14 DAY TRIAL // The list of Internet companies that operate search engines and have gone for the instant messaging approach to communication just added Chinese-based Baidu. The fourth biggest search engine in the world is no meaningless addition to the above mentioned array, it will provide the Chinese with something specifically tailored to match their tastes.
Testing of 'Baidu Hi' has already been started internally, since last Friday. At the moment, only employees that have submitted applications through internal networks are given the approval to download the product that has been in the works for over one year. Xinhuanet mentioned that the company refused to disclose the scale of the test or its duration, but recruitment advertisements seeking IM talent have been posted on its website. There is also no release date for the service.
Being one of the fastest growing Internet companies, Baidu has been continuously searching for new means of generating revenue outside of the basic search it is currently offering. Instant messaging will not be a big moneymaker at first because the local market is being currently dominated by Tencent, a Shenzen-based company, with about 80 percent, followed by Microsoft. Not even the great Google managed to turn its Talk into a big hit, but with time every service records a growth and this will most likely happen in this case as well.
IM is crucial to Internet companies because it generates loyalty to a provider and its services, and should Baidu manage to incorporate everything into a client the way Yahoo! does, its platform will most likely be a success. The Sunnyvale-based company struck rich with its IM service the moment it linked it with its email and portal, giving users the option to be one click away from anything they might need on the Internet at any point in a day.