Google Tosses in Towel ... Now What?
Dennis McCafferty | Date: 04-09-10 | Comments: 4
- Google’s dispute with China over censorship reveals lessons about the state of IT in the world’s largest nation.
While Google is essentially
thumbing its nose at China’s censorship policy, an IT entrepreneur like Richard Granville
embraces more of an “If you can’t beat 'em, lead 'em” approach.
Not that he advocates
censorship. But his Fort Myers-based Cinnabar Ventures has created an Internet
operating system called Yippy that presents
an edited version of the Web for those who want one. Instead of a “wild, wild
West” approach where anything goes, the system cleans up the cyber-playground. Granville
sees a market for an edited Internet environment in the U.S. market where
businesses and families are clamoring for a controlled digital “sandbox.”
Granville is also looking at a place like China as a strong market for his
creation.
“American businesses are
losing productivity due to employees visiting gaming and adult-oriented Websites
during business hours,” Granville says. “China is 110 percent focused on building its business economy and has
no interest in workers losing focus. There’s a steep cost to be paid for
unlimited, uncensored access to the Internet, with its contribution to the
deterioration of family values and diminished employee productivity.”
Up through last month,
Google China had ranked as the No. 2 search engine in the People’s Republic of
China. But the company clashed with government officials there over
accusations of censorship. After further allegations that China hacked systems
to gain information on political dissidents, Google redirected all traffic to
its operations in Hong Kong, where censorship isn’t an issue.
The sequence of events
conveys the complexities of attempting to launch IT enterprises in China. That said, it is the world’s most populous nation and cannot be
ignored. Here are some bigger-picture lessons to be learned by the Google
experience:
- Don’t pretend that your company’s moral superiority will
overcome all. Google’s reputation is that of a
high-minded, progressive company. Which is all well and good. But what works in
the United
States and Europe doesn’t
necessarily work elsewhere. “It’s the height of arrogance for a company to set
up business overseas and fail to respect the laws and customs of that country,”
says Philip Lieberman, a longtime IT industry expert/author/UCLA instructor who
is also the founder and president of Los Angeles-based Lieberman Software. “China
has the right to do what it feels is right for its citizens, and Google has no
right to impose its values. If China requires filtering, Google cannot whine
about it while also reaching into the pockets of advertisers to enrich itself
upon the same traffic. That’s eating the fruit of the poison tree.”
- Don’t diss your hosts.
Disagreement is fine. Disagreement in public is not. China has a long, proud history—regardless of how one feels about its human-rights
record—and officials there do not take well to public scoldings. “The Google
China story teaches us that, in China, you must understand to give ‘face’ to the government there—even
if you disagree or are mad with them,” says Savio Chan, president and CEO of U.S.
China Partners, a Melville, N.Y.-based firm specializing in business
development between the two nations. “Discuss issues in private,” he relates. “Never
talk to the foreign media first. If you ‘Google’ the concept of success in China, the keyword is ‘government.’”
- Realize that change is an evolution, and the key to change is
understanding from within. The China of today is much different from that of, say, President Nixon’s
visit in 1972. And while the impact of IT and Western influence can be
transformational, all nations progress within their own timetable. “Both the
U.S. and China have a lot to learn when it comes to interacting,” says John
Wagster, executive vice president and general counsel of Freeborders, a San
Fransisco-based tech solutions/business consultancy that helps Internet-based
companies and other enterprises expand globally. “Censorship is nothing new in
China. Understanding censorship there along with its other cultural distinctions
is key to doing business there. The Chinese government has spent hundreds of
billions of dollars on physical and technology infrastructure for the express
purpose of attracting Western business. We should be mindful that it’s much
easier to instigate further change from inside the tent.”
