October 18, 2007
China Proves Search is Damn Important
If you didn't believe search is an incredibly important piece of your life, the economy, the world and the future - then maybe this will convince you.
Earlier this morning, the reports starting popping up that China began redirecting search related traffic from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to Baidu, the chinese based search engine. So if you tried to search on Google China, while in China, the search would automatically redirect you to Baidu.
People at first started blaming Baidu. But Baidu can't make that happen. The only feasible explanation is an organization powerful enough to control your ISP. I believe the Chinese government.
Why would China do this all of a sudden? Maybe because of the US Award to the Dalai Lama? Heck, heck out the coverage on this news already.
Techmeme has a large list and its only been about 2 hours so far. We have titles such as:
- Cyberwar: China Declares War On Western Search Sites from TechCrunch
- Did Dalai Lama Award Cause China To Redirect Google, Yahoo & Microsoft Search Traffic To Baidu? from Search Engine Land
- China Mad at America, Sends Search Traffic from Google, Yahoo & Microsoft to Baidu from Search Engine Roundtable
- China Blocks Everything But Baidu? from WebProNews
- Made in China: Dodging the Internet Censor from eWeek
And many more.
This is not only a big deal for search, it is a big deal for the economy and diplomacy.
