Not even Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder and the man reportedly driving this tough new stance with China, is sure how this story will play out.
As he told the New York Times, after two rounds of "back and forth" with the Chinese authorities, Google is still unclear how the Chinese will react .
"There's a lot of lack of clarity," he said, "Our hope is that the newly begun Hong Kong service will continue to be available in mainland China." Before adding: "The story's not over yet."
At the time of writing – midday on March 23 in Beijing – Chinese internet users were still able to access the re-routed search service on the Hong Kong page which carried a note in Chinese saying "Welcome to Google Search in China's new home."
However, searches from within China for sensitive topics, such as "Tiananmen Square Incident" were still blocked to internet users in mainland China thanks to the Great Firewall.
The question now being asked is whether the Chinese government will move to further punish Google by blocking the re-routed Google.cn site, at the cost of highlighting the extent of internet censorship in China to its own public.
The initial reaction from China's State Council Information Office was hostile, describing the decision to halt censoring as "totally wrong", apparently rendering flimsy Mr Brin's hopes (disingenuous or otherwise) that the Hong Kong search would be allowed to continue unmolested.
While some analysts see the Hong Kong strategy as a potentially elegant compromise to an apparently intractable dispute, others like Dr Mathew McDougall, CEO of SinoTech Group, one of China's leading online advertising agencies see an inevitable new round of confrontation ahead.
"It looks to us as if Google has thumbed its nose at China with this Hong Kong strategy. They've tried to be clever by exploiting a legal loophole, but that's surely going to anger the authorities.
"We're already taking bets in the office as to how long the Hong Kong-routed Google.cn stays open. My take is that the Chinese will close it down by the end of the day."
In practice, that will mean blocking the Google.cn domain name in China, so that Chinese internet users will simply receive a 'page not available' message when they attempt to log on to Google.
However, as Rebecca MacKinnon, Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre points out in her blog, such a move would only highlight the extent censorship in China .
"If they [the Chinese government] are smart they will just leave the situation as is and stop drawing media attention to their censorship practices," she writes.
"The longer this high profile fracas goes on, the greater Chinese Internet users awareness will be about the lengths to which their government goes to blinker their knowledge of the world." If China was to take that course of action, users would then have to wait and see what impact it would have on other Google services such as Gmail, Google maps and music downloads.
Many analysts believe that China, which has a history of backing down in the face of angry internet users, would not risk the wrath of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of users by blocking access to those services.
However at the moment nothing is impossible. The ball is now in China's court; as Sergey Brin so correctly observed, "The story's not over yet."
---By Peter Foster in Beijing
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
Facebook ousts Google in US popularity
Facebook has become the most visited website in the United States as millions of people turn to the social networking site to play online games.
The social networking site has seen phenomenal growth around the world and for the first time surpassed Google.com for a whole week in the US last week, according to the web analytics firm Hitwise.
The milestone indicates how important a gateway to the web social networks, in particular Facebook, are becoming.
Facebook has more than 400 million regular users worldwide, about half of whom visit the site every day to check their updates, post photos and, increasingly, play online social games.
The growing popularity of simple games such as FarmVille, which has more than 83 million players worldwide, has breathed added life into social networks and hold out the prospect of huge profits for Facebook and companies such as Zynga and Playfish as gamers use real money to buy virtual goods inside the games.
Google reacted to the threat of Facebook by launching its own social network within its Gmail service last month. But Google Buzz has got to a rocky start as users complained about privacy concerns.
Google's earlier attempt in 2004 at a social network called Orkut has only ever been really popular in Brazil.
Hitwise said that the market share of visits to Facebook.com increased 185 per cent last week as compared with the same week in 2009, while visits to Google.com increased 9 per cent during the same timeframe.
Facebook’s home page saw 7.07 per cent of traffic and Google’s 7.03 per cent. Together Facebook.com and Google.com accounted for 14 per cent of all US Internet visits last week, Hitwise said.
Facebook.com has been the most visited US website before: it reached the No 1 spot on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day as well as on the weekend of March 6 and 7. But last week is the most sustained lead it has attained.
In the UK, Facebook still lags some distance behind Google, partly because Google's market share of internet search is so much greater. Google.co.uk had 9.34 per cent of visits while Facebook had 6.01 per cent.
The Hitwise figures do not include searches carried out in a box in a browser toolbar and do not cover visits to other Google websites for services such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps.
Taking all these Google properties into account, the internet search company is still way out in front, accounting for 11.03 per cent of US website visits last week with Yahoo! properties second.
The US accounts for only 30 per cent of Facebook's global users. The company is continuing its policy of expansion overseas and is opening its first office in India to help it to tap the increasing popularity of social networking in the country
The office will be located in the southern city of Hyderabad and work along similar lines to other operation centres in the United States and Ireland, with online advertising and support teams
Facebook's director of global online operations, Don Faul, wrote on the firm's blog: "In India alone, we've seen rapid growth and now have more than eight million people there actively connecting on Facebook."
The Top 5 games on Facebook
1: FarmVille
With over 83 million monthly users, the developer Zynga’s build your own farm simulation game is a genuine Facebook phenomenon. Players pay for seeds, animals and interior décor in both virtual and real currencies. Virtual currency is generated by trading crops with other players, while new additions can be purchased with real money or virtual currency.
2: Birthday Cards
Not strictly a game, but an application with 47 million users that organises all your friends’ birthdays, prompts you with reminders and allows you to send free or paid for cards, and gifts. Developed by RockYou!
3: Café World
Another world-building application from Zynga which, like FarmVille, puts you in charge of a business which you can expand or allow to go bankrupt. 30.6 million users per month.
4: Texas HoldEm Poker
Zynga again, with a traditional poker game where chips are purched for real money, though considerably less than in the real world. 26.8 million users.
5: Happy Aquarium
Yet another heavy-maintenance creature-associated game, this time with fish. Developed by CrowdStar, it has 26.1 million users per month.
Figures accurate as of end February 2010. Source: insidesocialgames.com
The social networking site has seen phenomenal growth around the world and for the first time surpassed Google.com for a whole week in the US last week, according to the web analytics firm Hitwise.
The milestone indicates how important a gateway to the web social networks, in particular Facebook, are becoming.
Facebook has more than 400 million regular users worldwide, about half of whom visit the site every day to check their updates, post photos and, increasingly, play online social games.
The growing popularity of simple games such as FarmVille, which has more than 83 million players worldwide, has breathed added life into social networks and hold out the prospect of huge profits for Facebook and companies such as Zynga and Playfish as gamers use real money to buy virtual goods inside the games.
Google reacted to the threat of Facebook by launching its own social network within its Gmail service last month. But Google Buzz has got to a rocky start as users complained about privacy concerns.
Google's earlier attempt in 2004 at a social network called Orkut has only ever been really popular in Brazil.
Hitwise said that the market share of visits to Facebook.com increased 185 per cent last week as compared with the same week in 2009, while visits to Google.com increased 9 per cent during the same timeframe.
Facebook’s home page saw 7.07 per cent of traffic and Google’s 7.03 per cent. Together Facebook.com and Google.com accounted for 14 per cent of all US Internet visits last week, Hitwise said.
Facebook.com has been the most visited US website before: it reached the No 1 spot on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day as well as on the weekend of March 6 and 7. But last week is the most sustained lead it has attained.
In the UK, Facebook still lags some distance behind Google, partly because Google's market share of internet search is so much greater. Google.co.uk had 9.34 per cent of visits while Facebook had 6.01 per cent.
The Hitwise figures do not include searches carried out in a box in a browser toolbar and do not cover visits to other Google websites for services such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Maps.
Taking all these Google properties into account, the internet search company is still way out in front, accounting for 11.03 per cent of US website visits last week with Yahoo! properties second.
The US accounts for only 30 per cent of Facebook's global users. The company is continuing its policy of expansion overseas and is opening its first office in India to help it to tap the increasing popularity of social networking in the country
The office will be located in the southern city of Hyderabad and work along similar lines to other operation centres in the United States and Ireland, with online advertising and support teams
Facebook's director of global online operations, Don Faul, wrote on the firm's blog: "In India alone, we've seen rapid growth and now have more than eight million people there actively connecting on Facebook."
The Top 5 games on Facebook
1: FarmVille
With over 83 million monthly users, the developer Zynga’s build your own farm simulation game is a genuine Facebook phenomenon. Players pay for seeds, animals and interior décor in both virtual and real currencies. Virtual currency is generated by trading crops with other players, while new additions can be purchased with real money or virtual currency.
2: Birthday Cards
Not strictly a game, but an application with 47 million users that organises all your friends’ birthdays, prompts you with reminders and allows you to send free or paid for cards, and gifts. Developed by RockYou!
3: Café World
Another world-building application from Zynga which, like FarmVille, puts you in charge of a business which you can expand or allow to go bankrupt. 30.6 million users per month.
4: Texas HoldEm Poker
Zynga again, with a traditional poker game where chips are purched for real money, though considerably less than in the real world. 26.8 million users.
5: Happy Aquarium
Yet another heavy-maintenance creature-associated game, this time with fish. Developed by CrowdStar, it has 26.1 million users per month.
Figures accurate as of end February 2010. Source: insidesocialgames.com
Sunday, 21 March 2010
How to stay safe on a gap year
Peter Slowe, founder of Projects Abroad
“If you’re taking a trip on your own for the first time, it’s important to be aware. People are in danger of being mugged at tourist venues or being conned out of their money.
"My advice: always travel in a group (especially if you’re a younger gapper), always check your insurance (expensive insurance does not necessarily mean better insurance), and always make sure you do some research before you go – such as whether you need a mosquito net, what medicines you might need or the appropriate dress code for the country you’re visiting.”
Ian French, father of Georgia French who died in Peru, and founder of GapAid
“The most common dangers facing gap year travellers are usually quite minor – losing your passport, money, airline tickets, mobile phone or iPod. Then there are the more dangerous risks – of robbery, rape, or even kidnapping. You hear of people being marched to cash machines to empty their bank accounts.
"A gapper in a developing country is like a walking advert for ‘get rich quick’. You’ve got a watch, a mobile phone, a credit card and some money, and that is often more than some of the people in that country earn in a year. Secondly, it’s all about preparation.
"If you simply turn up somewhere you are going to have a problem. Do you know what language they speak? Do you know what the weather is going to be like? Have you sorted out accommodation? Checking these really basic things will make your trip a much better experience.”
Marcus Watts, founder of Gapforce
“As a gap year organisation we find some of the biggest problems are medical (for instance, going to a doctor where they are possibly using dodgy needles) but it’s also important that people are prepared for what they’re actually going to be doing. It’s amazing some of the complaints we get – we have actually had people complaining that the sun is too hot or the sand is too sandy!
"It’s all about getting people emotionally prepared for their trip. My main advice would be to treat wherever you are overseas as you would the UK. You wouldn’t get in a car with someone in the UK, so don’t do it there just because it’s a smiley chap from Fiji who lives on a desert island.
"And don’t leave your wallet on the bar just because it’s a nice little African place and everyone’s being friendly.”
Madeleine Wright, a student who recently spent three months in Ghana on a volunteer project
“My personal experience of getting ill while I was volunteering in Ghana made me realise how important caring for your health is when you’re living somewhere with a completely different climate and eating food you’re not used to.
"Always drink enough water (but never tap water unless you’re sure it is safe to do so) and don’t drink too much alcohol – you’re in unfamiliar territory and you need to be extra vigilant.
"From a safety perspective, always go out in groups and make sure you tell at least one person where you are headed.”
--By Katie Evans
“If you’re taking a trip on your own for the first time, it’s important to be aware. People are in danger of being mugged at tourist venues or being conned out of their money.
"My advice: always travel in a group (especially if you’re a younger gapper), always check your insurance (expensive insurance does not necessarily mean better insurance), and always make sure you do some research before you go – such as whether you need a mosquito net, what medicines you might need or the appropriate dress code for the country you’re visiting.”
Ian French, father of Georgia French who died in Peru, and founder of GapAid
“The most common dangers facing gap year travellers are usually quite minor – losing your passport, money, airline tickets, mobile phone or iPod. Then there are the more dangerous risks – of robbery, rape, or even kidnapping. You hear of people being marched to cash machines to empty their bank accounts.
"A gapper in a developing country is like a walking advert for ‘get rich quick’. You’ve got a watch, a mobile phone, a credit card and some money, and that is often more than some of the people in that country earn in a year. Secondly, it’s all about preparation.
"If you simply turn up somewhere you are going to have a problem. Do you know what language they speak? Do you know what the weather is going to be like? Have you sorted out accommodation? Checking these really basic things will make your trip a much better experience.”
Marcus Watts, founder of Gapforce
“As a gap year organisation we find some of the biggest problems are medical (for instance, going to a doctor where they are possibly using dodgy needles) but it’s also important that people are prepared for what they’re actually going to be doing. It’s amazing some of the complaints we get – we have actually had people complaining that the sun is too hot or the sand is too sandy!
"It’s all about getting people emotionally prepared for their trip. My main advice would be to treat wherever you are overseas as you would the UK. You wouldn’t get in a car with someone in the UK, so don’t do it there just because it’s a smiley chap from Fiji who lives on a desert island.
"And don’t leave your wallet on the bar just because it’s a nice little African place and everyone’s being friendly.”
Madeleine Wright, a student who recently spent three months in Ghana on a volunteer project
“My personal experience of getting ill while I was volunteering in Ghana made me realise how important caring for your health is when you’re living somewhere with a completely different climate and eating food you’re not used to.
"Always drink enough water (but never tap water unless you’re sure it is safe to do so) and don’t drink too much alcohol – you’re in unfamiliar territory and you need to be extra vigilant.
"From a safety perspective, always go out in groups and make sure you tell at least one person where you are headed.”
--By Katie Evans
Sunday, 6 September 2009
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Sick
Say the word ‘sick’ and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A time when you were off school or work, maybe, or perhaps when you had too much to drink, or ate something that had gone off?
You might be surprised, then, to hear that in fact, for many young people today, ‘sick’ is used as an adjective to describe something good, amazing or cool. “That game was sick!” or “He’s got a sick car.”
The dictionary publisher Harper Collins has enlisted the help of social networking site, Bebo, which has 10.5 million UK users, to vote on which new slang words should be included in the 30th edition of their dictionary. The words which users will be asked to vote on were chosen by a panel of 14 – 18 year-olds. ‘Sick’ was one of the words on the shortlist, a reflection of its widespread use among today’s teenagers in Britain. It is part of a wider trend of words which have taken on an additional meaning, in this case changing from an originally negative meaning to something more positive. Other examples of this are ‘bad’ (meaning good of course), or ‘wicked’ (see Series 2).
This inversion of the meaning of words can lead to some confusion for anyone who’s been around a bit longer and is used to the more conventional meaning of the word. You know the word ‘sick’ can mean something negative or positive, depending on the context, so you might occasionally hear someone say ‘That’s sick!’ and just for a moment ask yourself, hmmm, I wonder, do they mean ‘good’ or ‘bad’?---Jim Pettiward
You might be surprised, then, to hear that in fact, for many young people today, ‘sick’ is used as an adjective to describe something good, amazing or cool. “That game was sick!” or “He’s got a sick car.”
The dictionary publisher Harper Collins has enlisted the help of social networking site, Bebo, which has 10.5 million UK users, to vote on which new slang words should be included in the 30th edition of their dictionary. The words which users will be asked to vote on were chosen by a panel of 14 – 18 year-olds. ‘Sick’ was one of the words on the shortlist, a reflection of its widespread use among today’s teenagers in Britain. It is part of a wider trend of words which have taken on an additional meaning, in this case changing from an originally negative meaning to something more positive. Other examples of this are ‘bad’ (meaning good of course), or ‘wicked’ (see Series 2).
This inversion of the meaning of words can lead to some confusion for anyone who’s been around a bit longer and is used to the more conventional meaning of the word. You know the word ‘sick’ can mean something negative or positive, depending on the context, so you might occasionally hear someone say ‘That’s sick!’ and just for a moment ask yourself, hmmm, I wonder, do they mean ‘good’ or ‘bad’?---Jim Pettiward
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