Internet Tales: China vs The West & Rest

10 Ways the Chinese Internet is Different

In the course of searching for interesting & different content for Mobile Point View I sometimes find a jewel amongst the rocks. Such is the case with Mobiz (strapline: Trends and Opportunities in Mobile and Internet Space in China and Rest of the World), a blog written by Nokia Executive and wireless veteran Alvin Foo. Based in China, he has a nice balance of personal stories mixed in with solid analysis of mobile trends and technology initiatives in China. He's a pathfinder having blogged since 2004. I wanted to share Alvin's newest post "10 Ways the Chinese Internet is Different" for my global readers, as well as my own comments on each. Drop by Alvin's Mobiz & edify on the ways of China.

1. Its slower
Thanks to the Great Firewall, accessing the internet especially websites residing outside China can be a real pain.   Tell me about it. My friends in China keep advising me that MobilePointView sometimes is accessible and sometimes not. Notwithstanding the fact that I've never written a cross word about China!! There are many times I'd rather be there with 10% economic growth rate than here in the US where mobile is hardly cutting edge!  But what about Mobile access to the web, how's that compared to the west--same same. With most Chinese now accessing the web via mobile, does it really matter how fast a tethered connection is?

2. Its monitored. The Chinese authorities monitor all traffic going in and out of China.
Well, so it seems is the Australian web soon. Monitoring may not be all that bad given below. Yet again, read above and it makes you take pause. Readers, what's your view ?

3. Access to foreign Web sites is limited: The Chinese government uses four mechanisms -- DNS blocking, reset commands, URL keyword blocking and content scanning to prevent Internet users in the country from reaching blacklisted Web sites or content.  I've heard there are also readers pouring over the internet, much like massive public works projects used to be built by hand and hordes of workers. Any truth to that, or is it "geopolitical myth making?"

4. Blackouts are common
If the Chinese government finds that a user has downloaded forbidden content, it breaks the connection and prohibits the user from establishing communications with the site. These blackouts can last anywhere from two minutes to an hour. Umm, I'm also advised by a student who used to work for me that her dorm electricity is turned off at 11:00 pm every night. When do you get to study then?

5. Its censored.The authority employs thousand of people to go through content and censor whatever they find sensitive. Ah, see item 2 question.

6. There's less porn: The Chinese government justifies its Internet monitoring efforts by telling the public that it is keeping online information "wholesome" and free of threats such as sexual predators. Online pornography is not as pervasive in China, and users are less likely to stumble upon it. Good.

7. It's safer. Malicious activity including phishing scams, bots and zombies is less common in China than in the United States. China represented 7% of the Internet's malicious activity, while the United States represented 31% during the second half of 2007. One rationale for the Chinese Internet monitoring system is to keep hackers at bay. Seems sensible.

8. There's less spam. China produces 4% of the world's spam, while the United States is the origin for 42% of all unsolicited e-mail. China decreased its spam volume by 131% in the second half of 2007, largely by reducing the number of bot-infested computers. Here, too. Seems sensible.

9. It's based on IPv6. The China Next Generation Internet is an IPv6 backbone that the Chinese government is using as a testbed to develop IPv6 services, including distance learning and telemedicine. IPv6 is an upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol that features enough IP addresses for the Chinese population. I'm curious whether IPv6 is a Chinese initiated technical upgrade. Might be reflective of industrial policy and strategy. If China adopts a standard, it is now at the point of rightfully effecting global standards to adhere. Nothing new here, others have tried it, e.g., PHS out of Japan, CDMA out of the US, etc.

10. Its growing faster. The Chinese domain .cn are growing much faster than any domain in the world. Dot cn grew by 399% than the 24% year on year for .com and .net. WOW!  Two words: Head East.

Thanks for the informative post Alvin.

Comments

[Keith Mclachlan]

Very interesting article on China and its Great Firewall. You may not be aware but I just wrote an article about the future of the Internet and, of course, China's Great Firewall featured.
For my thoughts have a look at http://keithmclachlan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=71&Itemid=1