Re Google in China: Beware of convoluted explanations for transparently self-serving behavior.
Feb 14th, 2006 by jimmoore
The wise old Chinese sage says:
Beware of convoluted explanations for transparently self-serving behavior.
Translation for today:
When Google says it is promoting freedom and democracy by extending its
business in China while censoring out references to freedom and
democracy–and to the Dalai Lama, by the way–beware.
In my own experience Occams razor holds for virtue, too.
In business they sometimes call this “passing the red face test.”
Technical post script:
Google says that the reason it wants servers in China is to give its
users a better experience-translated as “faster.” Why didn’t it
instead invest in Satellite downloads, servers ringing china, and
working with activists to set up informal networks of proxy-servers,
just as the p2p music sites do? Hey, Google COULD have done good
with its money.
Do you want the real reason Google is in China? Read on..
What Google can not do in China,
without partnering with the government and censoring its content,
is sell advertising. In my own discussions with Google folks last
year, what I heard was
that the only way to expand the Google advertising business into China
was to set up a Chinese subsidiary and have Chinese servers. Yup,
I really really don’t believe Google was most concerned about download
speeds. Google was concerned about ad revenues and being able to sell
ads to Chinese businesses.
Again, beware of convoluted explanations.