Baidu: I am the eldest brother, I do not call the Niang

"Not obedient?" Then let him disappear! "This is a common scene in gangster movies in recent years in China on the Internet, the protagonist is the search engine giant Baidu." If you do not buy the keyword Baidu, if you reduce the bid in the Baidu ranking of investment, you may be shielded, be down right, in the network world was "destroyed" off. This means a terrible result, you will disappear from the view of netizens, and all traffic based business model will be destroyed.

Yes, in the Internet world, the hardest thing for a company is not "I hacked your website" "I Broke your password", but "let you disappear".

The Interactive Encyclopedia (hudong.com) is just such a "vanished" company. February 22, a long suppressed interactive encyclopedia finally formally submitted to the State Administration for industry and commerce for Baidu's antitrust investigation application.

The world's largest Chinese encyclopedia website Interactive Encyclopedia requests the regulator to order Baidu immediately stop abusing market dominance behavior, stop the interactive Encyclopedia of the entry of the screen or down the right processing, and the Baidu fined 790 million yuan.

Interactive Encyclopedia CEO Pan Haidong expect Baidu to stop the interactive encyclopedia and many other Internet companies to suppress malicious, restore the search engine as a social justice role-to reduce the human or through weight to intervene in search results.

Reducing the search results should be a major threat to Baidu: All business models that depend on it will be completely subverted, and "Baidu's National Domain Network" will be broken.

Baidu Standard

The Interactive encyclopedia created in 2005 has more than 3 million users working together to create 5 million entries today. And with the 2006 Baidu Encyclopedia of similar products, because there is a competitive relationship, Baidu began to use its market dominance of human intervention search results, the interactive Encyclopedia of the entry to screen or down right.

Pan Haidong's concern is that if Baidu continues to ban or downgrade the interactive encyclopedia, it will seriously affect the company's commercial operations. of the Interactive encyclopedia, only 10% of the traffic is from Baidu, and the rest is provided by Google, which accounts for less and less market share. The status quo clearly and Baidu's market position is seriously inconsistent.

Why is it so important for Baidu to intervene in the natural results of search? Baidu's reason is that the user experience is the user's continuous use of Baidu search fundamental.

This is true.

If the user does not search or find the results of their satisfaction will damage Baidu's sustainable development. Even if the user is searching for content that does not exist on the internet, they will vent such complaints on Baidu's head. Therefore, Baidu should try to ensure that users search the results are the best, the user most want, let users one-step.

However, in addition to saving user time, Baidu has a purpose, is to convert such power into a scarce resource for cash. Of course, there is a more extreme speculation: rely on Baidu such a development of the company or website, will eventually become a client company Baidu, or equity or holding, attached to the Baidu under the umbrella.

According to Internet practice, the first search results will intercept more than 50% of the traffic. So Baidu has a "I support who, who can succeed," the power of death, those ranked in the back page of the answer, the chance of being clicked-those who drift away from the scope of Baidu "power" of the site, will likely be gradually marginalized, and gradually fade out of people's vision.

Self-transformation

Baidu's current main profit model is the bidding rankings, the main source of revenue is based on the search results page of the advertising site acquisition, by the natural search results are not significant. But the commercial interests of Baidu's natural search results are not to be underestimated--first, Baidu has been trying to provide its own natural search results, such as bar, know, library.

Baidu's idea is that I already have these search requirements, why not keep these traffic on my own site?

A simple truth is that these Baidu's sub platforms, such as Bar, library, in the natural search results after the flow of more opportunities through the display and then get ads. This is why Baidu has been trying to penetrate the content side, whether it is cooperation, joint ventures or flow of shares, investment video site singular, e-commerce.

Baidu's goal is to keep users in their own web site within the sphere of influence.

Another profit point is that Baidu can intervene in natural search results to get more "business partners"-Baidu began in 2010 to try to specify their own natural search results to open up new business model, that is, by opening the platform to allow free developers to think of new applications, and then in Baidu's search results show, through netizens to " The bounty "gets the benefit-it feels like a tip, or it can be divided into a charge and then a Baidu."

According to Iris Data, 2010 The fourth quarter, Baidu's Web search request Volume market share reached 83.6%.

Now, almost all Web sites are now afraid to "offend" is Baidu-the flow of imports from Baidu can even account for some 30% of the portal site, or even 40%. These flow of advertising can not be estimated, will directly affect the life and death of some small sites.

This is why, this year, the business of e-commerce companies have a bad day, their marketing costs are rising fast-the search engine keyword ads rise in the crazy and even the boss described as "looting."

But for the interactive encyclopedia, it doesn't even have the chance to be attached. Because Baidu has already done Baidu encyclopedia. Baidu Encyclopedia, Stick, library and other products are designed to provide search results.

In accordance with the first of the first paragraph of article 19th of the Antimonopoly Act, "an operator who has a market share of One-second in the relevant market can be presumed to have a dominant market position".

According to the deputy lawyer San San, who submitted the survey, according to the Antimonopoly Law, "the operators with market dominance shall not abuse the dominant position of the market, remove or restrict competition". Baidu This does not include interactive encyclopedia entries and deliberately reduce the ranking of the collection method belongs to the use of search engine status to limit or hinder other products competition, Baidu's behavior violates the "Anti-Monopoly Law" sixth.

Of course, the face of strong Baidu, interactive encyclopedia can get the support of government agencies to return to the real natural search results, or an unknown.

Lawsuit-ridden Baidu

Tips

From 2004 to 2005, Beijing China through the Vertical Information Consulting Center v. Baidu Monopoly dispute case.

2005, Shanghai stepped Music Culture Communication Co., Ltd. sued Baidu. Baidu was sentenced to stop on the site to provide the songs involved in the MP3 file download services, and compensation for 68000 yuan (according to 2000 yuan per song calculation).

June 2005, the International Record Association for the first time to Baidu MP3 Tort, Baidu sued the court.

January 17, 2008, the Chinese Music Copyright association sued Baidu violated including "Love Me China" and other 50 songs of copyright, the demand for immediate cessation of infringement, and claims more than 1.06 million yuan.

In February 2008, the International Record Association once again sued Baidu in court, and still ended up losing the lawsuit.

July 10, 2008, Tangshan Everyone v. Baidu monopoly dispute case.

August 5, 2008, the Tong sued Baidu commercial fraud.

February 22, 2009, Zhejiang Pan-Asia Electronic Commerce Co., Ltd. sued Baidu MP3 Tort claim 100 million yuan, the first trial judgment Baidu compensation 70,000 yuan.

December 17, 2009, the royal literature to Baidu in search results and paste in a large number of online literary piracy, announced that will sue Baidu.

December 2009, Baidu and the Iraqi United States were sentenced to unfair competition case.

In August 2010, 360 sued Baidu for refusing a search split, claiming 54 million.

October 28, 2010, Zinganli, chairman of the Cross-strait Harmonious Development Foundation, sued Baidu for infringement of individual's reputation right.

February 24, 2011, the Chinese Text Copyright Association intends to sue Baidu, known as improving intellectual property protection environment.

"Economic Observer"