Because non-native speakers use English differently as compared to native speakers. It’s… it’s as simple as that.

I can also usually tell within the first few moments of talking to somebody on the internet whether they are from a native English-speaking country or not. They’ll use slightly different phrasing. Use of idioms is also a dead giveaway.

I dunno. It’s usually patently obvious. This doesn’t make a non-native English speaker’s English bad by any stretch; just different.

I can also generally tell where native English speakers are from as well, at least in a general sense. Canadians tend to sound like Americans (even in writing) but spell more like the Brits. British persons obviously use British English and will use British colloquiums and the word ‘whilst’ often will pop up. Australians lean heavy on the word ‘mate’ a lot of the time. Americans use American spellings and sound like Americans.

And so on.

My clients have seen big changes the last couple of weeks, but all for the good thankfully. The “Fred” update was a biggie and it looks like some websites that have massive ads with little quality content got hit hard. I saw one post where their traffic plummeted 95% and they are virtually invisible in search now……it is times like these I am thrilled I only do white-hat work….sometimes I scratch my head and am tempted when I see competitors outrank me with crappy sites with no backlinks…but I have hope their day will come! 🙂

I know people who left Google for Facebook, they were not walked out. Why would they be walked out of Google? Because facebook competing with Google?

I have left Google twice, both times for Apple, in both cases Apple was a competing organization, in all cases I had a good talk with my managers up and HR discying opportunities in Google, in both cases I was not escorted, I was given two weeks to talk more and to complete my project. I left in good terms with all my friends, managers and Google. Google is very fair organization, it treats people extremely well . I can imagine that some department might be supersecret and they will do it, but I was working for core search quality which is secretive too and I was asked to leave.

I’ve had two times I’ve gotten involved in new business start-ups by friends, and both times it ended badly. Not horrible, we were screaming at each other, friendship ruined forever badly, but things didn’t work out, I wanted out of this deal but now it’s awkward badly. Any time something like this comes up, I find myself thinking, If this doesn’t work out for whatever reason, is it going to ruin our friendship? And do I value the job or whatever the deal is more than I value the friendship?

I think the best you can do is talk to your friend, tell him you saw the ad, you think you might be qualified, etc, but you realize it could be awkward, what do you think, I really don’t need this job so if you say you think it’s a bad idea it’s not like I’ll be unemployed and living in a cardboard box, etc. As someone else said, I’d try to make it easy for him to say please don’t.

Both are great schools, but one is likely a better fit for you. The best way to find out is to do a little more research in the real world. Visit campus, talk to faculty and grad students, and get a sense of what the area is like. Your highly evolved brain is like an amazing computer that can process vast amounts of information simultaneously to help you decide; i.e. some call it “that gut feeling”. If after all that you’re still undecided, flip a coin. While it’s in the air you’ll know which way you are hoping it will land: follow that instinct.

In the end, it will be your attitude and hard work – not the school – that will allow you to follow your life’s passion and with it, lead a life filled with meaning and happiness. Good luck, and if you choose Binghamton, stop by to say hello 😉