data, data, data!

This week I was reminded about the American Community Survey on the US Census Bureau home page. You'll find it under the American Fact Finder links. It's cool and you should take a look at it. Why? Because it's free demographic information! Who would need such a thing?
Let's see...

• Students!
• Job seekers
• Business owners
• Entrepreneurs
• Non-profit organization
• Grassroots campaign workers and volunteers
• Social services
• Retirees trying to find the best place to live
• Architects 
• Anyone who wants to see data on their communities!

Try it out! Play around with the categories and see what you can find out about where you live.

Being safe, being informed

Due to the recent earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and car recalls, safety is at the front of the line of Big Concerns. This isn't a new thing. It's a constant thing. Just take a look at the prevalence of hand sanitizer (yes, I have several plastic bottles of it myself).

Can we really be safe? I can't answer this with any great confidence in either  "yes" or "no".
However, I believe that we can be informed. While it's impossible to stop a volcano or an earthquake, we can know more about the products we buy. Here are a few places to go to know about recalls and product safety issues.

Consumer Reports
This is probably the first resource that many latch on to when buying a car or investigating a recall. It's a great place to start. However, a lot of the content is for paid subscribers only. Check your local library. You may have access to more of the site if you go through them.This independent,  nonprofit organization has the largest consumer testing facility in the world.They've been testing products and reporting on them since the 1930's.

US Consumer Products Safety Commission
This is the web page for the commission. You'll also find quick links to recalled products, recent news on products, and you can also report an unsafe product.

US Consumer Products Safety Commission-SaferProducts.gov
If you are into consumer product safety policy, then this might be for you. This page discusses the Consumer Product Safety Risk Management System. You find Reports to Congress and recent recalls. You can get on a recall alert email list too.

Consumer Federation of American
This is a non-profit research and advocacy group. They've been investigating products and publishing newsletters since 1968.

When in doubt, go directly to the manufacturer. Get to know the products you buy. Stay informed.

Google and China, breaking up on April 10

It's been too long since I've had something to share. I'd like to point out a recent event that touches the arenas of privacy, freedom of speech,  and intellectual freedom. Oh, there's a business aspect to all of this too.

I'm hoping you've heard the recent news about tension between Google and China.
If not, here are some articles, blog posts, and reports to glance at:
Google to leave China on April 10-cnet.com 3/18/10
Google's Quixotic China Challenge-BusinessWeek 3/24/10
A new approach to China: an update-Google blog 3/22/10 
Google Stops Censoring Search Results in China-BBC News 3/22/10
US-China Economic and Security Review Commission Annual Report 2009-this report is quite large, see Chapter 4, China's Media and Information Controls-The Impact in China and the United States

Basically, Google (among other companies) was the victim of a "sophisticated cyber attack". Google believed that part of this attack was an attempt by the Chinese government to get at the gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The Chinese government has denied any involvement. China also routinely requires search engines to censor search results on terms like Tiananmen Square and the Dalai Lama. ( note that, in China, sites such as Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter are also blocked.)


I'm making this sound fairly easy-to-understand. But it's just not that simple. China is a massive market. At the risk of sound extremely simple, I'll say this-the Chinese government demands information be presented (or not presented) in a certain way. Any western company will have to deal with this. Even though Google may rule search in many places, it doesn't in China. Google has a very small percentage of the search market there. The search engine Baidu is much more popular.

I was actually in China when all of this was happening. It was interesting to see the news reports (they were in Chinese, which I don't speak) on this. People were leaving flowers on the Google sign at the headquarters. While I was there, I was able to access my gmail account. I can confirm that facebook and Youtube are blocked.