http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/06/technology/to-reach-china-linkedin-plays-by-local-rules.html?ref=business&_r=0
LinkedIn is attempting to enter the Chinese market and be the first people to do this. There has been a problem with companies, especially online companies entering the chinese market because of the free speech laws and the Chinese government having problems with people spreading pro democratic over the internet. LinkedIn is attempting their introduction into the Chinese market by following the Chinese rules of censorship in their Chinese version of LinkedIn.
When LinkedIn began their entry to the Chinese market their were some problems with non Chinese users having their content blocked while operating the site in China. This annoyed some of the users of the site but that problem should be solved.
Other social networking sites are carefully watching the situation to see how they should deal with China and how they can enter the Chinese market without compromising their ideals of free speech but still not angering the Chinese government. It will be interesting to see how the situation plays out.
LinkedIn is not the first one try to do this. For example, Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. But, it is because the Chinese government blocked them and make their own version of it, it sounds like LinkedIn is the first one try to do this. The problem in the article is true due to closed economy like China. But one more I can add is the problem of copyright. It is one of the problems that China currently does not have enough control over. It may affect the company's budget if one wants to copy it. If famous firms like Alibaba, it is protected enough to not let anyone copy its products. However, if a newbie like LinkedIn, it may happen. Though it is great in the US, it still has not enough influence to the market.
ReplyDeleteI feel LinkedIn is a great resource and tool not just social media. It helps provide connections out there that you could have never discovered or known about. This entering the Chinese market could help the Chinese economy in terms of jobs and who they are connected with on the site.
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