Am I Hot or Not: Google vs Baidu
He talks about Google trying to conjure up a potion to put some lead in its seach engine pencil in China. He fails to mention that they also need a dose of virtual Viagara in Korea, Russia and Japan to name three more….
But he does go on to say he is relatively, almost certain that Google might possibly join up with a Chinese music site to probably offer songs from Universal Music (home of the Soon-To-Be-Elevator-Music Artist’s Alliance) and conceivably (rumor has it) SonyBMG and EMI. Oh yes, and Stephen says “Warner Music, is also believed to have expressed an interest.”
He goes on to assert that Baidu is an “upstart search engine” (founded in 1999–one year after Google) operating in a “culture of piracy” and that it built its business on piracy and is getting “a large portion of its traffic from users searching for illegal music.” In Stephen’s world 7% is large– and no, I won’t make the obvious joke. The 7% represents music searches he assumes to be illegal.
He finshes up his article by expressing his belief that a Google led “experiment with advertising-funded free music in China would be a significant break with the past.” He fails to note that EMI and Baidu already have a deal to live stream Chinese songs and they are working on more aliances with companies and artists.
No I don’t have a rose-colored display on my computer and I know how prevalent IP theft is in China both on and off of the net. But, I also know China is not alone, but they do make good headlines.
Search for Utorrent software–the program that allows you to crib virtually anything–and you will find that it is not de-indexed by Google nor are most of the sites that post anything stealable from movies to games. Isohunt.com a favorite site for world-wide free-downloaders, was hosted in the US until very recently. And I don’t think YouTube is going to be winning any award’s from the folks at Creative Commons. How many steps removed must you be before we eliminate you from the accomplice’s list?
Baidu is in China the country the west loves to hate: they will happily exploit China to make a buck as they demonize them in the press.
On a lighter note: I look at Google and Baidu this way: Who would I want to take to the prom? Baidu is the nerdy kid with the cheaper clothes (Google’s R&D budget exceeds a quarter’s worth of gross revenue for Baidu) while Google is always in the running for Court King or Queen. Baidu saves , Google spends. Google wears contacts and a night retainer, Baidu has hardware and emo glasses. Baidu returns my phone calls, Google’s dance card must be full….
I love the underdog, the laughing dance partner with two left feet and the kids that are never picked for dodgeball: bloggers with humility instead of journalists without borders.
Cast your vote for hot or not:
Posted 9 February, 2008 in Seach engine Optimization, SEM, SEO, Internet marketing China, Search Engine Marketing, Chinese Media, Baidu, china expert seo services guangzhou, SEO China Expert, 中文, Seo China, Chinese Internet, Asian Humor, China Humor, Humor, China web 2.0, Asia, Intercultural Issues, The Internet, 中国, In the news, China Business, China SEO
8 comments to “Am I Hot or Not: Google vs Baidu”
Lia, February 10th, 2008 at 1:11 pm:
-
Hey there. I couldn’t find any contact info on your site, so I’ll have to ask you a few completely non-blog related questions this way. I’ve just moved to Guangzhou from New York, and since you seem to be a long-term resident here, perhaps you could lend some advice?
I’m a painter, and I haven’t been able to find any art supplies stores around, except for what’s available at book stores. Would you happen to know where I could find one with a wide range(paints, brushes, canvases,ect.)? I’d really appreciate it.
Also, because I have a horrible sense of direction, I’ve been looking online for a detailed interactive map of the city in pinyin, but I’ve yet to find a good one. Any suggestions?
Thanks so much. Reply to my e-mail ( ) if you can help.
The Professor, February 10th, 2008 at 3:09 pm:
-
Welcome!!
I will check with my students and drop you a note…Give me a couple of days…
Lon
ShaMao'er, February 22nd, 2008 at 1:24 am:
-
The success of Baidu and Google’s relative lack of market penetration has little to do with Baidu’s linking of mp3s or other such content. My staff in China are, on a regular basis, adverse to using Google to research common business related issues. When I ask them why, they will invariably shrug and simply say that Baidu is Chinese and so understands better what Chinese want.
Western companies will increasingly face this type of consumer nationalism going forward as domestic companies (with substantial government support, both direct and indirect) are able to offer at least superficially comparable products and services. Recently, another colleague bought a VW Beetle and was criticized in quite harsh terms by another Manager in our firm for not buying a domestically built car.
Demerzel, February 27th, 2008 at 5:56 am:
-
Should be interesting then to keep an eye on how Baidu does within the IM market and see if it actually offers better products in China compared to Google’s Talk. Could be a good comparison on how strong nationalism plays a part (although that may be still a bad comparison with other domestic clients already playing a part in China).
Anni Lenox, February 28th, 2008 at 12:45 am:
-
Google much more better
.: GAFNO.com - Hot World News Blog :. » Blog Archive » Reasons to like Baidu–but whose reasons are they?, March 6th, 2008 at 12:37 pm:
-
[…] CultureFish and The Professor at Onemanbandwidth, a long-running China media blog. There, Hodge has criticized an article that painted Baidu inaccurately as an “upstart” engine and may have been […]
Haiming, March 19th, 2008 at 6:40 am:
-
Found your blog through search “chinese seo service”. I am a chinese seo specialist in New Zealand and thinking to start a chinese seo business for non-chinese customers. How big the Chinese SEO market for non-chinese customers? Do you get any Chinese SEO business through your blog?
I hope we can exchange some information in the future.
Haiming
The Professor, March 22nd, 2008 at 7:29 am:
-
Most of our biz is word of mouth and I don;t try to sell with this blog…Our SEM site is: http://www.culturefishmedia.com
Since CFM has a partnership with Baidu we get a lot of queries about facilitating PPC and reputation management campaigns…I would be happy to visit/correspond anytime!!