Google is not faring so well in China nowadays. According to some estimates, the market share of its main competitor Baidu.com is now 35% larger, and different Internet polls show that Google will still lag behind Baidu in search engine reach in China. Then, the company would like to listen to Isaac Mao, a Chinese blogger who has given tips on how "to save Google in China and save the Internet in China"?

In an open letter (http://www.isaacmao.com/meta/2007/02/open-letter-to-google-founders-to-save.html) posted on February 9, 2007 and addressed to Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google's co-founders and presidents, the Chinese blogger attempted "to resolve the current dilemma for Google in China, from both business and social perspectives." And while that's all well and good, most of Mao's suggestions amount to throwing money into China. The letter ends with the three ideas for Google in China:

1. Invest in the Chinese Internet economy via a VC fund
2. Assist in the development of anti-censorship tools
3. Promote the Adsense economy to benefit content publishers

His first proposal is to "set up a $1 billion corporate venture fund to invest in China's Internet pioneer sites and cutting edge companies. In my estimation, a venture fund with such a size can invest in over 100 deals [and] totally cover 60% of Internet traffic in China." Perhaps – but Google could probably find a lot of other ways to spend $1 billion. Or not spend it – at just 5% interest, it would earn $50 million in one year.

Suggestion number two: "Develop anti-censorship tools and service for global Internet users. The budget to complete the mission will be not more than several millions dollars." China will plague US internet companies until they are able to freely serve content in an unrestricted manner. The market is too big to ignore, but the government will shut them off if they do not play by their rules. This situation applies to all the big search companies: Microsoft, Google and Yahoo!

But the sticking point with this idea is Mao's belief that, since the tools "won't target China only,' China won't take offense. Brady Forrest, who considers Mao a friend, seemed to think he was making an overly optimistic assumption. "I wonder how the Chinese government would handle that," Forrest wrote. "They like foreign investment, but would they really tolerate it if it came with tools that route around the Great Fire Wall attached?"

Mao's last piece of advice is solely concerned with money. "Increase the incentive to Chinese Google Adsense users," he suggested. "This can dramatically encourage more Internet users to participate in Google's business ecosystem" and "to benefit content publishers." Enough investment in that may make the Adsense economy a possibility and enable content publishers to make money.

Reactions to Mao's letter have been mixed; Business 2.0's Owen Thomas is among those who didn't approve of it. Still, it's an interesting take – and an "insider" opinion – on Google's problems in China. Over the two days since the open letter was posted online last Friday, no response from the Google founders or executives has been reported yet.

A prominent Chinese blogger, Isaac invests in companies that enable secure communication between social networks in China. Many industry experts wonder if his plan for Google in China would work.

 
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