Google China has released a Q&A site, in partnership with Tianya Club. The Make Meaning blog notes that Tianya Club was founded in 1999 and is one of the most popular discussion forums in China. Tianya has almost 20 million registered users, 80% of whom are 18-35 years old.
As we wrote in July, social search is something that Google is potentially vulnerable in – as Yahoo in particular is enjoying success with its Answers product. Google recently launched an Answers product in Russia and the new China version seems very similar.
The China Web 2.0 Blog also notes some privacy implications: “the first time you use the service, it will give you a privacy alert that your IP information will be recorded for at least two months. And it will be available for authority on request.”
