SIXTHOUSAND - No.: 2

Related to this post about Scheme 6000:
Since a few days all over Hong Kong you can find advertisings how to get the HKD 6,000 from
the government. The advertisings are everywhere:
In the MTR, on all MTR platforms, at the bus stations advertising panels + heavy TV presence on all main channels.
Wonder how much this advertising campaign costs & maybe if doing this a more humble way - how much money could be used for something more urgently / neccessary ?
Who is the advertising company getting this job done ?
Here a photo from Kwai Hing MTR platform:

One more for the weekend !

You all be aware about one fact of YouTube: What you see today maybe tomorrow has dissapeared already because of some copyrights or any other actions taken by the one placed it into YouTube. That means years from now maybe a lot of the things you can see today will not be visible anymore - what a pity ! Hopefully this one will be visible for a long, long time: DAVID BOWIE - Heroes.
Here is the lyrics for this song - now is weekend & you will hear from me again in the next days.
quote
I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be Heroes, just for one day

And you, you can be mean
And I, I'll drink all the time
'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact
Yes we're lovers, and that is that

Though nothing, will keep us together
We could steal time,
just for one day
We can be Heroes, for ever and ever
What d'you say?

I, I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing,
nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, for ever and ever
Oh we can be Heroes,
just for one day

I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be Heroes, just for one day
We can be us, just for one day

I, I can remember (I remember)
Standing, by the wall (by the wall)
And the guns shot above our heads
(over our heads)
And we kissed,
as though nothing could fall
(nothing could fall)
And the shame was on the other side
Oh we can beat them, for ever and ever
Then we could be Heroes,
just for one day

We can be Heroes
We can be Heroes
We can be Heroes
Just for one day
We can be Heroes

We're nothing, and nothing will help us
Maybe we're lying,
then you better not stay
But we could be safer,
just for one day

Oh-oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-oh-ohh,
just for one day
unquote
Just to remind you - this song was written during the Bowie Berlin times - THE WALL still existing. As I remember this is the real video for that song - it is still available on YouTube (it has almost 3 million hits until now.....).

And on top here you have the german version HELDEN (some parts look not like perfect in sync with his lips - actually it looks they just used the original english video and just copied over the german text) - very nice is the beginning with the boys and the football flying over THE WALL - very touching the middle footage of people escaping & sad the end part seeing people waving to their relatives just on the other side of THE WALL:

About the BERLIN WALL read here !
Do we need a HONG KONG WALL very soon ?

What to Do If Your Blog Goes Viral: 10 Tips

Here some great hints & tips from BirdAbroad after she got famous because of posting the fake Apple Store pictures from Kunming - please read this:
quote
What to Do If Your Blog Goes Viral: 10 Tips
BirdAbroad | August 20, 2011 at 2:26 pm | Tags: Fake Apple Stores, Seriously?!, Work | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/ppKGm-hV
When my blog went viral because of the fake Apple store post, I was totally caught off guard and made a lot of mistakes. I know it's all very exciting when this happens and people start contacting you from all over the world, but it pays in the long run to be hardheaded about this in advance. Below are a few pieces of friendly advice based on my experience, in case going viral ever happens to you.
Please add your own tips on this in the comments section!
1.Recognize what's coming. Have 1,000 people visited your blog in the past hour, when previously only 10 people came in a day? Is your content being rapidly Tweeted? Welcome to the land of the viral internet! Prepare to take action.
2.Decide what you want out of this experience. Are you looking to become famous on the internet? A full-time blogger? The next Paris Hilton? Or are you looking to maintain your privacy and your regular life? This will inform how and where you allow your content to be distributed.
3.Consider buying the domain name of your blog address (e.g. for myblog.wordpress.com, buy myblog.com).
4.Consider putting up ads on your blog. You may find this tacky, but when you realize that your content is spreading all over the internet and lots of people are making money off of it, you may feel differently.
5.Make sure you have a copyright notice prominently displayed. Decide on a policy of how your content can be used by different media outlets (e.g. blogs, print media, television). Be aware that US law does not recognize the "moral right of attribution" - that is, just because you ask to be publicly credited when you give permission for your content to be reproduced elsewhere, doesn't mean the outlet has to credit you. You having given permission for use of your content is enough for them to run it.
6.Consider watermarking all of your photos, or disabling the ability of others to download/right-click your content if you want to maintain strict control (this may or may not be easily done, depending on who is hosting your blog).
7.Realize that your content may have considerable financial value - don't just give it away to people who are going to be making money from it. (Remember: multibillion-dollar media conglomerates are not your friends.) In particular, demand in advance that you be remunerated for any use of your content in print or on TV. Technically, there's no difference in terms of copyright violation online/on TV/in print if your content is used without your permission, but there's something particularly galling about not being paid for your content to be used in print or on TV by someone else. May them pay up.
8.If you give permission for your content to be reproduced, do so in a limited way - BE EXPLICIT. For example: "Yes, you have the right to use this one particular photo for this one particular article, and nowhere else. You may not archive my content for future use."
9.Do not ever give permission for your photos to be freely used by a major warehouse of photos like Agence France-Presse (AFP), Getty Images, or the Associated Press (AP). These places have tens of thousands of clients, who will be buying your photos from them, without any financial gain for you. Your photos will be reproduced by numerous outlets credited only AFP/Getty/AP, without crediting you. AFP/Getty/AP will claim that they have no control over this - while this may be true, it will not help ease your feeling that very bad things should happen to these people. Giving your photos to one of these agencies will mark the end of your control over your photos - BEWARE.
10.Do not be impressed or intimidated by your unauthorized content showing up in prominent places - get on the phone or send them an email and make sure they remove your content or pay your for it - or both. The following outlets are among the numerous places that abused the content of this blog: NYTimes.com, CBS News, New York Post, The Independent (UK), Le Figaro (France), and USA Today. I AM NOT IMPRESSED.
Anyone got anything else to add?
unquote
Good post - I believe she is very right with all of the points !
Going viral maybe sometimes comes as a surprise - nobody knows when it will happen>

An accessibility survey for blind users

These days, we rely on the Internet to keep us informed and in touch, yet our experience of the web is filtered through the tools we use to access it. The devices and technologies we choose, and our decisions about when we upgrade those tools, can affect how we interact with the web and with whom we are able to communicate.



In July, I attended the annual conference held by the American Council of the Blind (ACB). I was struck by something I heard from people there: their experience using the web was very different from mine not because they were blind, but because the technology and web tools available to them were unlike the ones available to me, as a sighted person. While the Internet provides many benefits to modern society, it has also created a unique set of challenges for blind and low-vision users who rely on assistive technologies to use the web. We’re committed to making Google’s products more accessible, and we believe the best way to understand the accessibility needs of our users is to listen to them.



This week, we’re announcing a survey that will help us better understand computer usage and assistive technology patterns in the blind community. Over the past three months, we’ve worked closely with the ACB to develop a survey that would give us a greater understanding of how people choose and learn about the assistive technologies they use. This survey will help us design products and tools that interact more effectively with assistive technologies currently available to the blind community, as well as improve our ability to educate users about new features in our own assistive technologies, such as ChromeVox and TalkBack.



The survey will be available through mid-September on the ACB's website and by phone. We encourage anyone with a visual impairment who relies on assistive technologies to participate; your input will help us offer products that can better suit your needs. For details, visit www.acb.org/googlesurvey.



Posted by Naomi Black, Accessibility Engineering Team

My BOLDest summer yet: A recap from the frontlines of a Google internship

Lie down and remember that dream you had about something that seemed impossible—now imagine waking up and looking around to realize you were never sleeping. From strawberry funnel cakes to five-story cruise ships and hangouts with Larry Page, my summer of Building Opportunities in Leadership and Development (BOLD)—a Google summer internship program—never looked, tasted or sailed so well. Every day this summer I’ve jumped out of bed and into my real-life dream, working on products that I believe will change the world and contributing to a melting pot of proactive teamwork.

BOLD, one of Google’s student and diversity initiatives, brought 100+ undergraduates from all over the U.S. to Google in 2011. The program began in 2008 as a way to expose historically underrepresented students to the technology field. Whether it be sharing tofu with co-founder Sergey Brin or rubbing elbows with some of the world’s brightest minds at the Google Science Fair, Google interns worldwide have collected a plethora of unforgettable moments.

Being an intern here is much more than making coffee and photocopies. As one of Google’s largest sources of full-time hires, internship programs contribute to the company’s diversity, culture and future. Sure, I’ve made a few coffees during my internship—caramel mocha cappuccinos to be exact, from the espresso machine in the microkitchen. But my summer at the Googleplex was a packed, 11-week adventure within the Global Communications & Public Affairs apps and enterprise team. My projects ranged from working with my manager on the Google+ Project launch to staffing press at the inaugural Google Science Fair. Other BOLDers worked on major products like Android and YouTube, and even launched newbies, like Games in Google+. We attended weekly workshops, talks about technology and skill-building seminars led by company leaders like director of online sales and operations Stacy Brown-Philpot and chief legal officer David Drummond.

I was even able to scratch my creative itch for event coordinating and community service. On my second day at Google, I painted hallways alongside my team for a community GoogleServe project at middle school in San Francisco. Soon after, I coordinated a weekly intern discussion series with a few amazing mentors from the Black Googlers Network.

To share a few other perspectives beyond my own, I caught up with Brandon Jackson and Eoin Hayes from the BOLD and Online Media Associate Program (OMAP) bunch. I asked them to share a few of their experiences this summer:

• Brandon, a two-time BOLD participant and rising senior at Stanford, worked with the technology human relations team, focusing on transitioning new Googlers to the company. He told me: “BOLD represents family. The program coordinators find some of the brightest, most intellectually curious and warm hearted students in the world. Coupled with inspiring mentors and an incredible university programs team, BOLD is a community that never stops looking out for each other.”
• Eoin, a master’s student at London Business School who worked with the OMAP AdSense team in Dublin, said he not only gained deep product knowledge during his internship, but also leadership and management skills. A highlight was his visit to Google’s headquarters with four other international interns.

Eoin with other European and U.S. interns at a Googleplex TGIF

Although my internship officially ends today, my professional development is just beginning. I have a new perspective on life and career options after college, like having had a refreshing sip of “Googlemonade” in the Sahara of post-college stress. As a senior this year, I’ll be serving as UC Merced’s first Google Student Ambassador and I can’t wait to connect my college to all of Google’s collaborative learning resources and leadership opportunities.

Me (with the purple pants) & fellow BOLDers on the 80s-themed intern boat cruise around the San Francisco Bay

This summer was an unforgettable cruise and I will never forget those who set sail with me. If you’re interested in student opportunities at Google, visit the Student blog.

Posted by Shavone Charles, BOLD intern

WEEKEND AGAIN ?

Can't believe it - the week is gone already. Here some music for your weekend.
BLESS THIS SPACE - enjoy:

(More) Historically Black Colleges and Universities go Google

Across the United States, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) provide educational homes for hundreds of thousands of African-American students. Small and community-focused, usually with fewer than 5,000 students, privately or publicly funded, and far-reaching in curriculum and tradition, these communities share a proud history of addressing educational equality and preparing many of the nation’s minority students for whatever life opportunities they seek.

Last week, at our annual HBCU Faculty Summit in our New York City office, we had the chance to host more than 50 professors and administrators from 16 HBCUs across the country. The 2011 summit had three themes: infrastructure, curriculum and partnership. We were pleased to lead thoughtful conversations around these themes and discuss the benefits Google Apps can bring to a campus. The summit also provided a unique opportunity for representatives from different HBCUs to come together and learn from one another. Click here to view photos from the Faculty Summit.

On the first day of the summit, nine HBCUs announced their decision to switch to Google Apps for Education. These schools included:

• Alcorn State University
• Bethune Cookman College
• Jarvis Christian College
• Morgan State University
• Morris Brown College
• North Carolina A&T State University
• Philander Smith College
• Saint Paul College
• Wilberforce University

These schools joined another 13 HBCUs already using Google Apps, meaning that more than 100,000 HBCU students and faculty will have access to Google’s collaboration tools in the 2011-2012 school year.

Like all universities, HBCUs rely on technology like Apps to facilitate communication, collaboration and connectedness among their students, staff and alumni. To learn more about HBCUs turning to Google Apps to transform campus technology while cutting costs, read this white paper and today’s Enterprise Blog post about North Carolina A&T going Google. If you’re an administrator or ambassador at an HBCU and would like to go Google, visit the Google Apps for Education website and click on “Get Apps today.”

Posted by LaFawn Bailey, Global Diversity & Inclusion Specialist