Blogspot unblocked…my thoughts
So now that I’ve had a couple of days to think about what this means about China’s policies and ultimately what this means for the Chinese citizens here’s what I’m thinking.
I can’t help but think there is something going on behind the scenes here. Blogger is owned by Google, Google and China have been in talks about filtering and content and two days ago Blogger and Blogspot accounts are all unblocked. HHHHMMMM. Following my hunch of a Google/China agreement I went to another Google ran site that we can’t view here Google Video which still states:
Thanks for your interest in Google Video.
Currently, the playback feature of Google Video isn’t available in your country.
We hope to make this feature available more widely in the future, and we really appreciate your patience.
If Google had a hand to play in the unblocking of blogger it’s pretty obvious why they would want that site and tool unblocked first. Chinese bloggers are part of the fastest growing demographics in the blogosphere. According to the latest technorati update now making up 14% of all blogs. Can someone say $$$$$?
(Shaun McElroy posting a great review of the Technorati update on our U Tech Tips site)
So, we’ll see how long before Google Video opens up and is allowed to be viewed in China. Meanwhile we’ll all just keep using YouTube.
The first comment to my posting below about Blogspt being unblocked was from a Chinese blogger. I don’t know what it says and hopefully can have it translated this week. What I’m curious about is: Did this person read my blog in English and comment in Chinese, or did they translate the site into Chinese and comment back? Either way…how coo and xei xie (Thank You in Chinese)l!
As for the people of China a wealth of knowledge has just been opened for their viewing. I looked really quickly to see who many blogs are hosted at blogger but couldn’t find it. If anyone knows I’d love to see the numbers.
Everyone from teachers, to students, to locals in the small hot Internet cafes have just been handed a wealth of information and knowledge. I keep thinking of it in terms of the Berlin Wall. Is this a crack? Maybe a peep hole that things are changing. Wikipedia is still blocked and I’m sure a host of other sites are as well. But in the end the Chinese citizens have just been giving the gift of information. Maybe some day, like my wife in this picture straddling what use to be the Berlin Wall, we can bridge the information gap, knock down the filter and stand on both sides of the world and marvel at our progress as the human race.
Technorati Tags: China
I wouldn’t read too much into China ‘unblocking’ Blogger. It’s the result of a technical change on Blogger’s end, rather then China relenting or a Chinese/Google agreement.
Short version. All blogspot.com blogs route to the same ip address. On Aug1 Blogger made some changes and the ip they get routed to was changed. China must block by that ip, as when it changed they were able to access. BUT then Blogger changed it back to the original (blocked) ip a few days later. Fast forward to the 10th and after some Blogger maintenance the ip switch is again in effect. And since the new ip for blogspot blogs is unblocked China is able to access. I’m presuming the change is for good this time on Blogger. And eventually the Chinese authorities will block the new ip. I left a link to the long version of the story if you want to read my blog post about the original change back on the 1st.
Yours is the first indication I’ve heard that Blogger has been loosed.
It is nice to know that communications can once again bridge the gap, even if a bit of translation may be required.
La guerre froide d̩barque sur #Twitter et #FB? Les prochaines guerres seront num̩riques! via @largow Р@WebmarketingCOM Рhttp://bit.ly/iv4d