On land we have borders, Online we don't, what do you think of this?

Even if they never set foot in their land, the government of that land still has control over the said product. They can either block access to the site or block the physical product in customs. The boarders are there; you just can't seem them easily.

There's borders. Sometimes they are tiny/nonexistent, sometimes they are enormous.

Take, for example, the fact that anyone outside the U.S. cannot use Hulu. Period. If a Canadian or a Mexican or an Australian tries to watch a show on Hulu, they'll get a notification that it is US only.

Then there's the great firewall of China. They pretty much only see what the government wants them to see.

Add on the appropriate taxes for purchases from legitimate businesses in foreign countries, and it is very evident.

The borders don't actually exist anywhere. All borders are of the mind and of the land. If there is no land mass (or lack there of) blocking you, then there is no border, only what you perceive as a border because that is what you have been taught. This is even more noticeable online, as the borders are significantly harder to see. You hardly ever know who you are talking to. For all you know they could be anyone from your next door neighbor to the leader of an "enemy" country.

These borders of the mind are rarely enforced online when compared to physical reality, and that is as it should be.

I'm in the US right now and I get a lot of traffic on my website from Europe.

I think it's great. Makes us more into a collective intelligence

That just makes connecting with a global audience far easier than in real life.

I would like to respectably disagree with the title. Have you ever heard of online censorship or the Great Firewall of China?

Products/taxes are still governed by the respective countries that the sale takes place. That is if your running a legit business.

Belive it or not some countries do have borders online. China is very careful about what gets viewed in other countrys. China monitors traffic aswell.

I'm Originally from the US and I now live in Canada. Try using HULU or Using Windows 7's Media Center TV App's - Not gonna happen without a US based IP address. Those services treat Canadians like a stepchild - even though were one of the biggest trading partners to the US, including the purchasing of TV programming!