7 ms·

I am lost at what Google attempts to gain with this. Even if you abide by their rules, I don't think the Chinese Government would be very willing to lose contro

I am lost at what Google attempts to gain with this. Even if you abide by their rules, I don't think the Chinese Government would be very willing to lose control of a crucial communication medium to a foreign corporation. In the end, they want their companies to win. Then, there's the PR disaster that's bound to come up once it gets official. In a single move, Google would be conveying how far it has moved from its foundational values. I fail to see how this would be a net positive for the company.

calyth2018 8y ago
As long as most people still use Google for search, and the alternatives aren't comparable, they can continue to move from their "foundational values"
- gaius 8y ago
  And as long as they can recruit candidates, remember. Tho’ it’s not clear where those candidates would go instead, none of the FANG companies have entirely clean hands.
  - extralego 8y ago
    Exactly. Consumer activism and job shaming is a moot effort. Useless. What have they ever accomplished? The only way to make a difference here is by standing together.
  - thomzi12 8y ago
    *FAANG
    - gaius 8y ago
      FAANG Maaybe. I'm not sure how this breaks down actually. Obviously Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (and probably Twitter and a few others) are competing over one pool of candidates. But that that really/fully overlap with the pool that Apple and Microsoft are competing over? But as long as people are beating down the door to get in and look mainly at the free food and massages rather than the "big picture" why would they worry?
- driverdan 8y ago
  DDG is comparable.
  - rienbdj 8y ago
    ...but it's not though, is it. I add "!g" to my searches instinctively at this point.
x2f10 8y ago
>I am lost at what Google attempts to gain with this. Revenue. >Then, there's the PR disaster that's bound to come up once it gets official. Does the public care about privacy? Does the public understand or care about China's firewall? Does the public have an attention span long enough to ruin Google's reputation?
- sametmax 8y ago
  Those are the real questions. And the last decade has been answering unfortunatly "no" as soon as you get outside of tech saavy bubbles.
  - jacquesm 8y ago
    Inside it isn't all that different.
- protomyth 8y ago
  "Does the public care about privacy?" Does the public care about anyone in China's privacy?
  - mooman219 8y ago
    Do Chinese citizens even have privacy to protect anymore? At this point it's more of a question of what privacy they can reclaim unfortunately.
- extralego 8y ago
  > Does the public care about privacy? The answer is certainly “yes”. There’s a difference between caring and having any power to do anything about it. It’s time to move on from Consumer activism. This nonsense of blaming people for their purchasing decisions is so rotten and useless. Judging others this way requires vain assumptions and we can do so much better.
  - sixstringtheory 8y ago
    You had me until the second paragraph. Who instigates change in society, if not for the people in it? Sadly, parent’s last question > Does the public have an attention span long enough to ruin Google's reputation? is a resounding ‘no’ to me right now. It is as if these days many people have the same attitude you do, wanting someone else to do the legwork to bring societal change. That’s a good way to wind up with totalitarianism, and that’s how you end up with a president for life dictating what information citizens can and cannot consume.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
crunchlibrarian 8y ago
"Biggest untapped market in the world" is a phrase that you'll hear a lot if you listen to the financial news networks. That's the long and short of it. MBAs vs humans. I hope the humans win.
badbug 8y ago
> I am lost at what Google attempts to gain with this I'm finding this hard to believe. China has over a billion people. Google would be insane to ignore it.

calyth2018 8y ago

As long as most people still use Google for search, and the alternatives aren't comparable, they can continue to move from their "foundational values"

gaius 8y ago
And as long as they can recruit candidates, remember. Tho’ it’s not clear where those candidates would go instead, none of the FANG companies have entirely clean hands.
- extralego 8y ago
  Exactly. Consumer activism and job shaming is a moot effort. Useless. What have they ever accomplished? The only way to make a difference here is by standing together.
- thomzi12 8y ago
  *FAANG
  - gaius 8y ago
    FAANG Maaybe. I'm not sure how this breaks down actually. Obviously Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google (and probably Twitter and a few others) are competing over one pool of candidates. But that that really/fully overlap with the pool that Apple and Microsoft are competing over? But as long as people are beating down the door to get in and look mainly at the free food and massages rather than the "big picture" why would they worry?
driverdan 8y ago
DDG is comparable.
- rienbdj 8y ago
  ...but it's not though, is it. I add "!g" to my searches instinctively at this point.

x2f10 8y ago

>I am lost at what Google attempts to gain with this. Revenue. >Then, there's the PR disaster that's bound to come up once it gets official. Does the public care about privacy? Does the public understand or care about China's firewall? Does the public have an attention span long enough to ruin Google's reputation?

sametmax 8y ago
Those are the real questions. And the last decade has been answering unfortunatly "no" as soon as you get outside of tech saavy bubbles.
- jacquesm 8y ago
  Inside it isn't all that different.
protomyth 8y ago
"Does the public care about privacy?" Does the public care about anyone in China's privacy?
- mooman219 8y ago
  Do Chinese citizens even have privacy to protect anymore? At this point it's more of a question of what privacy they can reclaim unfortunately.
extralego 8y ago
> Does the public care about privacy? The answer is certainly “yes”. There’s a difference between caring and having any power to do anything about it. It’s time to move on from Consumer activism. This nonsense of blaming people for their purchasing decisions is so rotten and useless. Judging others this way requires vain assumptions and we can do so much better.
- sixstringtheory 8y ago
  You had me until the second paragraph. Who instigates change in society, if not for the people in it? Sadly, parent’s last question > Does the public have an attention span long enough to ruin Google's reputation? is a resounding ‘no’ to me right now. It is as if these days many people have the same attitude you do, wanting someone else to do the legwork to bring societal change. That’s a good way to wind up with totalitarianism, and that’s how you end up with a president for life dictating what information citizens can and cannot consume.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

crunchlibrarian 8y ago

"Biggest untapped market in the world" is a phrase that you'll hear a lot if you listen to the financial news networks. That's the long and short of it. MBAs vs humans. I hope the humans win.

badbug 8y ago

> I am lost at what Google attempts to gain with this I'm finding this hard to believe. China has over a billion people. Google would be insane to ignore it.