Here’s one of the areas where Baidu is actually behind in its own market comparative to Google (unlike my previous post on how Google is so far behind in understanding China and in localizing the Chinese market). The China SEO blog has the details on this:

Baidu has been rumored to preparing the launch it’s own IM software. As the leading search engine in China and considering the extensive online properties it owns, Baidu has the potential to establish itself very quickly as a player to count on in this very competitive market.

The most used IM service in China now is Tencent’s QQ. MSN messenger (or Live Messenger, as it is being branded now) ranked at the second spot and is used by more educated or affluent Internet users. Yahoo! messenger and Google Talk appear to be non-factors in the IM industry in China.

I have to admit my bias for any kind of IM client that allows me to interface across multiple services so I can chat with my friends without having to run multiple programs at once. That and what killed me from ever using AIM again were the absolutely annoying ads–pop-ups, video, sound, etc. That and the eventual downgrade of AIM to AIM Triton finally made me move to a client that I could customize–for free!

My point: unless Baidu focuses on those areas (of course usability plays a huge part) good luck breaking into the IM market.

Oh, and I have always enjoyed ICQ/QQ over AIM for whatever reason if it wasn’t for few people using it/my wife deleting it off my computer. :/

Post by: Demerzel’s China and SEO Blog