Like a blocked nose, a blocked blogsite is a constant annoyance for us blogsters who seek unrestricted honking. Here are some ways I've discovered to get round the blockage:
Some people have suggested that I create a feedburner for my Shanghai Journal blogsite, which for some reason is blocked in China (I assume all Squarespace sites are). Thanks for the suggestion, and here it is:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/squarespace/BNJY
This is easy to do--just go to the feeds.feedburner.com site and follow instructions. Anybody can subscribe to the feedburner and get otherwise blocked blogs sent to them.
This is one way of getting around the Great Firewall, given that many blogsites are blocked in China.
Here is another way I discovered recently:
If your site is blocked in China or elsewhere, or if you wish to read a blocked site, one thing you can do is go through Babelfish or any similar translation service. This also has the advantage of translating your blog into Chinese if you write in English as I do. Of course, the translation is far from perfect and may be awkward for native Chinese to read, but it does get the point across.
Here is an example of how my blogsite appears in translation. When my wife read this, her reaction was "horrible!" The word for word translation and the numerous words that can't be translated directly do indeed make it a bit awkward to read. It may be a few years before such services are "perfected."
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=en_zh&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshanghaijournal.squarespace.com
If you want your blog to appear in its original form (more or less) you can also choose to translate from Chinese to English, which has the effect of leaving the English alone:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=zh_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshanghaijournal.squarespace.com
The only drawback to this method is that from what I've been told by friends in China, only the text in my site appears, and the photos and designwork on the site disappear.
These are two methods that seem to work for blogsters who wish people to gain access to their sites, at least to the textual portions if not the visual ones. I'm not sure if other functions are maintained in the process, e.g. the ability for people to post comments, and would very much appreciate feedback from readers on this matter. I'd also appreciate hearing about other alternatives.
As for people who wish to read blocked sites in China, I always recommend using proxy servers. There are many out there. The one I was using regularly is called Tor-Vidalia. Just google these words and you'll find a link to the site where you can download the appropriate software.