It boggles my mind how some people will call a place a business of and actually get upset when free information is not provided where it usually is paid for. I would never in my wildest dreams call a doctor or lawyer and demand they get on the phone and start asking for free advice only to get upset that it was not provided. If you search online you will quickly find that there are ample amounts of free information regarding the search engine optimization industry.

In case you were wondering, Microsoft doesn't plan to let the whole Google-China brouhaha affect its business strategy. Steve Ballmer recently indicated that his company will more or less stay the course and throw Bing into the regional mix. Part of the reason behind this decision might be that Microsoft hasn't bought into the theory that China's government participated in the hack that upset Google. Or that it just felt unthreatened by it. Ballmer told Reuters ,

The enemy of my enemy is my friend is certainly a formula that can be applied to Google and Verizon Wireless' approach to the Federal Communications Commission on network neutrality, the rules that prescribe that Internet providers treat all data equally. This is the spectre that hovers over any company trafficking in digital data. Google and Verizon Friday sent the FCC this 9-page document,

We have covered the Web buzz on the China/Google conflict in a separate article . Here are some headlines from the rest of the world of search and search engines. Google Agrees to Censor Encyclopedia Dramatica Entry in Australia Google has agreed to take down links to a website that promotes racist views of indigenous Australians. (Blogoscoped Jan 17 2010) How Google Ranks Tweets Algorithms judge the relevance of microblog posts containing 140 characters or less.

To understand the Google China war we need to understand how the Communist party thinks and acts. photo credit: QiFei As we reported earlier this week, Google is no longer willing to censor search results in China . The announcement is dramatic, to say the least, and we have no reason to believe that Google will not follow up on its threats: i.e. close down its operations in China and the google.cn site if the Chinese government does not allow uncensored result.

A recent study came out this week from the Human Capital Institute and Saba about government organizations' use of social networking and collaboration tools. The study looked at the effectiveness of social networking in conducting government work, how agency type affects the use, and perception of social networking, and the future expectations and barriers for its use. "This study looks at the challenges and opportunities faced by government agencies,

Google self-censors certain results in countries like France or Germany, and Australia as well. The Sydney Morning Herald writes: Google has agreed to take down links to a website that promotes racist views of indigenous Australians. Aboriginal man Steve Hodder-Watt recently discovered the US-based site by searching "Aboriginal and Encyclopedia" in the search engine. (...) Mr Hodder-Watt then undertook legal action,

[caption id="attachment_365" align="alignleft" width="100" caption="Judy Chang"][/caption] Hi all, Judy Chang, here. One By One Media, Cause Media Group and WS Radio have come together to help the people of Haiti by hosting a 24-hour Internet Radio-Athon. The Haitian Assistance Relief Telethon begins at 6 p.m. PST on January 17 and we .