Flames of Arab Spring Flickering In China?

Although it’s way too early too early to hope for the same kind of upheaval and shaking up of the regime in China that occurred in parts of the Arab world, some news reports allowed out from that country draw some interesting comparisons.

Here’s one. Internet activist “Huaguoshanzongshuji” recently said that his research had been erased from the popular Chinese microblogging Weibo site after he did some work on Chinese government officials wearing luxury watches. Although the work was erased from the site, the official Chinese Xinhua news agency said the fight against corruption there should follow this online method. As long as any facts proving the corruption are censored, it would seem.

Closer to home, it looks like Microsoft is getting ready to step up to the plate with Windows 8, or at least they’re getting closer. The latest version of Explorer, IE 10, was released this week for Windows 8 testers only. The new Metro interface that won’t be available until some time in 2012 will be what the releases describe as ‘touch only.’ Although you will still be able to use a mouse and keyboard, many industry insiders are already talking about a time that’s approaching when the touch screen will be as familiar as the built in web cam is today. Let’s hope the whole thing doesn’t fall into that all too familiar Vista Rabbit Hole.

There might not be an imminent internet based uprising happening in China just yet, but a version of the Quiet Revolution is taking place in the halls of academia across the world.  A recent report from the New York Times states that many librarians in hallowed halls of learning are refusing to renew their subscriptions to expensive academic publications since they have found they can get compatible information on the internet for free. In the world of academia, the worth of a published article is measured in the number of times it is cited and the Internet offers few restrictions except for the obligation to cite the work.

Back to China for the last bit here. A consulting firm there has just reported that Internet based companies have been flourishing in the second quarter. A list of 37 internet based firms there saw their profits rise 38.7 percent year on year. The company that reported the numbers, China Venture, is hoping the surge will carry over into bigger numbers on the American stock exchange.

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China and Google: freedom of speech battle continues

With everything that happens in the world today, you may have forgotten another small battle in the ongoing battle between Google and China. Can you believe that a country that is expanding rapidly its economic power, you might want to save the same problem that repressive forces in places such as Egypt and Tunisia have passed into the hands of the new technologies of the Internet in General and social media specifically, appears to be a hell, China tend to maintains the old ways.

Consider a recent news that reports only hours after Google + (the latest social media by the giantess) introduced in that country, was banned and joined the ranks of Twitter and Facebook. China, long known as the enemies of freedom of speech and email surveillance and Internet police force and other tools made some big showdowns cryptic. There have been still fresh allegations this year that gmail was hacked into by the Chinese. While many people seem to be missing the point.

Information technology in all its forms is a new way of doing things, including professional and if each country hopes to remain successful in this new world, we need to embrace technology, as well as freedom of speech that is a necessary companion to it. It is repressive as Chinese guarantees failure.

There are other interesting news, when it comes to Internet marketing, because, although some of these statistics will surprise. A new survey found that while 41% of consumers own a smartphone, email is still the most common way that people get the message in respect of the sale when it comes to mobile applications. Exact target examined the results of nearly 1500 consumers and found that e-mail still trumping, text messaging and even Facebook posting. This is not the first time the latest Johnny-Come-Lately the scene has been put back in place of the good old traditional email marketing. The argument can be made for social media and the like as a more direct way for people to get in touch and even sharing information, but it seems that to get information about goods and services for sale are still in the field of other technologies such as e-mail.

The survey goes on to report that the new generation of smartphone user is becoming more and more comfortable making purchases with the device and a full 40% would give up their laptop, than turn their smartphone.

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