It never fails to amuse me when I check my comments and find foblish spam- the one asking me to join a prostitution site was a real gem.

Anyways, I was talking to my dear, esteemed friend Robert last night, and he bugged me about not updating my blog. “Why don’t you have an Asia 3.0 or North Korea lulz post yet, hmmmm?” Well, coincidentally enough, here you go!

China’s internet po po were at it again- apparently the majority of Google’s services were blocked in China, including Gmail, Gtalk, Google Apps, Google Books, Google Images, and of course, Google.com, too. It seems like this is the latest in a string of the blocking-happy measures, not including the mass blockage of pretty much all social media and search engines (like Bing) near the Tiananmen anniversary.

But really, Google? C’mon China, we all know no one should touch Google, since it’s going to take over the world and all in the near future. Okay, jokes aside, what does China really aim to achieve with all this Great Firewalling? I assume the main purpose is to keep all the Liberal Capitalist Rubbish (yes, capitalized and all) out of the minds and sight of young, revolutionary-able Chinese netizens, but history has taught us that the 300 million strong band of netizens will always find a way to either circumvent the GFW with the ease of VPNs, or at least manage to unleash frustration and “WTF?!”s onto various unblocked BBS. Or mass post to Twitter with the oh-so-affectionate #fuckgfw hashtags.

Additionally, the international media always makes a big fuss and throws a couple of a frowns in China’s direction when things like this happen. Granted, I know China’s sitting across the Pacific laughing at us fools in this recession, so our approval hardly has the same impact as in the past (not that I’m saying America- or any other country- should have a deciding say in anything that goes in with China in a flamboyantly cowboy diplomacy way; but that’s a discussions for some other time). Still, this is remarkably attention grabbing in a way that China probablyyy doesn’t want.

Some services have been unblocked, but the damage is still done. What next, China? I’m waiting for the day they block MSN/Windows Live services- that’s when all hell will break loose on the net.

Well, to start off, I really fail at consistently blogging. So, in the midst of finals week and in between writing two consecutive final papers, I figure, hey what a perfect time to blog! </procrastinate>

I ran across this article the other day about how social networks, at least those born and raised on good ol’ American soil, need to adapt to Asian culture if they ever want to succeed in the Asian region. This is critical to the success of any social website that wants to succeed- and not only do they have to adopt local characteristics and tastes, but also compete against the already established local networks. When we were conducting interviews earlier this semester for UMA’s creative committee, this was actually the case question we asked the prospys. It seems that so many companies are ready to jump head first into China without considering the culture and end up getting owned in the face by local establishments. It’ll be interesting to see if the big names like Facebook will make changes that cater specifically to target areas in Asia.

And speaking of Asia Web 2.0, the Geeks on a Plane tour is now official. While a nine-day foray into the world of Asian internet startups and companies won’t be comprehensive at all, it’d still be a hell of a lot more informative than what we can only access on the intarwebz. I like the fact that they’re attending events that are hosted by companies started and based in Beijing/Shanghai/Tokyo, rather than companies abroad that have been Asianified. The events in Shanghai look especially attractive- the Barcamp Shanghai un-conference hosted by Tudou and a Geeks & Glamour after party at the shiny M1NT lounge? *dies*

And before I go, I’d like to throw a shout out to my homedizzle Robert, all the way out thurr in Las Vegas. :] Happy?

Just the other day, I was actually thinking about Chinese last names, and the popularity of certain surnames. Then this article popped up on the NY Times today. As if individuality in names wasn’t enough of a problem already, the Chinese government manages to pwn those who have managed to procure somewhat unique names.

Lol @ the response from an official when a girl wanted to renew her identity card:

“Your name is so troublesome and problematic,” she recalled an official telling her. “Just change it.”

If only I could just say that to anything troublesome or problematic in my life, psh.

Out of curiosity, I looked up Wen on the list of the 100 most common surnames in China. I was expecting it to be around 40 – 60, but surprisingly enough, it’s not even in the top 100. Aw, I feel speshul.

Imagine if the US government did something like this in regards to first names- I would never have to see porn star names like “Krystii” on my Starbucks cups ever again!

China really seems to be on a roll nowadays. First, Wen Jiabao scolds the US for taking on a protectionist edge- role reversal much? Then, China wants to break up with the US dollar to take on a “new super-sovereign reserve currency.” And if the whole Huiyuan-Coca-Cola fallout didn’t make Chinese intentions clear enough, China blocked YouTube for allowing a video of the beating of Tibetans by Chinese officials to be uploaded.

Although, apparently, everything’s hunkydory again, since YouTube is back up and accessible in China. Really, what’s the point of blocking the site, anyways? That just generates curiosity as to why the hell it’s blocked, and people will use proxies to find the omgscandalous!video. Which is pretty counterintuitive, si? Then again, it might be worth it to see amazing comments, like the ones here. Oh man, haha.

I’m definitely looking forward to the coming months as China pulls more power plays like these.