Microblogging in China
Encyclopedia
Weibo is the Chinese
word for "microblog(ging)
". It usually refers to one or all of the China
-based microblogging services, or one's account at these services.
Among the weibo services, Sina Weibo
is the most visited one and follow by Tencent Weibo
in second.. Sina has used the domain name
weibo.com for the service since April 2011. Sometimes, the own published news of Sina.com
and some other media use directly "Weibo" to refer to Sina Weibo. However generally, when mentioning "Weibo", it may refer to one or all of the China-based microblogging services.
A homonymie "围脖" is used as an Internet slang
for "weibo".
on May 12, 2007 by co-founder of Xiaonei (now Renren) Wang Xing (王兴), the website's layout, usage, API was highly similar to Twitter
, which was created earlier in 2006. Fanfou's users increased from 0.3 million to 1 million in the first half of 2009. The users included HP
China, Southern Weekly, artist Ai Weiwei
, writer Lian Yue (连岳) and TV commentator Liang Wendao (梁文道).
Some other weibo services, such as Jiwai, Digu, Zuosa and Tencent
's Taotao was launched in 2006-2009.
After the July 2009 Urumqi riots, China shut down most of the domestic weibo services including Fanfou and Jiwai. Many popular non China-based microblogging services like Twitter, Facebook
and Plurk
have been blocked since then. It was considered to be an opportunity to Sina
's CEO Charles Chao.
Sina launched Sina Weibo on August 14, 2009. Its executives invited and persuaded many Chinese celebrities to join the platform, leading to a nice growth in user numbers.
Two other Chinese Internet portals
, Sohu
and NetEase
, launched the closed beta versions of their weibo sites almost simultaneously, on January 20, 2010. On January 30, another Internet portal Tencent closed its weibo service Taotao and, started its new weibo service Tencent Weibo
on March 5, 2010. Based on the large number of its instant messaging
service QQ
's users, Tencent Weibo later attracted more registered users than Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo. The public beta versions of NetEase Weibo and Sohu Weibo were launched on March 20 and April 7, 2010, respectively.
All these weibos provided by the Chinese Internet giants used subdomain
"t.xxxx.com", as t.sina.com.cn for Sina Weibo, t.qq.com for Tencent Weibo, t.sohu.com for Sohu Weibo, t.163.com for NetEase Weibo. On 7 April 2011, the leader of the weibo services Sina Weibo started to use an independent domain name weibo.com acquired earlier, attempting to build up its own brand.
Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo was suspended during July 9-12 and July 13-15 2010, respectively. Since then, all of the Chinese weibo services have attached a note of "beta version" to their title logos. Professionals said that Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo was being "reorganized" by Chinese administrators, the weibo services were not officially approved, they could only be operated as a "beta version".
Some closed weibos was re-opened under restrictions in 2009 or 2010, including Fanfou, re-launched in November 2010. Most of Fanfou's users never came back.
In February 2011 Tencent announced that its weibo's registered users surpassed 100 million. This threshold was officially said to be passed by Sina Weibo in March 2011. However according to iResearch
's report on March 30, 2011, Sina Weibo took a commanding lead with 56.5% of China's microblogging market based on active users and 86.6% based on browsing time over its competitors.
According to China Internet Network Information Center
, in the first half of 2011, Chinese weibo/microblog users increased from 63.11 million to 195 million. By July 2011, 40.2% Chinese Internet users and 34.0% Chinese mobile Internet users used weibo/microblog, in Dec 2010 it was respectively 13.8% and 15.5%.The statistical data may or may not include the mainland Chinese users that bypass the Great Firewall to use blocked microblogging services outside China.
Due to the Internet censorship in China
, all of the China-based weibo services today is now controled by various self-censorship policies and methods. They usually have blacklisted keywords list to be automatically checked, sometimes administrators check manually. Posts on sensitive topics forbidden in China (e.g. Human right
, Liu Xiaobo
) will be deleted and the user's account may be blocked.
However, compared to other Chinese media formats, weibo services are considered freer. Weibos are thought as influencial tools that impact and change China. Some scandals and controversies such as Li Gang incident
are made known to the public through weibos. After incidents like Wenzhou train collision
and 2010 Shanghai fire
, criticism against the Chinese government is more widespread on weibos.
While weibo services might not be in favor of government officials, many Chinese officials opened weibo accounts. Organ of the Central Committee
People's Daily
also launched its own weibo People's Weibo (人民微博) in February 2010, with some governmental organizations and officials blogging on it. Chinese leader
Hu Jintao
has an official account at People's Weibo without any post.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
word for "microblog(ging)
Microblogging
Microblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size...
". It usually refers to one or all of the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-based microblogging services, or one's account at these services.
Terms
"Wei boke" (微博客) and "weixing boke" (微型博客), commonly abbreviated as "weibo" (微博), are the Chinese words for "microblog(ging)". A China-based microblogging service is often named "XX Weibo".Among the weibo services, Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the USA...
is the most visited one and follow by Tencent Weibo
Tencent Weibo
Tencent Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website launched by Tencent in April, 2010, and is still currently under beta testing. Users may broadcast a message including 140 Chinese characters at most through the web, SMS or smartphone.-Features:...
in second.. Sina has used the domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
weibo.com for the service since April 2011. Sometimes, the own published news of Sina.com
Sina.com
SINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
and some other media use directly "Weibo" to refer to Sina Weibo. However generally, when mentioning "Weibo", it may refer to one or all of the China-based microblogging services.
A homonymie "围脖" is used as an Internet slang
Internet slang
Internet slang is a type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting and instant messaging, and social networking websites...
for "weibo".
History
Fanfou (饭否) is the earliest notable weibo service. Launched in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
on May 12, 2007 by co-founder of Xiaonei (now Renren) Wang Xing (王兴), the website's layout, usage, API was highly similar to Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, which was created earlier in 2006. Fanfou's users increased from 0.3 million to 1 million in the first half of 2009. The users included HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
China, Southern Weekly, artist Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, active in sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social, political and cultural criticism. Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008...
, writer Lian Yue (连岳) and TV commentator Liang Wendao (梁文道).
Some other weibo services, such as Jiwai, Digu, Zuosa and Tencent
Tencent Holdings
Tencent Holdings Limited is a publicly owned holding company whose subsidiaries provide Internet and mobile phone value-added services and operate online advertising services in the People's Republic of China. Its headquarters are in Nanshan District, Shenzhen....
's Taotao was launched in 2006-2009.
After the July 2009 Urumqi riots, China shut down most of the domestic weibo services including Fanfou and Jiwai. Many popular non China-based microblogging services like Twitter, Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Plurk
Plurk
Plurk is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send updates through short messages or links, which can be up to 140 text characters in length....
have been blocked since then. It was considered to be an opportunity to Sina
Sina
Sina is a Persian name. "Sina" comes from a Hebrew word meaning: "explorer of knowledge". It is a popular male name in Iran, largely due to Avicenna...
's CEO Charles Chao.
Sina launched Sina Weibo on August 14, 2009. Its executives invited and persuaded many Chinese celebrities to join the platform, leading to a nice growth in user numbers.
Two other Chinese Internet portals
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
, Sohu
Sohu
Sohu.com, Inc. is a search engine company headquartered in the Sohu.com Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. This company and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine, on-line multiplayer gaming and other services. For the fiscal year ended December...
and NetEase
NetEase
NetEase is a Chinese internet company that operates 163.com, a popular web portal which received over 546 million page views in June of 2005. The company has grown rapidly since its founding in June 1997, thanks in part to its investment in search engine technology and massively multiplayer...
, launched the closed beta versions of their weibo sites almost simultaneously, on January 20, 2010. On January 30, another Internet portal Tencent closed its weibo service Taotao and, started its new weibo service Tencent Weibo
Tencent Weibo
Tencent Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website launched by Tencent in April, 2010, and is still currently under beta testing. Users may broadcast a message including 140 Chinese characters at most through the web, SMS or smartphone.-Features:...
on March 5, 2010. Based on the large number of its instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
service QQ
Tencent QQ
Tencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is the most popular free instant messaging computer program in mainland China. As of July 11, 2011, the active QQ users accounts for QQ IM totaled 812.3 million, possibly making it the world's second largest online community. The number of simultaneous...
's users, Tencent Weibo later attracted more registered users than Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo. The public beta versions of NetEase Weibo and Sohu Weibo were launched on March 20 and April 7, 2010, respectively.
All these weibos provided by the Chinese Internet giants used subdomain
Subdomain
In the Domain Name System hierarchy, a subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain.- Overview :The Domain Name System has a tree structure or hierarchy, with each node on the tree being a domain name. A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain, the only domain that is not...
"t.xxxx.com", as t.sina.com.cn for Sina Weibo, t.qq.com for Tencent Weibo, t.sohu.com for Sohu Weibo, t.163.com for NetEase Weibo. On 7 April 2011, the leader of the weibo services Sina Weibo started to use an independent domain name weibo.com acquired earlier, attempting to build up its own brand.
Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo was suspended during July 9-12 and July 13-15 2010, respectively. Since then, all of the Chinese weibo services have attached a note of "beta version" to their title logos. Professionals said that Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo was being "reorganized" by Chinese administrators, the weibo services were not officially approved, they could only be operated as a "beta version".
Some closed weibos was re-opened under restrictions in 2009 or 2010, including Fanfou, re-launched in November 2010. Most of Fanfou's users never came back.
Users
Before July 2009, Fanfou is the most influential weibo website. Sina Weibo has been the leader of weibos since the second half of 2009.In February 2011 Tencent announced that its weibo's registered users surpassed 100 million. This threshold was officially said to be passed by Sina Weibo in March 2011. However according to iResearch
IResearch Consulting Group
iResearch Consulting Group is a professional market research company and is a leading supplier of online business and new economy developments service in China. The company focuses on Internet media, e-commerce, online games, wireless value-added, and various new economic fields, which relate to...
's report on March 30, 2011, Sina Weibo took a commanding lead with 56.5% of China's microblogging market based on active users and 86.6% based on browsing time over its competitors.
According to China Internet Network Information Center
China Internet Network Information Center
The China Internet Network Information Center , or CNNIC, was founded as a non-profit organization on June 3, 1997.CNNIC is the administrative agency responsible for Internet affairs under the Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China...
, in the first half of 2011, Chinese weibo/microblog users increased from 63.11 million to 195 million. By July 2011, 40.2% Chinese Internet users and 34.0% Chinese mobile Internet users used weibo/microblog, in Dec 2010 it was respectively 13.8% and 15.5%.The statistical data may or may not include the mainland Chinese users that bypass the Great Firewall to use blocked microblogging services outside China.
Censorship & free speech
In July 2009, Chinese weibos were highly damaged when most of the domestic weibos such as Fanfou were shut down, but it brought the birth of other weibos like Sina Weibo operated by large Chinese Internet companies. These large weibo services are also under the government's control. Sohu Weibo and NetEase Weibo was suspended in July 2010 per demand of the Chinese administrators. All the weibos can only be operated as a "beta version" to somehow avoid the Chinese administrators' prohibition.Due to the Internet censorship in China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China
Internet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
, all of the China-based weibo services today is now controled by various self-censorship policies and methods. They usually have blacklisted keywords list to be automatically checked, sometimes administrators check manually. Posts on sensitive topics forbidden in China (e.g. Human right
Human rights in the People's Republic of China
Human rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
, Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo is a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who called for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule in China...
) will be deleted and the user's account may be blocked.
However, compared to other Chinese media formats, weibo services are considered freer. Weibos are thought as influencial tools that impact and change China. Some scandals and controversies such as Li Gang incident
Li Gang incident
The Li Gang incident occurred on the evening of October 16, 2010, inside Hebei University in Baoding in Hebei province, when a black Volkswagen Magotan traveling down a narrow lane hit two university students. One of them, 20-year-old Chen Xiaofeng , a student from Shijiazhuang at the Electronic...
are made known to the public through weibos. After incidents like Wenzhou train collision
Wenzhou train collision
On 23 July 2011, two high-speed trains travelling on the Yongtaiwen railway line collided on a viaduct in the suburbs of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The two trains derailed each other, and four cars fell off the viaduct...
and 2010 Shanghai fire
2010 Shanghai fire
The 2010 Shanghai fireThe PRC State Council officially named it "上海“11·15”特别重大火灾" or "上海市静安区胶州路公寓大楼“11·15”特别重大火灾事故"...
, criticism against the Chinese government is more widespread on weibos.
While weibo services might not be in favor of government officials, many Chinese officials opened weibo accounts. Organ of the Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is the highest authority within the Communist Party of China. Its approximately 350 members and alternates are selected once every five years by the National Party Congress....
People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
also launched its own weibo People's Weibo (人民微博) in February 2010, with some governmental organizations and officials blogging on it. Chinese leader
Paramount leader
Paramount leader literally "the highest leader of the party and the state ", in modern Chinese political science, unofficially refers to the political leader of the People's Republic of China....
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
has an official account at People's Weibo without any post.
List
Below it is a list of notable China-based microblogging (weibo) services:- Baidu Talk (百度说吧), launched by BaiduBaiduBaidu, Inc. , simply known as Baidu and incorporated on January 18, 2000, is a Chinese web services company headquartered in the Baidu Campus in Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China....
, closed - Digu (嘀咕)
- Fanfou (饭否), one of the earliest weibo services, highly similar to TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, closed due to Chinese cencorship, re-opened in November 2010 - Follow5
- Hexun Weibo (和讯微博), launched by Hexun
- Huagu Weibo (华股街微博), launched by Huagujie
- Jiwai (叽歪)
- NetEase Weibo (网易微博), launched by NetEaseNetEaseNetEase is a Chinese internet company that operates 163.com, a popular web portal which received over 546 million page views in June of 2005. The company has grown rapidly since its founding in June 1997, thanks in part to its investment in search engine technology and massively multiplayer...
- People's Weibo (人民微博), launched by People's DailyPeople's DailyThe People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
- Phoenix Weibo (凤凰微博), launched by Phoenix TelevisionPhoenix TelevisionPhoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd or Phoenix Television is a Hong Kong-based Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese television broadcaster that serves the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong along with other markets with substantial Chinese viewers...
- Sina WeiboSina WeiboSina Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the USA...
(新浪微博), launched by SINA Corporation, using the domain name weibo.com, most visited weibo service - Sohu Weibo (搜狐微博), launched by SohuSohuSohu.com, Inc. is a search engine company headquartered in the Sohu.com Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. This company and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine, on-line multiplayer gaming and other services. For the fiscal year ended December...
- SwisEn (随心微博)
- Tencent WeiboTencent WeiboTencent Weibo is a Chinese microblogging website launched by Tencent in April, 2010, and is still currently under beta testing. Users may broadcast a message including 140 Chinese characters at most through the web, SMS or smartphone.-Features:...
(腾讯微博), launched by Tencent HoldingsTencent HoldingsTencent Holdings Limited is a publicly owned holding company whose subsidiaries provide Internet and mobile phone value-added services and operate online advertising services in the People's Republic of China. Its headquarters are in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.... - Tianya Weibo (天涯微博), launched by TianyaTianyaTianya may refer to:*Tianya, Sanya, town in Sanya, Hainan, China*Tianya Club, Internet forum in China*Tianya Haijiao, tourism site in Sanya, Hainan...
- Xinhua Weibo (新华微博), launched by Xinhua News AgencyXinhua News AgencyThe Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
- New Cultural Weibo (新文化网微博), launched by JilinJilinJilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
's newspaper New Cultural - Zuosa (做啥)
See also
- MicrobloggingMicrobloggingMicroblogging is a broadcast medium in the form of blogging. A microblog differs from a traditional blog in that its content is typically smaller in both actual and aggregate file size...
- Comparison of microblogging services
- Internet in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet in the People's Republic of ChinaThe first connection of the mainland of the People's Republic of China with the Internet was established on between ICA Beijing and Karlsruhe University in Germany, under the leadership of Prof. Werner Zorn and Prof. Wang Yunfeng. Since then the Internet in China has grown to host the largest base...