David Michael Bruno

Google, Baidu, and an Economy of Rewards

For a while I have been watching Google (GOOG) and Baidu (BIDU) stocks, mostly out of curiosity. I've wondered if Google might be a good buy, and, in a very round about way, I know of some of the initial investors in Baidu.

Yesterday, Google announced very sophisticated and intentional hacks into the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights advocates, as well as additional online attacks. The attacks seem to originate from China and have the appearance of being perpetrated by the government there. In response, Google stopped censoring its searches on Google.cn and threatened to completely stop operations in China. The result was an immediate after-hours drop in Google's share price (though only a small portion of its revenue comes from China) and a huge spike in Baidu's share price. The shares continue in their respective directions today.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but it is really troubling when a company attempts to do something right for humanity and that action translates into bad business. We should rethink business priorities. (And some people are - I like Umair Haque, for example.)

Support Muzye

I've mentioned before that I really like Plant with Purpose (previously known as Floresta). They do such a great job of helping impoverished people by bringing Environmental Restoration, Economic Empowerment, and Spiritual Inspiration to them.

For a while I've been supporting their startup Burundi program. And now our family (the kids are pitching in) is going to support the village of Muzye. You can learn more about Muzye at the PwP blog.

Will you join us! Please consider it. You can donate to Muzye, and the cool thing is that there's a matching grant right now.

Corporate Say

Last night was Back to School night for our older daughters. As always, it was enjoyable (though not terribly informative, this, the fifth time). We really appreciate the school, its administrators, and the teachers our children have had. No complaints there.

Being suspicious of anything smacking of consumerism, however, I noticed that many of the posters and magazines and other classroom paraphernalia were branded. Just one example was the presence of Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine, which of course complements the SI Kids Web site, which of course promotes endless consumption, not only of sports but also of online games, foods, clothing, and much more.

Organizations like The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood have advocated getting corporate brands out of education for quite some time. Yes!

I have to wonder how well schools (including, maybe especially, private schools which often feel a moral compulsion to associate with certain brands) are teaching children to be responsible citizens instead of preparing them to be irresponsible consumers. Are kids learning to be good sports, or are they learning how to consume sports programming?

The good news is that, at least in our experience, most teachers and administrators are decent people. Even when they often mindlessly promote consumption in the classroom, they nevertheless teach kids to work hard, be respectful, make friends, and other good things.

The bad news is that corporations do not like that. One example is the Campaign Finance arguments before the Supreme Court right now. Corporations in no way will act in the public's best interest if given the opportunity to work in their best interest. This is the nature of corporate governance, and why corporations should not be viewed as "individuals" legally and given the same protections of free speech, especially when they want more freedom than what real live people get under the Constitution. But I digress.

Planting Hope Gala

It's that time of year again for all of you San Diegans interested in supporting the solution to extreme poverty and environmental degradation. The Floresta (a.k.a Plant with Purpose) Plant Hope Gala.

Yes, that was just three links. Here's another opportunity to RSVP on Facebook.

Floresta is celebrating its 25th anniversary of "healing the land and its people." This is sure to be a wonderful event, full of good food, powerful story sharing, and lots of opportunity for the future.

Independence Day... July 1st

I remain a very enthusiastic supporter of Floresta, a non-profit committed to "healing the land and its people." Recently they've launched a new site, Plant with Purpose, that attractively presents their vision to help the rural poor through their three-fold purpose, Environmental Restoration, Economic Empowerment, and Spiritual Inspiration.

Today is a special day. July 1st is Independence Day... for Burundi, the small country in Africa, which is where Floresta's latest pilot project is underway. Burundi is a severely impoverished country with considerable need. The Floresta project has modest financial needs that will pay back manifold blessings. I encourage you to consider a donation. You'll need to contact them directly and offer your support.

If not directly to the Burundi program, consider browsing the Plant with Purpose site and looking at the specific villages where you can contribute help. Or consider giving to their Trees Fund that has helped them plant over 4 million trees!