Forget the Great Firewall of China for a while and give way to the star of the moment – Pakistan. According to BBC News, the near global blackout experienced by YouTube yesterday was traced to Pakistan Telecom and ISP PCCW.

It turned out the government of Pakistan wants to restrict YouTube access country-wide because of numerous contents deemed offensive to Islam. Some say it was triggered by videos of Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad while others blamed the offensive-to-Islam trailer from a film by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders provoked the government.

To implement the ban, Pakistan Telecom “hijacked” the web server address of YouTube but this was accidentally leaked out to other Internet service providers around the globe thereby causing that annoying two-hour blackout. To be specific, the official cause is “erroneous internet protocols.”

According to YouTube, its engineers are currently working with different Internet communities to prevent such blackout from happening again.

Originally posted on February 25, 2008 @ 8:58 am

YouTube Sensation Evolution of Dance Seeks Brand Partner

The Evolution of Dance has expanded its reach … offline. Judson Laipply of YouTube fame, known best for meshing popular dances into a six-minute routine, will continue to take his act to select high schools throughout the U.S. in the Fall of 2008.

Dubbed “Inspirational Comedy” by those who have witnessed it, Judson Laipply speaks to high school and college students on the power of choice and the idea that life is change. Laipply has been sharing important messages about life with youth for seven years and has always incorporated his wildly popular dance at the end of his speaking engagements to illustrate his points.

“I try to help students understand how their world operates by encouraging them to see their power of choice and how that affects their life,” says Laipply. “When I started speaking, my goal was always to reach as many people as possible. Working with Campus Media Group is going to help me continue to spread my message.”

In 2008, Campus Media Group, a youth marketing agency specializing in developing custom plans and programs for national brands, is working to pair The Evolution of Dance with a national sponsor to help reach more schools that cannot afford his appearance fees. This sponsorship intends to provide brands with in-school advertising, distribution of promotional materials, online cross-promotion, and other customized promotion.

Originally posted on January 23, 2008 @ 1:03 pm