Yahoo! and Google help repress Chinese citizens?

From foot binding, to communism, to one-child policies…to internet regulation? Historically a country known for its strict adherence to traditions, cultural laws and respect for superiors, some Chinese are now speaking out against their repressive government via the Internet. According to Human Rights Watch, “the Chinese government retains its ability to arbitrarily restrict certain speech or punish people for holding and sharing their opinions.” In a country where the media adheres to restricted topics it can report on, the Internet provides an anonymous place for citizens to finally vocalize their opinions. Or so they thought.

Chinese citizens, such as Jiang Lijun, are being arrested for discussing political issues on the Internet. A Chinese Web site was even closed for running a public opinion poll about whether national leaders in China should be elected! Check out the story below.

This is completely shocking to me! In the U.S., blogging, and the Internet in general, is a powerful means of measuring the public opinions, and presidential candidates rely heavily on the Internet to relay information to the public, and to receive feedback from the public. It is revolutionary over here! Candidates create media campaigns specifically for the Internet, in order to target specific audiences through various sites. Some even propose that the Internet may make or break the decision of our next president. That is HUGE!

I am so fascinated that the exact same invention can cause polar opposite revolutions in different countries. For the U.S., blogging and freedom of expression in regards to the government are encouraged and even promoted by candidates, and government leaders even maintain their own blogs. In China, freedom of expression is severely restricted and is enforced by arresting those who decide to speak their mind about the government via the Internet.

Companies such as Google and Yahoo! have adjusted their search engines to incorporate the restrictions of the Chinese government. Yahoo! has adapted even more than Google in an effort to increase the use of their search engine in the country. So I ask you, are these search engines benefitting the Chinese by complying with their laws? Or are they restricting Chinese citizens even more?

Deceit? Or great self-promotion?

Along with all innovative technologies comes a recipe for disaster. The birth of the internet. A marvelous invention that revolutionized the armed forces, changed the way we do business and unites people all over the world. The birth of the internet. An invention used to promote hate crimes, sex videos, gossip, pornography and cults. First came the good, then came the bad…

And then came blogs. A way for people to post personal opinions for the world to see, freedom of expression and a great tool for marketing research. And then came blogs. An open means of publically humiliating yourself, others, companies and friends. First came the good, then came the bad…

And then came FLOGS. Perhaps one of the most famous incidents of flogging can be attributed to Wal-Mart. Let me pause for a second for those who have yet to hear the term “flog.” A flog is the new world for fake blogs. According to Wikipedia (yes I know this site is not always reliable, but in this case it gives a great definition,) a flog is a fake blog or “a marketing tool designed by a professional advertisement company to promote a product in a fashion one might find on a fan site or in regular blog entries.” Wal-Mart, one of the biggest corporations in the U.S. faced public humiliation when it was discoverted the corporation had been flogging on the internet. In fact, the flog is now extremely difficult to track down, as Wal-Mart is deleting all available evidence of its existence. Learn about it and other fake blogs here.

So what is the problem with flogs? I mean, who cares if a Wal-Mart employee is told to write positive comments about the company and post them on the internet? SO WHAT! First of all, Wal-Mart has thousands of employees, so one opinion is not magically going to change America’s opinion of Wal-Mart. Secondly, companies promote themselves on the Internet all the time. Why does it matter if someone promotes their company anonymously? Or under a pseudonym? The Internet is one of the few facets in our world in which people are capable of being completely evasive, nondescript and secretive about their identities. Everyone knows this.

I guess what I am saying is that I feel Wal-Mart received a ridiculously unfair amount of negative publicity for this incident. I see nothing wrong with promoting a company, and if that promotion happens to be via the internet, then consumer beware. Everyone knows that when it comes to the Internet, nothing is set in stone.

Check out this example of a parady blog: a fake blog written to entertain.