China Cracking Down…Again

Here’s one from the ‘you can’t have it both ways’ file. China is cracking down on the Internet and specifically online forums that have become platforms for criticism. Criticism of the communist government is a big ‘no no’ there, but at the same time they seem to enjoy the benefits of all the western capitalism that has been transplanted.

Sure the Chinese government has come out and said that ‘Internet rumors are malignant tumors that harm social stability.’ Maybe, but freedom of speech undermines the kind of dictatorship of the proletariat that the Chinese, and the Soviets before them, use and used a keep a totalitarian thumb on their citizens. No matter in the end, though. Social media and the web is picking away at all forms of dictatorship everywhere. All good things just take time.

In other news, the people who founded Twitter have come up with another innovation that will help small business get an even bigger foothold on the Internet. Square is the brainchild of Jack Dorsey and it allows merchants to take credit card payments over smartphones and tablets. It looks like just the kind of innovation that might add a much needed spark to the American business climate. It might even be possible to make more room for mobile apps to raise their prices and complexity. The new business was started in California and is looking to tap into the 26 million American businesses that do not accept credit cards. There’s even the hope that Square will eventually replace the cash register entirely and let smaller businesses run their operations from an iPad or other tablet device, processing payments and even taking inventory online.

Back to China for some good news. The leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests has opened a school for the promotion of democracy there. Dan Wang hopes to promote democracy in that country through the use of the Internet. Good for him. It’s harder to put tanks up against the millions that will stand up and be heard online for their fundamental freedoms. Wang admits the motivation for the new school was the Arab Spring movement and the changes it is fostering in the Middle East.

Wang knows the starting day for the enterprise, National Day in China which was yesterday will more than likely get him blocked, but he hopes will all the students studying abroad, the news will get around censorship. Here’s a link so you can sign up and do your part.

http://ns4d.org/

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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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Get Product Recommendations and Help Other Shoppers on Get.com

Have you ever needed a new product, but didn’t know where to start looking; maybe you knew the type of product you needed, but didn’t know which exact one/type to choose? It always helps when you can get recommendations from others who are more knowledgeable about that specific category of products. That’s where Get.com comes in handy.

“Get.com is a Q&A platform that helps you get product recommendations quickly from thousands of people.” It’s as simple as that. First you connect your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts. Next you setup your profile. Lastly you can ask your questions or help others who have asked questions.

From the home page you can see recent questions from all categories. You can also navigate to other categories (via the header links), ask your own question, click to view the leaderboard, view the top helpers, and see recent visitors to the site. This is the best place to find questions that you can jump into and give your input.

You’ll also notice that there are often a few odd-ball questions mixed into the bunch.

The main purpose of Get.com is to get product recommendations and help others who need suggestions. Sometimes you’ll find questions that are looking for a straightforward answer, while others may ask you to suggest your own product.

In the screenshot below you’ll see that some users have suggested headphones that the user might like. Other users can then go in and vote for one of the suggestions or add their own to the mix.

There are also ways to share and follow questions that interest you. Additionally, you can see related questions along with your personally history (recently viewed questions) in the sidebar.

Asking your own question is quite simple as well. First click on the yellow “Ask Question” link in the top header of the site. You can then type in your questions along with additional details (if needed), budget, and topic (electronics, automotive, photography, makeup & beauty, parenting).

Lastly, you can choose whether or not you’d like to get product suggestions (like pictured above).

Finally, there is the settings area. Here you can ad a picture, choose a display name (full name or first name and last initial), add a mini bio and about info, add your website, and customize your email notifications.

Unfortunately, you can’t actually change your display name. For instance, I signed up using Facebook and now it is using my full name as my display name. Personally, I’d rather use a screen name or at least a name that most people know me by, not my legal full name.

Do you feel there is a need for a service like Get.com? It is something that you plan to use yourself?

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