Chinese Minister Hints At Consequences For Google
March 13, 2010
Despite weeks of talks that have supposedly taken place behind closed doors, the Chinese government still seems unwilling to compromise with respect to Google and censorship. Indeed, it may be growing hostile, as a minister talked about "consequences" today.
The BBC reported that Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong adopted a tough stance during a legislation session. "I hope that Google will abide and respect the Chinese government's laws and regulations," he said. "But, if you betray Chinese laws and regulations . . . it means that you are unfriendly, irresponsible, and you will have to pay the consequences."
As for what those consequences might be, it almost sounds as if China's ready to force Google out of the country whether it wants to leave or not. The Chinese official stated at one point, "[W]hat needs to be shut down will be shut down, what needs to be blocked will be blocked."
This is less than good news for anyone who was hoping Google would be able to keep operating in China. Considering that Eric Schmidt recently said "something will happen soon," it may even represent the end of the road, rather than just another outburst of rhetoric.
Or not. Investors on both sides have failed to flinch, with Google's and Baidu's stocks up about equal amounts so far today.
Microsoft To Spend $2 Billion On Bing Ads In The UK
March 8, 2010
As fans of "The Office" may know, it's fairly common for the entertainment industry to take a successful concept and adapt it for use overseas. And now, Microsoft's performing a similar conversion, launching a "Bing and decide" advertising campaign in the U.K.
It's a good bet that you've seen a couple of these amusing TV spots by now; they feature one person trying to talk to another, but the second individual, suffering from "search overload," is only able to respond by rattling off absurd details related to certain keywords.
It's commercials in this vein that Microsoft intends to air in the U.K., starting this Wednesday and continuing through the middle of June. Mark Sweney reported that the campaign will cost the company a significant amount: $2 billion.
Ashley Highfield, who used to work for the BBC and now holds the lengthy title "Managing Director & VP, Consumer & Online UK" at Microsoft, also assured Sweney, "This is a big moment - we are taking out our slingshots and taking on Goliath."
Highfield didn't lay out what sort of market share gains Microsoft hopes to make as a result of this ad campaign.
BBC Journalists Commanded To Use Social Media
February 11, 2010
Journalists who work for one of the most respected news organizations in the world will be making greater use of social media from now on. Peter Horrocks, the BBC's director of global news, has more or less ordered his reporters to become comfortable with sites like Twitter.
As reported by Mercedes Bunz, Horrocks stated in an internal BBC publication, "This isn't just a kind of fad from someone who's an enthusiast of technology. I'm afraid you're not doing your job if you can't do those things. It's not discretionary."
Horrocks then continued, "If you don't like it, if you think that level of change or that different way of working isn't right for me, then go and do something else, because it's going to happen. You're not going to be able to stop it."
Don't be surprised if BBC articles start quoting people who answered questions via Facebook, then. Or it's possible that important announcements made on Twitter will be incorporated into headlines. Neither of which is at all a bad thing, as long as the BBC's fact-checking remains up to snuff.
There is one detail that makes Horrocks's command a bit ironic, though. Almost exactly one year ago, Horrocks used Twitter to discuss some promotions with a colleague. The problem was, his messages were public instead of private, so unsuccessful applicants didn't receive any sort of proper notice. Other media organizations had a fair amount of fun at his expense.
The Latest Revolution From Apple, The iPad
January 29, 2010
Award winning BBC comedy personality, Peter Serafinowicz, has released a video in which he shows the “latest revolution from Apple, the iPad”.
What did you think of the video? Talk to ArisYulianta and Friends....
I’m sure by now you’ve figured out this isn’t the real iPad… well I guess it could be as this one doesn’t feature a camera either. ;) This spoof of Apple’s announcement is from Funny or Die’s UK site. Serafinowicz seems to be both poking fun at Steve Jobs and the following video, which is the official one from Apple’s site.
Do you think the initial comedic value of the iPad will die down anytime soon? Talk to ArisYulianta and Friends... what you think.
