Information is always neutral January 14, 2010
Posted by Blake Sunshine in blogging, social media.Tags: china, google, google in china, search engines, social media
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Most of you who read my blog already know that I LOVE China. I was both shocked and amazed by the things I saw and people I met when I visited last July.
Of course there were many things that I did not and still do not agree with that the Chinese Government does. I know that information in always neutral, and that it is neither inherently good nor bad. The Chinese Government certainly does not agree with that, just take a look at all of the words they have banned from search engines in China.
Borrowed from informationisbeautiful.net/
Which is why I am not surprised to hear that Google is going to stop operating a filtered search engine in China.
According to Google, “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”
But Google is not just doing this because of their belief that information is neutral, they actually detected an attack on their infrastructure that originated from China that resulted in the theft of IP.
I understand why Google is doing what they are doing, but I feel like there has to be some way to allow the people of China to get the information they need and deserve within the confines of their government.
The Chinese people are an amazing people and they deserve access to information, and I believe their government and Google need to work together to give them this luxury.
I love China
Two funny things about China that have nothing to do with Millennials August 3, 2009
Posted by Blake Sunshine in millennials, Uncategorized.Tags: china, h1n1 china, swine flu, swine flu videos
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This post has nothing to do with Millennials, social media or marketing. But it has everything to do with two funny things I saw in China. Both of these funny things happened while I was on airplanes.
The first happened when I landed in Shanghai and men in hazmat suits laser-beamed my forehead. The second happened when I saw a swine flu cartoon on the way from Wuhan to Shanghai.
Lucky for me, I have now found both videos on YouTube.
Millennials in China July 26, 2009
Posted by Blake Sunshine in millennials, Uncategorized.Tags: china, millennial, millennials, millennials in china, traveling millennials
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I’m finally home from an AMAZING trip to China! And if you think Millennials in America have a tough time dealing with generational difference, you have NO IDEA! Millennials in China are dealing with intense generational differences both with their parent’s and grandparent’s generations.
The “boomer” generation in China is extremely traditional compared to American boomers. They adhere to traditional Chinese values and are extremely loyal to the government that they remember from their early days. And while I was surprised to find that Millennials are also fiercely loyal to the Chinese government, I was not surprised to see such a generational shift.
For example, older Chinese generations believe in the manta of “more children= more happiness.” Which is great, unless you have 1.3 billion people in your country, in which case more children= overpopulation and the depletion of all necessary resources. The government says “one child is your limit,” and younger Chinese generations not only adhere, but change the traditional Chinese mindset about having children. I heard from numerous of our trip’s tour guides that their generation is not “understood” by older generations (what a shocker!). Members of the older Chinese generations still bother younger generations about getting married, having children and getting jobs. Millennials in China are under the same pressures that Millennials in America feel.
In the city of Wuhan I met Toby (his American name) who serves as a tour guide through his local city. He explained that he had just bought his first condo about six months ago. Condos are extremely popular in China, especially for young people and young families, but can be very very expensive. When Toby bought his apartment his mother warned him that he should wait until he had all of the money needed to buy it. About three months ago the value of Toby’s condo tripled. The traditional Chinese mindset of loyalty and thrift is quickly being replaced by a more “Millennial attitude” of growth and expansion.
Overall, I found Chinese Millennials very similar to American Millennials, but I would love to see more official research on the Millennials of China, so please share it with me if you find any!
