Google gets trouble in Europe

Some European organizations have been accusing of Google's invading of privacy in disclosing privacy info. Seems Google already made a compromise to only allow the online data available for two years, but seems those organizations are not satisfied.

How sad it is. To me, Google is more than a search engine. It's more like a library, a dictionary and a friend which he tells you everything. Seems now the library will be cut to a drawer-size, a dictionary that could only see the A part, and the friends will lose all his memory two years ago. It will be such a bad scence that I've never want to see.

busy time

Haven't been posted for a while. My individual life has been experiencing a major change and I don't have a lot of time to write my thoughts here.(that's a bad excuse, I know....) Time flies. I've already been living in Hong Kong for nearly three years. In fact, it was just like a flash, and suddenly three years passed.

Today someone just asked me how do I like Hong Kong. I said "the place is nice, people are nice, food is good". But in fact, I like the atmosphere more because you could chase all you dream here if you work hard enough. It's not my home country, but it has given me a lot of opportunities which I've never dreamed of.

It may be really sad to say goodbye to Hong Kong. The city has given me a different life, a different dream, and different friends. And my life has changed.

Google's role in paying for shoe leather

Seems a conflict question: the author of this article argued that Google should try to develop paid information technology instead of free ones to push a trusted online culture; however, Google has just developed based on this free culture since the beginning.

I am a big fan of free technology, since I believe they will help reduce the hierarchy. So free technology should find a way of making money itself.

P.S. but the story is not bad, with a lot of sightful idea on online news development.

She is gone

Lin daiyu, is one of the most studied literary women in China. Chen Xiaoyu, the actress of Lin Daiyu in the "The dream in the Red Chamber", is the most successful one to act the role. Asking the people from 20 to 70, no one will miss her and the whole drama which have been shown 500 times in the country already. The drama is so good that you will never get tired watching times.

Now she is gone, peacefully with her love to the world remaining. My best wishes. Take care in the other world.

self discipline for Chinese bloggers

China is going to launch a self discipline on the bloggers' writing from June, according to Yang Zuojun, a official with China Internet Association(should be a non-profit one). (news in Chinese)

The first impression to me is: wow, China is going into the front of the bloggering world. I know U.S. bloggers are talking on this too, but still in talking. However, China is going to have its own code.

But after reading the details, I found this code is totall based from the view of blogging hosts, instead from bloggers themselves. It said the bloggering hosts will not be responsible for the wrongdoings of the blogggers, though they have to have certain "hotline" for the complaints. And also, it suggested the usage of real name in the blogging world, easy to manage, I guess.

For the Blogger Code, it is just in five items: (1) no illegal information (2) no racial discrimination (3) no offense to others and fake information (4) no copy right violation (5) responsible for managing the comments on the blogs.

In fact, I would say the five items are very simple and very general to be either misused by the regulator or the bloggers themselves. Also, a self-disciplined blogger should need more than that, such as balanced view, fair comments, double-checking facts, or in simple words, just like journalism.

The world is flat, and the media is flat, too. Now a mainstream media could even follow a blogging post, which means blogs should afford more public responsbilitiy to seek truth, not rumors.

Saying this, I felt hard to follow rumors these days. And I have lost my creativity.

The new Chinese rule is going to seek public consultation from the beginning of June. Keep tuned here (very interesting, the self-discipline working committee put it 2005 working plan on April 24 2007, a bit of late, isn 't it?)

My two cents on Thomson-Reuters deal

It's a quick deal, taking only a few weeks to finalize the US$17 billion deal for Thomson to buy Reuters. Thomson, which doesn't have the news service, could now add Reuters News into its portfolio. The target is very clear, beating Bloomberg, who has been beating Reuters on news, and beating Thomson on data. After the deal, Thomson-Reuters, will own 34 percent of the market for financial data, while Bloomberg currently has 33 percent.

However, my view is that they couldn't win just based on simply plus each other's market share. Bloomberg has got its reputation by quality news and simply user interface. I got the opportunity to use both Bloomberg and Reuters every day, and frankly speaking, the news is more structured, and the data is easily found. Don't forget that Content is always the King(look at the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times). So I would like to read more news from bloomberg because of its clear structure.

Now my question is if the deal will affect My. Murdoch's decision to buy Dow Jones. Positve, or the other side?

Well connected Couple in HK suspected of insider-trading in the Murdoch bidding to Dow Jones

Drama is always in the real life. Today, U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit towards a well-connected couple in Hong Kong of insider trading. (WSJ did a good story on this, but u could also have a look on the Reuters story. Anyone need the WSJ story, please send me ur email, I will forward to you)

Several big individual and company names appeared in the drama-like process happend between April 13 and April 30, the day before the Murdoch bidding was annouced.

Hong Kong businessman Michael Leung Kai Hung, a good friend of David Li

Dow Jones director,David Li, chairman and chief executive of the Bank of East Asia Ltd.,
Hong Kong's largest locally owned banking group.

China Mobile Peoples Telephone Co. Ltd., a mobile-phone operator in
Hong Kong

Is the US$8 million that attractive?

Be careful of a fraud Paypal email

I have a paypal account, which helped a lot when I bought a calling card online to call from U.S. And the money there was earned from writing an online column years ago.

Yesterday, I received a letter from support@paypal.com, and it seems very scaring "Your paypal access is limited". The wrting sounds very professsoinal and sincere. What the hell is that? I thought. Then I was tempted to click the link there to find what really happened. Luckily, I checked the link before, and found it would direct to a website of sw.biz.rr.com, (very weird name, isn't it?) Then I learnt it is fraud.

I checked my paypal account and seems everything is fine. So friends, please be careful of the email if you receive it. Online secury is much more important than before when you have real money in.

Finally back

After the one-month trip, I finally came back to Hong Kong, the "home" with friends and my bed. Fighting with the jet leg, It seemed I got recovered in two days, which is a bit faster than I thought.

I took the continental airline back, and met such a happy flight attendant. He, in his fifties or sixtieth, is so happy, either when he handed me the towels, or gave me another ice cream. He talked to passengers just like old friends. When he said goodbye to everyone at last, he even started singing. Such a happy person. Compared to some others, (especialy a young male attendent who has no expression in the face at all), this elder man really make travellers feel relaxed.

So here is what I learnt: love your job; if you don't love the current job, then find the one you love. Life is short, and why don't live happily?