Take care,Google!

google.cn is gone and replaced by google.com.hk. Ironically I googled for some reports on this issue. The reasons are quite complicated and the consequences are not predicable, as nobody can say that Google is never coming back to mainland China.

Among all the research engine users, 30% were using Google and 70% were fans of Baidu, as I once mentioned in class there was always a debate and a competition in China between them. Some people say this makes Google lose its confidence in winning Baidu and decides to leave, however, when it first entered China, the percentage belonged to it was only 13% and there was still a steady growth. To me, different engines serve different searching purposes. If you want to search information in Chinese, definitely Google cannot help you much; while, if you key in English in Baidu, it's easy to get some nonsenses. Thus in China, where English still only belongs to the elites, Google may not be the choice of the majority.

Another reason might be the different laws and rules in America and China. The first values much on freedom and human rights while the latter may care more about morality and regulations. There is nothing right and wrong on the attitude and choice, because it is determined by history, culture and the country's situations. When there is some information against the China government on the issues of Taiwan and Tibet provided by Google, it is obviously challenging the rules of China as this government has very intensive examination on online information. China has the biggest population and the largest number of web users in the world and still there are a huge number of websites, which all need to be monitored, otherwise, it is going to be out of order. But some may say, why aren't there such rules in America? I would like to say, people's quality may speak. In China, most of the things are still developing including people themselves.

The third reason I can think of is the localization of Google in China. People of a certain country or group have the unique searching habit and Google does not serve the habit of most Chinese well. The inadequate Chinese information is one thing and another one is the page arrangement, as for Google, if you want to browse the next page on the list, you always need to go back to the main searching list but Baidu can project a new page and the one you finished looking at cannot be lost. I think most of us have had the experiences not being able to retrive the useful information we just read. And people in China usually open several pages to compare the contents. It is because of the using habit that Twitter, Facbook, Myspace and Skype can never gain such popularity as QQ (a chatting tool) in China.

The consequences for the withdrawal of Google from mainland China may not be that obvious just as its reasons, which include politics, economy, etc. There will be great influence on some users in China who have been used and addicted to Google, especially English learners. It takes some time for them to adjust and find the alternative. On the other hand, it might be good news for some others, like Baidu, Sougou and 163, who just lost a strong competitor.

Just like what we once said in the class that technology is not equally distributed, so is information. What do you think of this issue?