Online censorship in China

This topic came up in the tute and I didn't really feel like I got to communicate my point effectively, so I'm having a second attempt here, albeit a very brief attempt :p

Not even the Chinese gov. has the resources to filter and watch the actions of every net user in the country - instead they seek to intimidate. YES they do filter out websites, YES they do watch chat-rooms, yes they do a whole lot more and they do it very actively - that fact that they do it so actively is kind of the point. They've made it not in the interest of a great number of internet users in China to even bother looking up subversive material. This guy?/girl? (i didn't bother check) puts it in nicer language...

"Internet filtering in China is best described as a matrix of control in which technological and non-technological measures intersect at different levels of access to enforce strict information control policies. Such a matrix of controls (combining filtering and surveillance technology with fear, intimidation and imprisonment) discourages most people from attempting to access banned information, let alone actively seek out means to circumvent such controls."

And more on that theme of intimidation.

Hell yes they have arrested people for doing 'naughty' stuff on the internet - but primarily as a tool to remind the rest of the population that they could be being watched. At least, that's my opinion :D Here's the article one of the girls mentioned about 2 elderly ppl getting shipped off to countryside for protesting.

edit: And here's some slightly dated information on who is using the internet in china - see last paragraph. 60:40 split of men to women, "54.1% of all Internet users in China were under 24 years of age, 70.5% were under 30 and 82% were under 35". This group, to generalise, has only known a growing/prosperous china, and thinks the government isn't doing a terrible job. If they are angry at anyone, it's the Japanese. I was there from late Nov to early Feb this year, and wherever I was in the country and at pretty much any time of day, there was a film/tv series running that portrayed the Japanese as monsters. Pretty scary when you think there's a nation of people being raised on that sort of media :S

Best Of Youtube

There is a Best Of Youtube website/podcast that picks out the best videos from youtube (as if the name didn't already make that obvious). Its free subscription (its an RSS feed that Tama was talking about in the lecture) and you can get it through itunes or online. I highly recommend it :)

Has to be done...

You haven't experienced the internet until you've seen this.

Scared...

Hello,

I'm Caitlin and I'm terrified of computers. I've never written a blog and I can't do facebook. I like youtube though...

Introducing... Therese

Hi everyone, my name is Therese and ths is my first blog too. I am so relieved to see that this site has spell check! I love the jazz music and fashions from the 1920-40's, thus I LOVE the outfits donned in the Sugar Blue Burlesque site. I found out about it because a girl I went to high school with has performed at a couple of their monthly gigs. It is a sensory delight!

So. we're all introducing ourselves - I'm Alex, and I spend the majority of my time on Facebook, much like most people I know.
I'm also a fan of Go Fug Yourself (a fashion/snark blog) and Teknoscape (a Perth dance music forum).
I also have a Livejournal account but mainly use it to lurk communities rather than posting nowadays.

Intro intro intro

Hello, I'm Ellie, this looks interesting and stuff. I'm a first year and have been blogging for about four years now on LiveJournal. 

Check out The Sneeze, it's an entertaining, lighthearted blog full of all sorts of cool geeky stuff.

Have fun y'all.

Since we're introducing...

Since I haven't been to the friday tut yet, I'll introduce myself - I'm Nikky. The time spend online is directly proportional to the number of assignments I'm procrastinating. I'm a fan of Facebook, IRC, blogs, downloading music and podcasts, looking for new wallpapers and catching up on my hunt to find the best youtube videos.

If you visit tipsir's youtube profile page there's heaps more where this one came from ;)

Me

Hi, I don't remember this but looks like we're all making posts to introduce ourselves. So here I am! I'm Liam (big surprise huh). My favourite websites? Hmmm, I most frequently visit 4chan, Kotaku and Facebook. I used to be frequent reader of webcomics (like Penny Arcade, CAD, Questionable Content, PBF, Diesel Sweeties, VG cats... yeah the list goes on), but these days I'm not so fussed about checking them... you know... every day.

hello

Hi, I'm Emily. It's hard to say what my favourite website is. There aren't too many websites I frequent, although I read a fair few blogs. I guess if I had to pick one, it would be Emily Short's Interactive Fiction. (No, not me - a different Emily!) Lots of interesting thoughts on interactive narrative. Emily Short is one of the best-known authors of interactive fiction, and her work is always thought-provoking.

first blog entry

Hi there,
This is my first blog entry in my life...and it looks so cool. My favourite website is youtube.com and i love watching the movies on it.