Losers and Winners of the Great Internet Outtage of 2006/07:

Losers

Taiwanese people

For the Taiwanese, this is much more than their MSN being disrupted. Do what you can to help out.

Businesses dependent on the internet/MSN

Both Chinese, Taiwanese and American businesses that depend on instant messenging (IM) for up-to-date information are losing time and information.

Microsoft, US websites

I already switched to Baidu for some searches because it filters out more American sites that don't work; MSN is also getting mud on its face because it didn't have back-up servers ready, and all people are being told is that the back-up doesn't exist "for historical reasons."

Winners

Chinese internet users (proxies!)

Already, average Chinese internet users are learning to use proxies to access foreign sites and log onto MSN. Experts warn that using proxies means handing off your passwords to strangers, but that is unlikely to stop people from using them.

Tencent's QQ, Lava-Lava, Taobao's WangWang, and 163's Popo

Domestic IM services are reporting large increases in registered users, and spectacularly large increases in the number of users online.

People who read my Public Transportation Weblog

With no English-language web to surf, I find myself trolling BBSs with forums on Shanghai metro and bus systems for interesting links and stories to post, hehe.