Google as the Trend Setter (3)
Google Free-for-all Philosophy

What I mean by the above title is not the trend setter in this sense. I really mean it in its literal sense. Google has set the standard for everyone to follow especially in the free-for-all services and customer-is-king philosophy. Google knows perfectly how to earn money –huge money– in an elegant way without disturbing the netizens as its main customers.

First, when hotmail and yahoomail start reducing its free email capacity into two and four MB respectively, google gave its first lesson: giving away one GB. That, in turn, forced yahoo to reasses its previous policy and roll it back even added into 250 MB and 1 GB for paid-email, while hotmail promises the same (i dont know whether hotmail keep its promise). Following that, google make another set: 2.5 GB. This forces yahoo to give away half of it: one GB. Yahoo guys admits that google presence does make a difference.

Second, in the blogger world, google acquired blogger or blogspot and giving away anything a customer can hope for. Unlimited space, unlimited freedom. Do whatever you want.

Third, for any blogger who wants to earn a bit money from nowhere and from nothing, google offers adsense. So far as online advertisement goes, adsense is the biggest. Yet, it’s the easiest partnership/affiliation program to go along. Everybody with tiniest visitor to his site/blog can apply and be approved. Apart from this, google adsense actually working only on a website/blog that uses english and other european languages plus china, japan and korea; however, you’ll still be appoved even if your blog in bahasa Indonesia. The only hindrance that will exclude you to be an adsense member is if you blog/site contain hatred/racism campaign and pornography. Which is good.

And it’s google adsense that revolusionize the online ads into more ‘elegant’ way i.e. without pop-up or anything that can disturb the visitors. And again, every online advertiser force to follow.

Fourth, again and again I’d like to reiterate that google free-for-all policy and its friendly attitude towards its customers very much relating to do with its founders education (both founders still doing their Ph.D at the moment).

Google has set the trend for every online companies to follow. i think, google deserves to be followed not only by online companies, but by offline entertainment as well.

Blogger: On Dealing With Criticism
There’re a heating and contentious debate on my several postings in this blog regarding criticism: on how to criticise; what the rule of the game to convey your criticism and whether your criticism is in accordance with the “Indonesian tradition” (I dont know exactly what does it mean? What kind of traditions among various ethnic and tribal traditions in Indonesia which can claim as the most “Indonesian,” anyway?). And, especially, if you convey the criticism to the President of Indonesia.

Nitnot and Nishimoto, for example, dont agree with even constructive criticism to a head of state. Or if it’s a must, you must do it in a gentle manner in accordance with the “Indonesian tradition” or “Eastern tradition.”

Well,for me, the above views a bit weird, to say the least due to several reasons:

First, what Indonesian tradition or eastern tradition, anyway. The “gentle manner” the Indonesian way is not easy term to define. Indonesia is a country with no monolitic tradition. Gentle according to javanese or sundanese tradition could be understood as “hypocrit” from other ethnic/tribal traditions like Madura or Batak, etc.

Second, criticism is a good thing we “imported” from the West. It’s one package of democracy as part of freedom of expression and civil society live. Why we voluntarily adopted to democratic package of values, and want to put away one value i.e. freedom of expression which is inherent in it? How can we claim our country as democratic by excluding the tradition of criticism?

Third, we have taken more blindly and uncritically a-not-so-good tradition from the West like free sex, the pop culture, lesbianism, homosexualism. And never talk and debate about it. There’s no talk about the above points as “un-Indonesian”. I mention this point simply to emphasize there’s something wrong with the way we think: we, most of us, Indonesians, have a tendency to be “blind” on anything that’s not offended our individuality, our ego and feelings, whatever damage the things has caused to our society. On the contrary, we are easily angry on a little things that hurt the ego, criticism just a good example among many others. In other words, individuality is getting more emphasis than society.

Any criticism, including the one conveyed by Tylla to the President, and by myself in this blog are directed and intended for the betterment of our society, our nation. If this kind of criticism is disliked by many of us, certainly it’s a bad and sad phenomenon which should be regarded as very very unfortunate.

CNN tonight reports that South African cricket team will boycot Australia by not coming to the country if racism done by the spectators still prevail and and not properly dealt with by the authorities. Likewise, the Sri Lankan cricket team who just done its tour to down under complaines about racism treatment against them.

When Corby case in its peak, many racism letter queued in the letter-to-the-editor in the Jakarta Post and you could find many in various Aussie’s blogs.

The question: why is Australian (especially the whites) often associated with racism? Why such cases nowadays relatively unheard of carried out by their white counterparts in other parts of the world (europe & usa) or at least not getting media headlines treatment?

Qatar bank gets nod for QR1 billion Islamic fund (MENAFN – Bahrain Tribune) Qatar Islamic Bank has announced that it has obtained a licence from the Ministry of Trade & Commerce and Qatar Central Bank (QCB) for the incorporation of a stock Islamic fund, denominated ‘Sanabel’ (spikes), with a capital of one billion Qatari riyals.The fund will specialise in the Qatari corporate shares. It will offer opportunities to investors to take part in the expected exceptional growth in the Qatari capital market. Qatar Islamic Bank will ensure the fund’s management services in coordination with Global Investment House – Kuwait conforming to a strategy aiming at generating returns beyond market index. The fund will be supervised by QCB as per the rules and controls regulating shared investment funds. Subscription will be on a monthly basis, whereas investment would be in selective listed stocks that are compatible with the Islamic Shari’a precepts. Qatar Islamic Bank CEO Salah Al Jaidah said that the fund represents a sizeable initiative. It would offer a great opportunity to investors to enter the “strong and regionally active” Qatari market, and is expected to realise high returns, as is the case with all the distinctive investment products offered by QIB. He said: “This QIB-Global partnership constitutes one of the main features of this project. It would largely allow for benefiting from the other Gulf financial markets, especially that it comes at a time of declined prices in Doha Stock Market (DSM).”The fund will endeavour to exploit, to the best, the elements of the blossoming national economy, high state income, available liquidity, inter-bank competition, and the expanding corporate activities. Al Jaidah confirmed that, with a capital of one billion Riyals, the fund would do its best to optimise investment opportunities at the national level. Al Jaidah added that the launch of the Sanabel fund reflects the bank’s keenness to provide innovative products to its national and foreign clientele as implied by our investment strategy. He confirmed that the fund would play a primordial role in expanding the Islamic investment activities and consolidating the national capital. Management of the fund will be ensured jointly by a team of experts from QIB and Global Investment House. The fund, evaluated in Qatari Riyals, aims at doubling utilised capitals by investing them in selected, Shari’a compatible stocks, said Al Meer, adding that subscription will be on a monthly basis as from May 2007 and would allow for the redemption of the net asset value after at least 60 days from subscription date. Thee minimum stated subscription amount will be QR50,000 and that the fund will be supervised and controlled by Qatar Islamic Bank’s Shariah Control Board. ————————–Islam Muslim Islamic banking finance insurance marriage clothing fashion software qurban Makkah & Madinah.