Yes, there are lots of cool things about America.  Well, there are cool things about American Internet anyway.  Compared to a lot of the world, our Internet is freakin' awesome.  There are a couple levels on which this statement is totally true, and being an American, makes me proud. Before you denounce me for being "one of those guys", let me explain.

Internet Censorship

Loads of countries in the world censor the Internet.  Mostly with regards to government related and anti-terrorism, it sounds like a reasonable deal. The problem arises when the definition of "to keep the public safe" is interpreted in different ways.  Iran blocks Twitter. UAE blocks Skype.  Brazil blocks YouTube. Vietnam blocks Facebook. China blocks everything under the sun.  Even Eastern European countries and Western Europe to some extent block stuff from the Internet.  In the US, the Internet is a pretty free place.  The government does monitor stuff like kiddie-porn and Al Qaeda, but for the most part, you can do what you like.  Don't like the government? Say it in your blog.  Want to post videos punching yourself in the face? OK!  Are you a foot-fetish kind of guy? No problem.  It's not a problem when you get an American IP address.

Movies and TV

As a long time traveler and expat of many countries over the years, I came to realize how great American TV is.  Most of the world fills their TV boxes with traditional shows from the 90's and crappy soap operas that usually only air in the middle of the night or mid-afternoon in The US.  We've got awesome News commentary like The Colbert Report and John Stewart on The Daily Show.  We've got massive shows that run for season after season like Desperate Housewives, Lost, Heroes, CSI, Glee, Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Sex in the City.  What person who has seen these shows can honestly say they weren't unique and enthralling?  Hulu, Fox, CBS, ABC all provide streaming of these shows on the Internet, but exclusively to Americans. To get access to these shows, you need an American IP address.

Moreover, most people have heard of Netflix.  American movies have penetrated just about every country and culture out there, and with movies like Transformers and Harry Potter, you can't deny that American movies are the best in the world.  Netflix, being an American company, is just about as cozy as you can get with American movie makers and distributors, so it's no wonder that they've got the biggest database of online movies in the world.  And guess what? Their site is only available in The USA - and to some degree, Canada.  To get access to this site from overseas, you need to get an American IP address.

Reputation

Ok, so I'll be the first to admit that not every American is a good guy, and every country has honest people and liars.  But as far as IP address goes, there is a fair amount of discrimination that goes on.  With the recent hacks on Google originating from China, the last person I want doing some work on my websites is someone with a Chinese IP.  With all the pirate videos coming from Russia, I'm probably not going to download torrents from a Russian guy.  When someone from Pakistan answer a request for a Freelancer, I'm pretty sure it's going to be copied from somewhere else on the Internet.  It's not the rule, but this kind of stuff goes on a lot.  No matter where you are in the world, when you get an American IP address, people think you're American.

There are basically two ways to get an American IP address. Web based proxies and virtual private networks are these two methods. Proxies are used generally for browsing and simple activities on the Internet, while a virtual private network would be a more professional solution to the problem how to change your IP address.  They encrypt your entire computer/phone, making sure that all programs and applications are using your new IP.