Yes. Another Google post.

I think I already said I am not going to talk about Google anymore. That is in-part because everyone else has already talked about them. Also, my moral arguments about this topic make some people think that I’m some sort of “China apologist”.

Then came the news that China renewed Google’s Google.cn internet ICP license. Cool, I think. China avoids bad press. Google gets to provide some services on Google.cn, and Google maintains the ridiculous picture-link to Google.com.hk. The world is a little happier. And I don’t need to post about it. Or so I thought. I’m just not the type of guy who lets things go.

One of my favorite bloggers, Kai Pan, ofchine/divide, recently posted about Mr. Henry Blodget , a media-analyst, getting the Google story wrong.¹ At first, I was not interested in his post (sorry Kai Pan) because I now realize that there are many highly paid “experts” who give expert opinions about China which are completely wrong. This is just nothing new. Everyone in the media gets it wrong. Really, for me, the biggest part of the story is how everyone gets it wrong, yet they get paid big money…while I don’t get paid big money, but I get everything right (because, you know, I’m just that awesome, so I’m always right).

This is how I will look when I'm reincarnated in the 24th century

In its breakdown of how the analyst got it wrong, Kai Pan brought up many good points. But there is one point where I somewhat agree with Mr. Blodget.

[Blodget]“Importantly, it wasn’t Google’s decision to stop censoring that was a bad one. It was the way in which Google handled the decision. By making a big announcement and and redirecting its search engine to Hong Kong, Google left the Chinese government no way to compromise without losing face.”

[Kai Pan]Wait…what? Yes, Google tried to use international and public attention to shame the Chinese government on its censorship policies. That was a ballsy move but it failed. … In fact, it can be argued that this redirection was something of a face-saving move for Google because it allowed them to claim they were still offering a search engine but without having to self-censor.

I agree with everything Kai Pan says in his post. However, I agree with Mr. Blodget on this point: I think the decision to “move” to Hong Kong needlessly antagonized the Chinese government, without providing any material benefit for Google’s customers. Yes, it was a “face saving” maneuver by Google. Yet I propose a better strategy (note: because will be reincarnated as The Captain, I feel perfectly qualified to propose another solution).

My proposal is this: Google should abandon google.com.hk as a destination for Mainland netzeins. Instead, make Google.cn into a kick-butt site which showcases all the wonderefull tools that Google can legally provide in China: calender, email, docs, maps, translate. Maybe add in some Android-related mobile services as well. Google.cn can be what Google is becoming; an online office. Then, have the search link redirect to Google.com, but with a tag to start the Chinese interface.

Why send netzeins to Google.com? Because Google.com was what the professional city-dweller caste of China used before 2005. Because this type of netzein uses Google because it is NOT Chinese…it is international. Google should stick with its “international” positioning because that is what differentiates it from Baidu. On the other hand, Google.com.hk is just a loophole used for face and PR. It reminds people of Google leaving “mainland”, whereas Google should be reminding Chinese people that the internet ideally surpasses borders.

I got an even crazier idea. How about on the Google.cn site, add a huge button link to Google.com’s search engine, AND a search box for its competitor, Baidu. Let the Chinese netzein see how the searches are different. This way, Google can drive home its positioning as the “global” search provider, which also provides great tools. At the same time, it can point the way to the “local” search provider, with its government and corporate sponsored search rankings. Chinese netzeins can then see the difference in quality between the two services.