【华尔街日报0112】谷歌准备放低姿态开拓中国市场

lilyma06

两
年前因与中国政府在审查制度上产生争议而将服务器撤出中国内地的谷歌公司如今更新了其在内地的业务扩张计划。谷歌承认，公司无法承担缺席世界上最大的互联网市场的代价。

Bloomberg News

谷歌联合创始人布林(Sergey Brin)在公司与中国政府出现“冲突”时曾说，他力主谷歌采取反审查的态度。布林说，中国审查互联网和压制异己的努力让他想起了前苏联的“极权主义”。布林出生在前苏联。

谷歌亚太区总裁阿利格瑞（Daniel Alegre）说，这家互联网搜索引擎巨头正在中国雇佣更多的工程师、销售人员和产品经理，并在为向中国用户提供新的服务做准备。

阿利格瑞在一次采访中说，尤其值得一提的是，谷歌正在指望利用其快速增长的应用于移动设备的安卓手机操作系统谋求移动设备、在线广告和产品搜索服务在中国的增长。

他说，谷歌的目标之一就是将安卓市场引入中国，安卓市场为安卓平台的智能手机和平板电脑用户提供数千款移动应用，但是在中国目前还无法使用。

公司还在努力通过一些无需经过官方审查的服务赢得中国顾客，该服务于9月启动，目的是帮助人们搜索提供当地商户折扣的网站。谷歌还在努力加强其产品搜索服务，帮助用户从网上的零售商中找到需要的商品。

中国官员对于发表评论的请求没有做出回应。

在其宣布不再依照中国法律审查其互联网搜索结果并退出中国两周年之际，谷歌正快马加鞭为其新的计划做准备。

谷歌公司在2010年1月12日宣布的决定和该公司和其他西方科技企业长期服从中国当局的做法迥然不同。当时许多中国人认为此举意味着谷歌将彻底从中国撤出。

在谷歌公开表示，发生在2009年的网络入侵是中国黑客所为之后，一场围绕着审查制度的大戏拉开帷幕。这些黑客窃取了谷歌公司专有的电脑代码并试图监视中国民主活动分子的Gmail账户。中国官员否认与该事件有关。

谷歌随后停止了在其中文网站Google.cn上提供搜索服务，并将用户导航至无需服从政府审查要求的香港搜索站。

但是对于中国内地的用户来说，香港的搜索引擎以及包括邮件在内的其他的谷歌服务因受政府的网络过滤系统影响，总是故障不断。

谷歌联合创始人布林(Sergey Brin)在公司与中国政府出现“冲突”时曾说，他力主谷歌采取反审查的态度。了解当时讨论情况的人说，布林的看法压倒了时任谷歌首席执行长施密特(Eric Schmidt)及其他人的观点，后者起初认为谷歌应保持在中国的发展策略。

布林当时接受本报采访时说，中国审查互联网和压制异己的努力让他想起了前苏联的“极权主义”。布林出生在前苏联。他还说，对于中国的一些政策特别是审查方面的政策，我个人感觉很受困扰。

谷歌2005年在中国设立首个办事处，在决定停止审查搜索结果后，谷歌关闭了很多在中国的重要功能，但表示永远不放弃中国市场。目前谷歌在中国内地仍有500多名员工，其中300多人都是技术人员。

阿利格瑞说，如今随着安卓业务在中国的增长以及更多中国公司希望在网上投放广告，让谷歌掉转航向并在中国增加投资对布林及谷歌联合创始人兼CEO佩奇(Larry Page)来说是个很“务实”的决定。

阿利格瑞说，中国有很大的商机，他们也意识到了这一点。

据政府统计，截至去年9月底，中国互联网用户总数超过5亿。

谷歌此举正值中国互联网业处于关键时期。尽管中国内地的网络内容普遍受到政府审查，但互联网却日益成为中国民众分享信息、表达不满(包括对政府的不满)的渠道。由于中国将在今年开始10年一次的领导换届，有关互联网审查的紧张态势目前有所加剧。

与Twitter类似的新浪微博等微博服务提供商已成为中国网友对争议性话题交换看法、共享信息的广受欢迎的平台，而谷歌却被晾在一旁。据花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)一份分析报告显示，来自中国的收入目前占谷歌总营收的比例不超过2%，预计谷歌2011年总营收将超过400亿美元。

北京市场研究机构易观国际(Analysys International)表示，谷歌在中国网络搜索市场中所占份额从2009年第四季度的36%大跌至2011年第三季度的17.2%，而这些失去的市场份额主要流向了竞争对手百度。

阿利格瑞说，尽管如此，中国内地网民使用谷歌进行互联网搜索的次数在过去两年仍有所增加。阿利格瑞目前常驻东京，不过经常到北京和上海出差。从理论上说，搜索次数的增加有助于提振谷歌的搜索广告业务，不过谷歌发言人拒绝对此事置评。


此外，谷歌还有业务是帮助中国广告商锁定数千个非谷歌网站和移动应用程序上的互联网用户(包括中国海内外用户)，这些业务也出现了增长。

阿利格瑞说，总体而言，和2010年相比，谷歌去年在中国的收入有所上升。但他不愿透露具体数字。阿利格瑞又说，考虑到已经发生的那些事，我们实际上对业务在中国的进展感到高兴。

据易观国际透露，2011年上半年，谷歌在中国在线广告市场的份额稳定在7%左右，与2010年二季度的10.9%相比有所下降。

咨询公司BDA China Ltd董事长克拉克（Duncan Clark）说，人们往往认为谷歌退出了中国，但中国市场并没有远离谷歌。这里克拉克指的是想要接触全球客户的中资企业依然需要谷歌的广告服务。

克拉克又说，尽管时常出现中断，但中国一些互联网用户仍然在忍受使用谷歌产品的种种不便，这些产品包括谷歌地图和Gmail邮箱。

如果谷歌如期完成对摩托罗拉移动公司（Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.）125亿美元的收购案，那么谷歌将拥有中国市场上最大的一个移动设备销售商。

谷歌也希望能从安卓(Android)系统上盈利。据易观国际的数据，中国近60%的智能手机搭载的是安卓操作系统。

在中国使用的安卓手机没有自带搜索引擎或应用程序商店“安卓市场”（Android Market）等谷歌官方服务。阿利格瑞说，谷歌还在与中国市场的多位伙伴（可能是指中国的无线网络运营商）商谈运营安卓市场一事，但他说目前还没有消息可以透露。

引入“安卓市场”服务可能会给谷歌带来一些审查问题。中国的安卓设备目前使用的非谷歌官方应用程序商店会过滤掉违反中国监管规定的应用程序。

谷歌同中国政府有关部门的关系仍然不够稳定。谷歌在2011年6月曾宣称位于中国的黑客曾试图侵入美国政府高官、中国人权活动人士和其他人的Gmail账户，这相当于是在指责中国政府。

中国外交部发言人当时表示，这种指控“不可接受”。但几个月后，中国政府却更新了谷歌在内地的互联网牌照。中国指责谷歌和美国利用网络自由问题干涉其内政。

一位知情人士说，自2009年成功发起攻击以来，谷歌的系统就多次成为中国黑客的攻击目标。但专家说，这并不一定意味着政府参与其中。阿利格瑞拒绝置评。

前谷歌中国多位员工感叹谷歌在中国地位下降。2009年离职的前谷歌中国总裁李开复说，谷歌中国所希望实现的目标正在由微博实现，这证明接触才是正确的做法。
Google Softens Tone on China
Two Years After Censorship Clash, Company Renews Push to Expand in World's Biggest Internet Market

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203436904577155003097277514.html#ixzz1jJ1fNG6q

Google Inc., which pulled its Web-search engine out of mainland China two years ago after a confrontation with Chinese authorities over censorship, has renewed its push to expand there, in an acknowledgment that it can't afford to miss out on the world's biggest Internet market.
The search giant is hiring more engineers, salespeople and product managers in China and working to introduce new services for Chinese consumers, according to Daniel Alegre, Google's top executive in Asia.

In particular, Google is aiming to capitalize on its fast-growing Android operating system for mobile devices, online-advertising and product-search services to grow in China, Mr. Alegre said in an interview.  
One goal, he said, is to introduce its Android Market, which offers thousands of mobile applications to users of Android-powered smartphones and tablets but isn't available in China.
  Bloomberg News               

During Google's 2010 clash with Chinese authorities, cofounder Sergey Brin said China's efforts to censor the Web and suppress dissidents reminded him of the 'totalitarianism' of the Soviet Union, where he was born. 'I find that personally quite troubling,' he added.

            


                          
        

Google is trying to win over Chinese consumers with services that don't require official censorship.  Kelsey Hubbard interviews WSJ's Amir Efrati. Photo: Associated Press.

                           

The company also is trying to win over Chinese consumers with services that don't require official censorship, such as Shihui, which launched in September to help people search among Chinese sites offering discounts at local stores. Google is also working to beef up its product-search service to help consumers find goods from online retailers.
Chinese officials didn't respond to a request for comment.
Google is revving up its new push near the two-year anniversary of its declaration that it would stop censoring its Internet-search results in China, as required by local law, and that it was prepared to leave the country altogether.
The Jan. 12, 2010, announcement represented a stark departure from the policy of compromising with Chinese authorities that Google and other Western technology companies had long followed. And it was perceived by many Chinese as marking Google's total withdrawal from the country.
The censorship fracas began after Google disclosed it had traced a 2009 cyberattack back to Chinese hackers, who allegedly stole some of the company's proprietary computer code and attempted to spy on Chinese activists' Gmail accounts. Chinese officials denied any connection to the incident.
Google subsequently stopped offering Web search on its main Chinese site, Google.cn, and instead directed people to a search site based in Hong Kong, which isn't subject to the same government censorship requirements.
But for users in mainland China, the Hong Kong search site, along with other Google services such as Gmail, are plagued with frequent service disruptions because of the government's Web-filtering system.
                A Difficult Search                View Interactive


                    
                    

Since its entry into the Chinese-language world in 2000, Google has struggled to balance its growth ambitions in the vast but restrictive new market while adhering to a self-held principle: "Don't be evil."

               


            

Company co-founder  Sergey Brin                  said at the time of the clash that he pushed for the company to take an anti-censorship stance. He prevailed over then-Chief Executive Eric Schmidt and others, who initially felt Google should stay the course in China, people familiar with those discussions have said.  
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal back then, Mr. Brin said China's efforts to censor the Web and suppress dissidents reminded him of the "totalitarianism" of the Soviet Union, where he was born. "In some aspects of their policy, particularly with respect to censorship," he added, "I see the same earmarks of totalitarianism, and I find that personally quite troubling."
While Google, which opened its first China office in 2005, shut down many functions there following its decision to stop censoring search results, it says it never abandoned the country. It still has more than 500 employees there, including more than 300 engineers. That's down from about 700 employees in 2009, according to a former Google executive in China.
Now, with Android's growth in China and with more Chinese companies looking to advertise online, Google's decision to reverse course and invest more in China is a "pragmatic" one, said Mr. Alegre.
For Mr. Brin and fellow co-founder and current CEO Larry Page, "there is a very large business opportunity in China, and they recognize it," he said.
Overall, China had more than 500 million Internet users as of September, up from 485 million three months earlier, according to government statistics. By contrast, the U.S. had 220 million Internet users in November, up from 212 million a year earlier, according to research firm comScore Inc.
Google's move comes at a pivotal time for China's Internet industry. Despite the prevalence of government censorship, the Web is increasingly an outlet for Chinese citizens to share information and express discontent, including about the government, amid heightened tensions ahead of the country's once-a-decade leadership transition this year.
Twitter-like microblogging services such as Sina Corp.'s Weibo have become popular platforms for sharing opinions and information about controversial topics, even as Google has sat on the sidelines.
China currently accounts for no more than 2% of Google's total revenue, which is expected to reach more than $40 billion for 2011, according to a Citigroup Inc. analysis.
Google's share of China's Web-search market fell to 17.2% in the third quarter of 2011 from 36% in the fourth quarter of 2009, largely to the benefit of rival Baidu Inc., according to Analysys International, a Beijing-based research firm.
Still, the number of Google Web searches by mainland-Chinese Internet users has risen over the past two years, said Mr. Alegre, who is based in Tokyo and often visits Beijing and Shanghai. Such a gain would theoretically help boost Google's search-ad business, though a company spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
Separately, the company has seen growth in its services that help Chinese advertisers target Internet users—both inside and outside of China—on thousands of non-Google websites and mobile apps.
Overall, Google's revenue in China rose in last year, compared with 2010, Mr. Alegre said, though he declined to go into specifics. "If you look at what has transpired, we're actually very happy with the way our business is progressing" in China, he said.
Google's share of the Chinese online-ad market stabilized at around 7% during the first half of 2011, according to Analysys, down from 10.9% in the second quarter of 2010.
"People tend to think Google quit China, but China didn't quit Google," said Duncan Clark, chairman of consulting firm BDA China Ltd, referring to Google's advertising services for Chinese companies who want reach people around the globe.
He added that some Chinese Web users "still put up with the frustration of using Google," including Google Maps and Gmail, despite the disruptions.
If it completes its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., as expected, Google will own one of China's largest sellers of mobile devices.  
Google also wants to make money from Android, which powers nearly 60% of smartphones in China, according to Analysys. The phones there don't come with official Google services like the company's search engine or the Android Market app store. Mr. Alegre said Google continues to discuss carrying Android Market "with various players in the market"—likely Chinese wireless providers—but that he had nothing to announce.
Introducing Android Market could pose some censorship issues for Google. Non-Google app stores that currently run on China-based Android devices filter out apps that violate Chinese regulations.
Google's relations with some arms of the Chinese government have remained rocky. In effect, it pointed the finger at the government in June 2011, when it announced that China-based parties had been trying to gain access to the Gmail accounts of senior U.S. officials, human-rights activists and others.
Such allegations are "unacceptable," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said at the time. Several months later, however, China renewed Google's license to operate a website in the country.  China has accused Google and the U.S. of using Internet freedom issues to meddle in its internal affairs.
A person familiar with the matter has said Google's systems have been repeatedly targeted by China-based hackers since the successful attack in 2009, though this doesn't necessarily imply government involvement, experts say. Mr. Alegre declined to comment.
Many former Google China employees lament Google's diminished status in the country. "What we hoped to accomplish with Google China is now being realized by Weibo," proving that "engagement is the right approach," said former Google China chief Kai-Fu Lee, who left the company in 2009.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203436904577155003097277514.html#ixzz1jJ1a1UhC

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为CIA， FBI 和 NSA 服务的谷歌.....