Baidu A Threat to Google?
June 8, 2011
“Baidu Eyes Huge Overseas Expansion” scratched an itch we have had since our trip to Hong Kong in March 2011. I picked up some information that savvy Web users knew how to negotiate around any filters on content. But I also learned that for some of the Chinese and Hong Kongese, Baidu was the go-to search system.
This story picked up the theme that the Chinese Web giant Baidu has recently revealed its intent to expand into foreign markets and become the number one search engine in the world, ousting Google from its throne. The company has
“already created a Japanese language search engine and is now mulling over which markets to attempt to move into next. It’s already setting up a multi-language platform in anticipation of further developments.”
Baidu is rumored to have sought help in meeting its goal by reaching out to other internet giants. “It has already been suggested that Baidu has been talking to Facebook and that is likely to put its main competitor both at home and abroad, Google, on the back foot. Furthermore Microsoft is thought to be cozying up to Baidu, which could be the beginnings of a threat to Google’s hegemony on a larger scale.”
Competition is always good for the consumer and this situation is no different. It is scary to think about how much better the current search engines could be, but like anything there is always room for improvement.
No wonder Google is cranky and eager to admit its missteps via its former CEO’s mea culpa. Few companies have to deal with Amazon, Apple, and Facebook as well as Baidu.com and Yandex.com, the Russian search bear.
Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
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