Google's search sites in China abruptly stopped working earlier this week, but the explanation for the outage got a little loosey goosey as the day wore on. The Internet technology powerhouse first blamed itself, noting a technical change, but later reversed course and pointed to the heavy hand of China’s “Great Firewall" -- even as service appeared to be back to normal.
Read Google Runs Into China's "Great Firewall" over at the AllThingsD.
What do you think is really going on?
Then, I read the following and find it terribly unsettling yet fascinating at the same time:
Why Foreigners Can't Win in China
And to top that off, which I didn't think was possible, I catch this disturbing piece related not to Google-China relations but to China, the country itself, that makes me want to never ever write about China again:
China Body-Dumping Case Highlights Clash of Values (I'll say)
All of this gives us an idea of the country and the people we are negotiating with.
Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog
How to Grow Your Business Globally and Capitalize on the Rebounding Economy
On February 9th, I served as a panelist for the San Francisco-based SMB Summit, "How Businesses Can Capitalize on the Rebounding Economy," that was hosted by Verio and Inc. Magazine and for private-company CEOs, business owners, and Inc. 500|5000 alumni. It was a great experience to share insights with other leading experts in the SMB sphere, including:
- Donna Fenn, Moderator, International Author, Contributing Editor/Blogger at Inc. Magazine
- Mitchell Merrifield, Senior Director of Managed Computing Solutions, Verio, Inc.
- Brian Burch, Director of SMB Marketing, Americas Region, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard Company
- Laurel Delaney, President, GlobeTrade.com
- Kristin Micalizio, V.P. Strategic Initiatives, Office Depot North America
- Alex Freemon, Volunteer, Silicon Valley Chapter, SCORE
Snippet:
Q: Let’s start by addressing the 800-pound gorilla in the room: Is the economy rebounding? Tell us if you’ve seen some glimmers of recovery; how are you reading the tea leaves?Read the entire piece here.
My response: Not really, although I find it hard to imagine it getting any worse. We are at rock bottom so the only way is up. Nothing, other than the “tech” industry, tells me there’s a rebound. What I mean by that is Cisco (Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers indicated, “This is one of the most robust positive turnarounds I’ve seen in my career”), Microsoft, IBM, Apple, NetSuite and Google all reported stunning profit results for the last quarter of 2009, which means SMB owners might be getting more tech savvy in preparation for a slow recovery. But let’s face it, money is not just tight. There is no money for growth unless you are running an established business with a wildly successful track record. That’s scary for people who have insanely great ideas and can’t get them funded. The good news for SMB owners who are tinkering with the notion of taking their business global is that our commerce secretary, Gary Locke, pledged $6 billion a year in export financing for USA small businesses through the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Aside from all this, the only real sign I am seeing with SMB owners related to recovery is ...
Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog
The First Official International Board of Advisors Meeting of the World Entrepreneurship Forum
I just returned from Lyon, France to participate in my first International Board of Advisors meeting for the World Entrepreneurship Forum. It was a productive gathering! At this time, I wish to report out on the many new initiatives launched by the three-year-old World Entrepreneurship Forum.
Let's start with identifying the "who's who" on the newly appointed IBOA and work our way through four other fabulous creations that are taking place within the Forum:
1. International Board of Advisors for the World Entrepreneurship Forum
Pictured above from left to right: Yves-Henri Robillard, Director of the World Entrepreneurship Forum; Harold Celms, Director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia in France; Geneviève Morand, Founder, Rezonance, Switzerland ; Jack Sim, Founder, World Toilet Organization, Singapore; Jean-Luc Decornoy, Chairman of the Board of KPMG S.A., France; Patrick Molle, President of EMLYON Business School, France; Zoltan Acs, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Public Policy, George Mason University, USA; Laurel Delaney, Founder, GlobeTrade, U.S.A.; Agarwal Nikhil, Director, Europe Asia Business School (EABS), India; Steve Strauss, Founder, MrAllBiz, U.S.A.
Not pictured (Board members who were unable to attend meeting): Inderjit Singh, member of Parliament of Singapore, Nyokabi Njuguna, Founder & CEO, Marketing Strategies & Solutions, Kenya and Kah Walla, Founder & Director, Strategies, Cameroon.
2. New logo -- new identity for the World Entrepreneurship Forum
We are delighted to unveil our new look (as shown above) that reflects a contemporary, clean and crisp design -- in line with our international reputation.
Here's the back story on what the logo symbolizes: The two crossed rings, symbols of the two faces of the earth, illustrate the global reach and strong dualities that give soul to the World Entrepreneurship Forum: Wealth & Social justice, Economic & Social, Sharing & Meeting. The new identity will serve numerous purposes for the World Entrepreneurship Forum. Watch for the many different facets of the logo as we launch a plethora of new initiatives.
Note: If you click on the Board photo, you will see that we did a good job conveying our new logo with our pose -- all interconnected through our arms (linkage) and our hands!
3. Creation of the first "World Entrepreneurship Centres"
Argentina and Singapore are the first countries where regional chapters of the World Entrepreneurship Forum will be created. These chapters, directed locally by members of the think tank, will gather throughout the year with local entrepreneurs and decision-makers who will debate global issues relative to their vision and experience of the local reality. These centres will be identification branches, observe best practices and will feed the debates carried out on a global level.
4. Publication of White Paper, synthesis of the conclusions of the 2009 edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum
This first White Paper, “How can governments support the development of the entrepreneurship?," is the official synthesis of the 2nd edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum which was held in Lyon in November 2009 and gathered together 80 personalities of 40 different countries, selected for their entrepreneurial success and their contribution to the society. The White Paper will be distributed globally to entrepreneurs, governments, decision-makers and media in order to promote policies to support types of entrepreneurship that gave results in various countries.
To access the White Paper, please visit: http://www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com
5. Five Junior Forums in 2010
The Junior Forums, organized from June 28-July 2, aim at preparing the exchanges of the World Entrepreneurship Forum. These Junior Forums are organized by and for students, the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Five countries will organize Junior Forums in 2010: China (Shanghai), Singapore, India (Pune, the biggest student city in the country), Morocco, and France (Lyon). The organizing students will invite personalities from the field of entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, from governments and the academic world to exchange ideas on the topics of the World Entrepreneurship Forum, and share their own recommendations.
The third edition of the World Entrepreneurship Forum will be held in Lyon, France from November 3-6, 2010. Its main theme will be: “Creating and developing high growth companies." Watch for more information about this program coming soon here at our blog.
Note: Full disclosure, Laurel Delaney serves on the International Board of Advisors for the World Entrepreneurship Forum.
Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog
The winner for the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest held in Madison, Wisconsin is Swiss Cheesemaker Cedric Vuille's Gruyere.
Swiss and Austrian cheesemakers took top honours Thursday at the 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, beating out some 2,300 entries from 20 countries ranging from Argentina to Switzerland. Cheesemaker Cedric Vuille took top honors with a Gruyere that judges lauded for its creamy texture and light hint of herbs."It's very smooth, it's aromatic and it has a very clean cheese flavour," said Bill Schlinsog, one of 30 judges. "It has a burst of flavour and then it settles down very nicely in the mouth."
The runner-up: Andeer Sennerei of Andeer, Switzerland.
Third place: Alois Pesendorfer of Gmunden, Austria
Additional resources:
Swiss Gruyere named world's best cheese
Winners in 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest
Gruyere wins world cheese championshipSwiss Gruyere Named World Champion
Are you primed and ready to go with exporting? As you are already aware through this blog, Uncle Sam wants more of the nation's small business exporters to step up their international sales efforts as part of an ambitious goal to double U.S. exports to $3 trillion within five years.
Instead of of a Got Milk program, maybe they should start a Got Exports?
Read more:
U.S. Pushing Companies to Go After Global Market (Los Angeles Times)
Disruptive innovators are everywhere. Are you one of them?
It takes technology to spread good ideas and make innovating easy. For ideas on how to get started, take a look at my latest contribution over at the American Express OPEN Forum, "Make a Date to Innovate."
If you want to be a fast innovator, don’t wait for it to happen, make it happen by making a date with innovation. That way, you can drive growth within your organization and continue inventing the future.TechTip2U Powered by: Verio