It was a nightmare week for Google in China, with new Q3 stats from a leading research company revealing sliding market share in a couple of key products. But even Google’s biggest search rival, Baidu, is feeling the heat these days – prompting Baidu’s CEO to pen an extraordinary letter to employees. But let’s start with the GOOG…
1. Google Maps app is lost in China, loses half market share in Q3 [CHART]
Amidst strengthening local competition, Google Maps (in mobile apps form) has lost nearly half its market share in China this past quarter, slipping to sixth position. That’s down from second place in Q2.
2. Qihoo’s new search engine surges to 10% share in China, Google drops to 4th place
Qihoo’s gains came at the expense of Baidu and Google, which both dropped slightly in the past quarter.
3. Chinese internet connections unreliable in run-up to Party Congress
Of course, much of Google’s woes in the country (see the two stories above) can be attributed to China’s Great Firewall intermittently causing many Google products to fail to load. They’re not blocked fully, but they’re definitely being tampered with. And those Net Nanny shenanigans are getting worse this month – for all overseas sites – as the nation’s once-in-a-decade leadership transition begins.
4. In email to employees, Baidu CEO’s rallying cry: “Be willing to disrupt ourselves”
In the email, which was headlined “Change Starts With You and Me,” Robin Li (pictured right) calls on Baidu employees to think like wolves, and increase investment in innovation and new businesses.
5. China’s e-commerce sales day looks set to be bigger than America’s Cyber Monday
Last year’s Cyber Monday in the US, in data from ComScore, saw $1.25 billion in sales. But China’s “Double Eleven” shopfest today is poised to pass that huge stat.
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