, Chinese Media, 中文, Faceboook, Education in China, China Expat, American Professor in China, Chinese Festivals, Guangzhou China, Intercultural Issues, China Expats, Asia, Asian Humor, Teaching in China, China Business, 中国, Personal Notes, Confucius Slept Here, China Humor
Baidu Basics…. (6)
I was reading an article that merely posed the question: “Can Google Gain Ground on Baidu?”
The benign and oft asked question then regressed into odd xenophobic commentary and a recanting of long traveled urban myths about the world’s #3 search engine Baidu (百度)…
Some of the feedback:
“I heard china were banning US based search engines (yahoo,msn,ask,google) in a politically driven move.”
–I think we should ban bad grammar in post-based nonsense. No, Google (New Motto: “Do a Little Evil“), Yahoo! and the others voluntarily censor themselves in pursuit of the almighty Yuan.
“Baidu’s PPC management tool is far less advanced than that of Google. However, they simply dominate the Chinese market. It would probably change as search marketing industry matures in China.”
–Another English major heard from….Actually, Baidu has a number of tools and programs that I prefer over Google. They can, and will, work side-by-side with companies to ensure maximum exposure. They are now opening up API access to distributors and analytics firms to ensure the best ROI.
“Baidu has only page rank of 7 i think the chinese just dont feel home in google. you forgot to mention google have a local version in china called SOSO.
“another factor is in china end users cannot manage their adwords account only by special adwords brokers appointed by google if every chinese would have made one link for me i was happy man ”
–The above mentioned blog has a diverse, albeit moderately literate, readership. First (or is it “firstly” Des?), Google ranks sites in countries relative to each other. Were Baidu in America it would likely be an 8-9. Anyway, Baidu’s Page rank (capital ‘P” ’cause it is named for the inventor, not the function) is not likely to affect its keywords in western searches. Secondly, SOSO (搜搜) belongs to the “QQ” people at Tencent (note: 搜，which in Mandarin sounds like the English word “so,” means “search” in Chinese). Thirdly, i too was happy if every one of the 230 million users in China would made one link for me.
“Surely google will deserves a position wherever it may be…”
–Insert your own punch line here______.
“You shouldn’t take Baidu’s dominance at full face value, remember that the Chinese government essentially turned google off a couple of years ago and redirected all traffic to baidu. In fact, on a recent visit to China a good friend of mine found it’s still happening intermittently. Not that he minds the free movie and mp3 downloads…”
–1. There is no Google master switch in president Hu’s office. 2. My friend thinks he gets lottery numbers from re-runs of It’s a Wonderful Life. 3. Baidu (百度) is now pursuing contracts with artists and companies and even branding legitimate mp3 players for musicians and advertisers. The Chinese invented noodles and fireworks and may have discovered America, but they did not come up with bit torrent. 4. Current data shows Baidu’s market share in China to be at about 60%. Baidu says that the 60% figure may be accurate for total searches done through a China-based portal, but Baidu claims a 70-75% share for queries originating from in-country. Google is running a distant second and Alibaba is limping in at 3rd. Tencent’s SOSO is an also ran…
“baidu is targetting Only China , but Googole is targetting all the world , so google will have all the previleges to be the n 1 in the world”
–Baidu, in a questionable moment of marketing sanity, just launched a Japanese search engine. “Googole” may be targeting the world, but it is missing the bullseye and shooting itself in the foot in Korea (ever heard of Naver?), China, Russia (Yandex) and other markets. In the David and Goliath wars, my money is on David with his home-field advantage.
Any savvy marketer, blogger or SEO provider needs to understand the mechanics of regional search. For starters:
- Use properly translated keywords in your tags and text. Baidu and Google.cn are more likely to pick you up.
- Submit your URL to Baidu at: http://www.baidu.com/search/url_submit.html
- Be wary of foreign based SEO players outside of China that do not have an on-the-ground presence in country, or purport to know the market while telling you things like, “Simplified Chinese will be sufficient to serve all markets.” A good SEO will optimize for the various ethnic groups and service or product targets you choose. China has 56 ethnic groups and a minimum of 6 distinct markets that can require special understanding and consideration.
- Get an authorized Baidu agent to place any ads for you. Do not buy from any company that claims Baidu has a set-up service fee. Ask for a copy of their contract with Baidu and access to your own control panel, even though it will be in Chinese.
A special Baidu Basics seminar will be held on-line March 6th and is free. Click on the banner above and head for the contact page and drop us a note. We will try and save you a spot and email you information. Whether you are a blogger, businessman, or SEO provider, there will be information on how you can successfully interface with Baidu on behalf of your clients.
Posted 3 February, 2008 in UK SEO EXPERT, SEO China Expert, 中文, Korea, Tencent, QQ, Yandex, Soso, seo expert services guangzhou china, alibaba.com, Chinese Media, Search Engine Marketing, Intercultural Issues, Asia, China Humor, China web 2.0, China Business, 中国, Seach engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, Chinese Internet, China SEO
The Differences…. (11)
Between Chinese and Western Culture…
Meal Times
My Facebook Friend Wu Ya Xian posted these images on her profile page. With most pictures being worth a thousand words, these are far more weighty.
the origial post was copied from here: YANG LIU
and were part of a 2007 art exhibition in Germany by Yang Liu, a Chinese woman, educated in Germany. The originals were meant to reflect differences in those two cultures, but obviously hold up pretty well in a US-Sino comparison…
I think these are perfect for a contest culminating in a book that can be used in Language and Culture classes.
Enjoy:
Social Networks
Communion with Nature
Sunday on the Street
The Child
Ideal Beauty
Refreshments
Sense of Time
Way of Life
Transport
Shower Time
Restaurants (and Cantonese Tour Busses)
Lines/Queues
Parties
Problem Solving
Me/I
And yes, I took some liberties with the translation….