Have you been following the Google news concerning its search engine censorship in China?
In the last few days, Google has issued a statement saying that it had been a victim of sophisticated and sustained cyber-attacks launched from the Chinese mainland and as a result, it can no longer censor search results passing through its Chinese based servers - it has now diverted all of the Chinese search traffic through its Hong Kong servers instead.
Google's action has been condemned by China for making a commercial situation into a political one and has warned Google that its meddling in its affairs is not welcome.
The next few days, weeks and months could turn out to be some of the most momentous events in the Internet's brief history and one that could create extreme unrest on the Chinese mainland and huge problems for China's communist government, as they try to hold back the sheer weight of democracy.
Up until now, China has screened and censored search results; this means that anyone asking questions about the Tienanmen Square massacre would have either just been blocked or would have been directed to a Chinese controlled propaganda page about the event.
Googles decision to re-route the searches means that the Chinese government has lost most of its control and it is sure to see much anti-government activity as Chinese citizens begin to learn the truth.
Change won't be instant and many older 'hard-lined' Chinese will resist the inevitable, preferring, as they see it, in the security of communist grip: nevertheless, change will come as a new openness and transparency starts to proliferate its way into the provinces and into more and more into Chinese family life.
The freedom that the West has come to expect will be expected by China's young and I feel that the current regime's days are numbered, as anti-government movements gain pace.
So what the hell has this got to do with landscaping associations?
It's all to do with what lies behind the great 'firewall' of China and the similarities with how landscaping associations are run; what's inside their membership firewall has, until now, been controlled by those elected to run them.
All of the rules and regulations are drawn up by its carefully selected board or committee. Nothing goes out unless it is approved and only hard-lined marketing propaganda has been allowed to proliferate under its name.
Even horticulture and landscaping news outlets, who have until now monopolised the land-based scene, worked closely with incumbent landscaping associations to maintain the positive spin - it's a practise that has kept the tills rolling for all of those signed-up.
Events have recently taken a dramatic turn as all three unregulated landscaping associations agreed to join ranks in a bid to continue their monopolisation of the the UK landscaping scene; it is, I believe, the start of their last hurrah.
Despite Landscape Juice's best efforts to open up the associations controlled firewall and their grip over our industry, BALI, APL and SGD are about to further polarise landscaping and design by forming a coalition, with a definite and deliberate snub to the vast majority of good honest landscapers, designers and gardeners in Britain - let's be honest and forget the 'rogue trader' argument; it's not a fight against rogue traders at all.
Landscape Juice's transparent approach to our industry has broken down so many barriers and the previous suppression of information and shared knowledge; the incumbents must heed the warnings and stop trying to control everything that is labelled gardening and landscaping and stop claiming to represent us all - if they continue down their dangerous path, this will surely end in tears.
The Landscape Juice model is simple - provide and harness freely available tools and empower members so that they can use them to the best effect...in fact, you don't even need to be a member to benefit because there is no 'firewall' to Landscape Juice and all of the content can be read and digested by anyone.
Here is a tiny snippet of positives from the site...bear in mind, with fast approaching 1,100 members, these positives are happening on a daily basis.
Customer Charter - reply by Angela Palmerton "just used this for the first time (complete with my first new sexy set of T&Cs). So, just to say thanks - and the customer in question was very impressed with the charter - said it swung her decision to award the contract to me and not another contractor (who was a bit cheaper as well!)."
Work generated from landscaping juice - by Stuart Ralph "I've been a member of this site for only a couple of months and I'm amazed at the good contacts and potential leads I've generated from here. Thanks to the juice Boxelder Landscapes is now a member of The Fence Doctor as well as having received good leads from Tracey Mcque and Rhonda Jack. Long may it continue and I hope to be able to repay all those who have helped me so far."
My biggest ever contact win thanks to Landscape Juice - by Stuart Marler "So, apart from bragging and patting my own back, blowing my own trumpet etc. here at LJ; I wanted to highlight how helpful Landscape Juice has been, the openness of the forums and the knowledge base that is being shared here."
I am not prepared personally to let these three organisations claim that they have taken the initiative by inviting Landscape Juice to the table at a later a date - not in a month of Sunday's will we ever sit around a table and discuss an agenda set by them.
I think their approach to my industry has been nothing short of a disgrace - they are [APL, BALI, SGD] devoid of ideas and initiatives and are becoming an embarrassment to landscaping and design, in my opinion.
I was told by one of them recently that they didn't feel landscaping needed a third association - of course not, because it's a direct threat to their monopoly.
On a slightly different note, I understand the the APL are on a recruitment drive with a £99 subscription and no joining fee.
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