In China, Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattering Google
In case you’ve missed it, China’s irrepressible shanzhai enthusiasts have been at it again, using imitation to pay tribute to Google (GOOG).
Since Google’s Jan. 12 announcement that it might withdraw from the Chinese market, two knockoff Web sites have appeared in China bearing an intentionally uncanny resemblance to Google sites.
Goojje.com, a spoof of Google’s Chinese site, was founded by a female college student in Guangdong and put together by a group of about 20 people around the country, according to Chinese media. Its Chinese name (??, whose Mandarin pronunciation is Romanized as “gujie”) is a pun that can be translated as either “Google’s big sister” or “valley girl.” (Google’s Chinese name translates as “valley song,” and it also sounds like “valley big brother.”)
On the Goojje home page, the lettering of the logo features nearly identical font and coloring as Google’s main search page, but with the addition of a blue pawprint that nods to Baidu’s similar logo. The home page features a slogan in support of the site that obviously inspired it: “When older brother stayed for older sister, sister was delighted as before.”
