China has finally broken its silence regarding Google’s threats to leave the country. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu has indirectly responded to the search giant’s warning that they will stop censoring results in China, and may close down its Google.cn site altogether. Google is blaming recent security attacks as the main culprit for their decision.

Speaking in Beijing at a ministry meeting, Jiang claimed China believes in an “Open Internet” and that the country welcomes international Internet enterprises to conduct business in China according to the law.

While not mentioning Google by name, its clear this has been a huge story all over the world. There has been no indication so far as to whether the Chinese government has been in talks with Google as of yet, but the search engine is keen to speak with Beijing’s authorities in coming weeks. The company hopes to look at operating an unfiltered search engine within the law in the country, though no changes to filtering have yet been made.

China does encourage the use of online services in both education and business. However, current law means a national firewall will filter all web content. It remains to be seen if Google alone can change how business is done in China, but if one company is big enough to do it, my money is on them.

China Responds To Google’s Threats

I couldn’t help but smile as I read a post on Geeks earlier. The original author reposted a story that she had read somewhere. There is no attribution, simply because it was originally posted online by someone who wished to remain anonymous. The story tells about a kind act the person did for a teenager in need. At the end of the story, the Geeks poster says that it always makes her smile, knowing that the World we live in isn’t so bad, after all.

I have to agree. This World really isn’t so bad. I witness and read about random acts of goodness on a daily basis. The work that my friend Mark Horvath is doing with homeless people touches my heart constantly. The work our buddy Drew Olanoff to help raise cancer awareness is astounding. People just like you are making a difference, one small random act of kindness at a time.

What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for another person? It doesn’t matter if you did not help a homeless teenager and her baby return home. Every act, no matter how small they seem to you, make a big impact on someone’s life. Any time the opportunity arises to help someone else, we should grab it.

This wasn’t the only great thing posted in our community today. I’m proud to say that we have an amazing network of people, working hard every day to bring the latest news, reports, opinions and emotions to life within our small corner of the World.

• Does China own our computer future?
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• A bad PE teacher can lead to a lifetime of inactivity.
• If you’re interested in being a guest blogger on Lockergnome, now is your chance!
• Will computer costs rise this year, despite the bad economy?
• In order to plan for 2010 successfully, you first need to stop making resolutions.
• Are votes being sold online?
• The solution is less, not more.
• How is your human computer doing?
• Between the iPhone and Nexus One complaints, MagicJack looks better every day to some people.
• Does Microsoft have it all wrong?
• Twitter needs to change its ways before it goes down the same path that MySpace did.
• Could “fanboys” be hurting Apple?
• Should the phone companies just give up?
• Would you rent Windows?

Don’t miss out on the best deals you’ll find for the hottest new software! You can find all of your Apps and software right on our downloads site.

What is the Nicest Thing You’ve Ever Done?

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As of the recording of this video, more than 50,000 people are confirmed dead in China after last week’s Earthquake. Thousands more are feared dead. Several thousand more are injured, starving, and homeless. This isn’t about politics, nor creed, race or color. It’s about human beings… just like you.

They need our help, folks. Basic necessities are impossible to come by in China. They need blankets, water, food, tents, clothing and formula for children and babies that are now starving. This is a tragedy of horrific measure. Think back to 9/11. Remember how the World came together, reaching out to those in the United States who desperately needed help. That’s what we need to do now. We have a social responsibility as a citizen of this planet to do what we can.

There are many ways we can help. You can choose to make a monetary donation, a donation of goods, or even become a volunteer with the Red Cross.

I don’t care if you’re green with purple polka dots, live on Mars, and have no religious or political affiliations. Things like that don’t matter right now. What matters is those people who are dying, those thousands who are injured and need our help. They are human beings, just as you are. It could happen to you, at any time.

In addition to the Red Cross, there are a number of other organizations who are accepting donations in order to help the victims of this horrible tragedy.

Even if you cannot afford to help monitarily, I urge you to say a prayer tonight for those people if you pray. Light a candle. Send positive energy. Whatever it is you do in times of tragedy, I ask you to have a quiet moment to remember those lost, and hope for those left behind.

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Helping China

Social networking sites may seem like they are taking over the Internet, but that’s only because they are. At DEMO China, Jake spoke with Alex Kummerman, CEO of ClicMobile, about the company’s new OEM solution for easily integrating social networking into any Web site. ClicMobile’s AreYouHere platform is the solution that powers this kind of social networking integration with a combination of MySpace-like Web presence and a mobile component that feels like a more user-friendly version of Dodgeball, with some additional features for uploading and downloading content direct to your phone thrown in as well. There’s one live implementation of AreYouHere via the YooTribe site in France, but ClicMobile has its eye on entering the Chinese market in the very near future.

You can read more about ClicMobile and AreYouHere in Jake’s coverage of DEMO China.

Alex Kummerman on the ClicMobile AreYouHere Social Networking Platform

Online Security is important. Flickr users in China, Iran, and Iraq feel the same way I do – though Microsoft employees in Lebanon and Israel don’t (since they’re all on the Mac). An Online Search for the keyword yeilds few results, so perhaps we’re in need of more Education – or more Firefox Advertising from the Bush Administration?

The Politics of Security

Silicon Valley – how cool your breezes blow across my balcony in the San Jose Marriott. We’re covering the Search Engine Strategies conference for Windows Live this week, and I think I’ve inadvertently stumbled into a different kind of interview strategy. From this point forward, every one of our guests will be forced to reveal between 5 to 10 tips to our listeners. Everybody wants to be an expert, so instead of merely talking about their expertise – we’re going to allow them to prove it to everybody. Infonuggets are easy to digest, even with the most foreign subjects. Oh, and speaking of foreign – Jake’s headed to DEMO China in a couple of weeks, and we’re actively seeking sponsorship with what will likely be a set of very unique and exclusive interviews.

Hey Hey, San Jose!