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It seems that the jury’s divided on Google’s decision to compromise its ideals in search of the yuan; more so than was the case when Yahoo! and Microsoft made similar decisions.
Alan gives a very balanced viewpoint. Meanwhile, 12′s mindset is pretty much made up, with her entry The New Evil Empire. Bill Thompson, the hugely irritating technology reporter for the BBC believes it makes sense.
Google was (and still is) seen as the nice guy of the internet. They weren’t a part of the original bursting bubble; meanwhile, their revenue stream is sufficiently well hidden from the end user that many see it as a loving company out for the good of the end user. This viewpoint is echoed by its mantra: do no evil. (As an aside, many might argue that the mantra itself is grammatically incorrect, and that it should read don’t do any evil, but that’s by the by.) And as with Filo and Yang at Yahoo!, it’s fronted by two seemingly affable guys who haven’t let their success get in the way of their principles. Or have they?
If they were still pre-IPO, would they have made the same decision? It’s difficult to say for certain, but my view is that their principles would have won out, and they would have ignored the huge opportunity offered by China, or else worked their way round the barriers rather than conforming to them. However now they have shareholders to answer to, and if they don’t hit China now, then they’ll lose out in the long run, as their competitors reap the rewards of a ripening market.
It’s a toughie. My principles are firmly in the camp of ignoring the Chinese government’s demands (just as Google has done with those of its own government) and the opportunities that it may offer. On the other hand, they’re a business, and in the long run, ignoring China would compromise their position as market leaders. Maybe do no evil and shareholders together form an oxymoron that just can’t work.
The decision will certainly knock some of the gloss off the Google brand. Whether this will have a long-term impact remains to be seen.
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