Online Public Relations Thoughts

Google's move yesterday to redirect its Chinese searches to Hong Kong was daring and a fulfillment of its threat to leave China's censorship. From a PR perspective, it was brilliant. From a business perspective, it is dangerous because China can easily block its Hong Kong address and probably will. That will leave Google shut out of the fastest growth internet country in the world. However, in one move Google let the Chinese know that it is against censorship of its searches and for that reason, made its service all the more desirable. Google kept its trust with the public rather than buckle under to the government's restrictions. It is a daring and fine example of guarding pubic relationships and a case study of how to act.

Labels: PR