Hari's Corner

I've noticed that recently, blogspot.com blogs automatically redirect to blogspot.in (for Indian users obviously). I have a feeling that this is partly in order to adhere to country-specific requirements for "selective content filtering to adhere to local laws" or to put it bluntly, censorship as dictated by Governments.

I've never been a big fan of those websites that redirect users to specific domains based on location, unless they offer specialized services for specific locations or otherwise are multinational company sites with country-specific information and products. I also detest websites that filter content or block me based on location or IP address-based information - either deceptively or directly.

I am glad I don't use blogspot.com at all. I request my blogging friends to at least consider alternatives. Yes, there are ways to set up a free blog without blogspot.com and stay in control of the domain as well. Owning a proper domain name costs very little (relatively speaking) and is well worth the price. Even if google don't censor as actively, you are still better off staying in full control of your precious copyrighted work.