Google Mail Not Included

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I was chatting on Gmail, or Google mail, with a reporter at Caijing Magazine in Beijing last night, and my first thought while reconnecting was that it seemed strange we were both using Gmail, after reports hinted the powerful search engine company would leave China. I asked her about this, and she simply replied, "The government would not block Google. They are not that dumb."

As it turns out, Google pulled the trick this time by transferring all of its users to restriction-free Hong Kong and shutting down google.cn. Google's search engine -- not its email service -- continues to fall under Chinese government's restrictions, according to a March 24 article in the LA Times.

It's really hard to tell by looking at Western media what's actually going on in China. I will actually have to go there to find the full story. Even so, China's media tends to pull the shades over citizen's eyes when it comes to explaining current events.

From my previous travels in China, I’ve learned travel is unpredictable. I find it's important to keep an open mind when traveling, not only to allow exposure to other cultures and ideas, but to accommodate for changes in comfort, technology, and politics. As the Internet strives to better connect the world, we still face challenges because of the social, linguistic, and economic boundaries between groups of people on both large and small scales. Remember how much fuss and confusion came from Apple naming their new computer product the iPad? The company probably didn't consider the language connotations that the name would have for nearly half of their consumers. If we missed the communication beat on that one, imagine how complex interactions can get with other cultures.

So, equip your backpack with a new way of perceiving things, both on and off the web.