Even with unbridled illegal immigration, a subset of the Chinese population is growing faster than the total population of the United States. China’s online percentage has now hit 338 million, a 13.4% increase from the end of 2008. Given that the Chinese online populaton is greater than the full US citizen count, it is more than safe to say that China has been the number internet enabled country by total numbers for some time now.
But what type of internet connection do they have? Turns out it is a bit like a Tehraninan cell phone signal: not there when you need it most. Let’s take a look at some recent headlines, in reverse chrononological order:
Shockingly Chinese Headed Online To Vent
Facebook Access Blocked In China
Ethnic Rioting In China – Twitter Blocked
New Opening For Linux In China – Green Damn
Green Dam(n) Back – Iran To Blame?
Green Dam Damned – China Backs Down?
iPhone Headed To China – Orders Shrimp Chow Mein [not on topic, but I love the headline]
China Angry At Google Over Porn
China’s Internet Filtering Software Stolen From US Company
Stupidity In Real Time – China Blocks Twitter
That is an impressive amount of government shenanigans in just the past month and a half. In fact, it might be the topic that I have covered most in recent time. Having a vast intenet presence is great, but without access to the most popular sites online, you have a ghost town. If you block Twitter, Facebook, and Google, productivity might actually rise in your work force, that be damned. Sure China is huge, but you must take its internet life with salt. If the Chinese government backs down, then it will have numbers to crow over.
