The Great Firewall of China

A Noble Studios staff friend recently returned from an extended study program located in Chengdu, China. While it was interesting to hear his stories on the culture and lifestyle he lived while he was there (nearly a year), we were quite interested in the story he told us on the topic of Internet (being that we have such a targeted professional focus on this area of technology). We read up on it. It turns out that in 1998 China launched a country-wide firewall project called the Golden Shield Project (a.k.a. The Great Firewall of China). The system blocks certain IP addresses from connecting with China’s ISPs. The project is still uncoordinated with some sites being blocked while similar sites are not or some cities being blocked and others are not. This program has caused a recent stir internationally as sites like YouTube, CNN, BBC, The Guardian, Google News, and Yahoo! have been blocked due recent riots and unease in Tibet.

For more information on this topic, visit ars technica
To check a web address’ accessibility in China, visit WebSitePulse

Fun Workplace Games

Noble is as creative on the inside as it is on the outside. Here are just a few of the activities that the Noble Crew has participated in to get the brain juices flowing:

Mine Field: In pairs, one team member leads the other team player through an obstacle course blindfolded. The catch is that we had the junior employees lead the senior employees. This helped give both an idea of what it is like to be in the others shoes.

Answer Impossible Questions: The team was given three impossible questions (e.g. Build a machine that helps people travel back in time – how do you do it? Or, solve the world’s production of CO2 in 30 days.) Asking questions like these helps get them thinking as well as lets each participant exhibit their own creativity. Note: We had a lot of fun with this and were amazed at how different each answer was.

Puzzle Mania: Break everyone into teams of three or more. Give each team a 100 piece puzzle to put together and time them. After a minute, take away the box cover. After a few minutes, switch a few team players from one team to the next. This exercise helps the team learn to deal with change as well as better project management.

Sources: The Big Book of Creativity Games by Robert Epstein, Ph.D. and Wilderdom.com

NCET Entrepreneur Week & Expo

• Attendance: Nearly 1,000 this year versus 500 last year
• Exhibitors: 80 this year versus 31 last year
• Speakers: 30 this year versus 25 last year

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We’re back! We had a blast in Europe and are ready to take 2008 by storm. After a few days of workshops and internal focus, the Noble Studios crew took in some outstanding sites. Here are some photos from our trip.

Noble Studios’ Business Director Jarrod Lopiccolo spoke March 15th at the 2008 Reno Entrepreneur Expo on the 5 principles necessary for a GREAT website. Don’t miss him on June 23, where he will be leading a three hour discussion at Truckee Meadows Community College. To participate, visit Good to Great: The Foundation for Successful Web Sites.

Nevada's Entrepreneur Expo - Campaign

NetFacilities - Online Marketing

CRMBC - eNewsletter Campaign

2008 Governor's Cup - RSVP & Invite

Employer Lynx - Online Forms

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