Does India love Google too much?

Google has a strong presence in India. It is the default search engine everywhere and is extremely popular in India. Google’s YouTube is India’s new multiplex. Google’s new social networking site, Google+, is India’s newest and hottest HangOut. Google’s Gmail is the online nervous system for more than half of India’s Internet users.

Does that mean, India loves Google too much? It might not be at the scary proportions just yet but India loves Google too much. If there’s an online brand with the greatest brand recall then it would be Google.

Infographic by ComScore/Hindustan Times, pronounces this trend :

Google+

India is the country with the second biggest user base for Google+ after the US. It has 2.8 million users. Let’s not forget the fact that Google+ is less than a month old service at the time these numbers were counted. When it comes to online presence for a globally recognized service, India does not place second.

In a way, India has helped Google+ reach its numbers.

For all its might, India still is poorly connected. India becoming a dominant country for Google+ is bit of a shock. But the shock is only an expectation given Gmail’s penetration in India.

Gmail

Gmail enjoys a prosperous 62% market penetration in India. The usage of Gmail has gone up by 16% in India. Here’s how penetration is defined :

Andrew Lipsman, Comscore’s vice-president for Industry Analysis, said, “Penetration is defined as the percentage of total home and work Internet users who engage in a particular behaviour. I am not surprised that India is the leader for Gmail penetration given the market’s general affinity for Google-branded products and services.”

If my interpretation of that statement is correct, 62% of India’s Internet users use Gmail or 2 in every 3 Indian internet users use Gmail. That’s mighty impressive.

Orkut too has enjoyed an early success in India. It reined in as the top social networking site in India until Facebook, LinkedIN and Twitter came along.

YouTube

Box office is just a click away. That’s the mantra we are seeing lately. Many content producers are using YouTube as their multiplex to stream movies. There is a ‘Blockbuster’ channel hosted by YouTube to showcase a Bollywood movie every month. When it comes to online videos, nothing else comes to India’s internet users’ minds other than YouTube.

The love isn’t just one way. Google has shown some love for India too. If opening up a separate Bollywood channel on YouTube is one way of showing it, supporting several Indian languages (including Google translate) is another way of showing Google’s love for India. Google has also started dedicated Doodles focused on Indian festivals and occasions.

Despite the love flowing back and forth, what do you think of Google controlling so much of India’s Internet usage?

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