Hey, Google, get a load of what can happen when a major search engine company launches a social network and requires that users provide their real names in order to participate.
Baidu Talk, the Twitter equivalent of China's Google equivalent, is about to be no more, just as Google itself wrestles with resistance to its anonymity prohibition within its fledgling Google+ community.
From an IDG News Service story on our site:
Baidu Talk was launched last September as a social networking platform that incorporated Twitter-like features. But the site had tried to set itself apart from the competition by originally requiring all users to register with their real names.
In the first three months of operation as closed beta, the site attracted more than 1 million registered users. But after being online for almost a year, Baidu announced on the site this week that it would be suspending all services later this month.
No reason was given for the decision, so there's no way to know whether the requirement to use real names had anything to do with the demise of Baidu Talk. The two could be completely unrelated. And, of course, the Chinese government's penchant for heavy-handed control and censorship of the Internet makes comparisons problematic.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting the degree to which Baidu had faith in the concept.
From an IDG News Service story in December 2010:
Baidu Talk sets itself apart from other Chinese microblogging services by requiring all users to identify themselves with their real names. This has been the site's main draw, said Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo. When users register, a third-party company verifies the identification and profile photo with the Chinese government, he said.
By using the new system, the company believes Baidu Talk can offer interactions that better mirror real life. "We don't walk around in life giving out aliases or wearing masks. We shouldn't do that in all spaces online. There should be a space where people can interact with their real name," Kuo said.
The company says this has led to more "civil" discussions between users on Baidu Talk. "I think of it as a nudist colony," Kuo added. "You know the rules when you come there. No one is compelling you to join this community."
You have to love the nudist analogy. As for the central argument - that real names encourage civility - it is one with which I largely agree, in theory. In practice, things are a lot more complicated, as that added measure of civility comes at a steep price for those who cannot use their real names in such forums for myriad legitimate reasons.
Of course, as the Baidu spokesman noted, there is room on the Internet - even China's slice - for both kinds of discourse.
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