Pages

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Google's Reply to the Chinese Media's Accusation of "Meddling"

In my recent post "Google Accused in China of 'Meddling' in Egypt" I wrote that part of the goal of Google's detractors in China is to link Google with the US Government.

Recently, Bloomberg received this email reply from Google regarding the Chinese article:
“Contrary to assertions made by the Chinese media, every decision we have made regarding China has been made by Google alone.”
However, convincing the Chinese people that Google is independent of the US Government is not going to be solved by an email to Bloomberg News.  I'm pretty sure Google did not have such far reaching hopes for the email, but it raises an important issue to consider.

How do you convince the Chinese people you're not "against" them when the Chinese Government supported media is actively saying otherwise?  That's a million dollar (actually, much more than that) question.

Much of my research in user experience design in China has touched on this and similar issues.  After all, my work has been to help companies design technology that is not only useful and usable for consumers but that is also desirable.  Being viewed as a company aiding the causes of foreign governments doesn't likely aid in increasing the desirability of your products or services.  And just as understanding people's needs, desires, concerns, etc. are key to designing a successful product or service, they are also a key component for understanding how to best navigate situations such as the one Google faces.

Based on my research, I have thoughts about how companies such as Google could increase their chances of success in China with particular groups of consumers.  Some of these directly relate to Google's current predicament.  I will share some of these thoughts in future posts.

1 comment:

  1. Merely being based in the US makes a company suspect, doesn't it? It seems like it could be a hindrance to be based in any of the world's more powerful countries. Maybe Antarctica or the Moon would be a good place for corporate headquarters.

    ReplyDelete