Currently, there at least some 22 countries that block some websites, even more that block VOIP services. China alone represents a block that can restrict access to your site to over 1 billion people.

Though there are ways around most of these Internet blocks, few within the countries impacted have the means and ability to do so, making those blocks, for the most part, at least somewhat effective at limiting communication.

The sad truth is that, though some strides have been made in promoting freedom of access online, many countries are tightening their grip. Recent news from Iran indicates the country tightening its grip and increasing its filtering. Turkey has also seen a similar tightening of Internet restrictions.

But blocking goes well beyond countries. Though less nefarious in nature, many companies and households also use blocking technology to restrict who can access certain sites. Whether the goal is to increase employee productivity or prevent minors from access adult content, the results are often the same.

So is your site being blocked? Are people who might want to visit your site barred from accessing it and, if so, what can be done about it? Here’s a quick look at the current web filtering landscape and what it means for your site. read more

Beginning March 26, 2010, Blogger will no longer support FTP publishing. This means that if you are one of the .5% of Blogger users utilizing an FTP service to publish a blog to your own domain, things are a-changin’.

Citing a drain on their “engineering resources,” the Google-owned platform has made the decision in order to concentrate on new features and improvements in 2010. read more

Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler has sued one or several bloggers who have impersonated him online, seeking an injunction to stop the offenders from doing so in the future. NME knows why:

The blogs, posted on Blogspot.com, made reference to Tyler’s late mother, with the singer singling them out as the “most hurtful” in the lawsuit.

Fair enough, I guess. Apparently Google removed the blogs at Tyler’s request.

Blogger: Beyond the Basics provides a difficult challenge to me as a reviewer. As a die hard user of WordPress reviewing a book about Blogger, I have to do two things.

1. Not allow any prejudice or personal feelings about Google’s blogging service to enter my review.
2. Read this book from the perspective of the target audience and decide how much it might help them.

The first turned out to be surprisingly easy. I’ve dabbled with Blogspot blogs before during tests and was curious what advanced capabilities the service had.

The second, however, turned out to be much more difficult, not because I found it hard to put myself in the shoes of the target audience, but because I couldn’t figure out exactly who the target audience was. read more