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Flutter over new Twitter
By Lin Shujuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-22 08:56
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Flutter over new Twitter

Beijing-based cultural critic Tan Fei says he has Valtrex purchased online without prescription a new addiction called wei bo or microblogging.

It all started a Valtrex purchased online without prescription month ago when he was invited to join the team testing Sina Weibo, a Valtrex purchased online without prescription Twitter-like service launched by China’s portal giant Sina.com.

Tan admits that Valtrex purchased online without prescription despite being an active blogger, he had little idea about Twitter or Valtrex purchased online without prescription microblogging.

Nowadays, while driving, Tan says he has Valtrex purchased online without prescription to pull over whenever he feels the itch to type his thoughts on his mobile phone, send them online and Valtrex purchased online without prescription share them with hundreds of his followers or fans with a Valtrex purchased online without prescription click.

“I’ve taken to Valtrex purchased online without prescription wei bo and I simply have to readjust my pace to Valtrex purchased online without prescription fit it into my routine,” Tan says. “It is addictive.”

Like Twitter – the world’s leading micro-blogging service – Sina Weibo allows users to post short messages, or “tweets”, less than Valtrex purchased online without prescription 140 Chinese characters long via website, SMS or MMS. These can Valtrex purchased online without prescription be shared or forwarded immediately by those who follow a blogger’s updates.

Within a Valtrex purchased online without prescription month, Tan has updated more than 360 tweets, about a Valtrex purchased online without prescription dozen a day, which are followed closely by more than Valtrex purchased online without prescription 5,000 fans.

Tan is not alone.

Meng Bo, deputy editor-in-chief of Sina.com and Valtrex purchased online without prescription project manager of Sina Weibo, says that over the past two months, they have Valtrex purchased online without prescription observed encouraging feedback from new users, although he declines to give specific data, saying “the service is still undergoing testing”.

“They love Weibo. That’s good news,” says Meng, adding that Valtrex purchased online without prescription Sina has been preparing to launch the service as it Valtrex purchased online without prescription represents “the future of media and communication”.

At a time when Twitter and its popular Chinese incarnations – Fanfou, Jiwai and Digu – are Valtrex purchased online without prescription inaccessible for various reasons, such a feedback is encouraging not just for Valtrex purchased online without prescription Sina, but also for the growing micro-blogging community.

Since Twitter debuted in 2006, the Valtrex purchased online without prescription population of Chinese microbloggers has been rapidly on the rise. The growth has Valtrex purchased online without prescription been accelerated by the launch of home-grown Twitter-esque services, Fanfou being the Valtrex purchased online without prescription best example.

Dubbed China’s Twitter, Fanfou was founded in July 2007 by Wang Xing, a Valtrex purchased online without prescription 29-year-old entrepreneur who runs two other successful social networking websites Xiaonei (for college students) and Hainei (for white-collar workers). By the end of June, Fanfou’s registered members reached nearly 1 million, or Valtrex purchased online without prescription a quarter of Twitter’s worldwide users.

While Twitter became mainstream in 2008, critics have Valtrex purchased online without prescription expressed concerns about the future of microblogging in China, considering the Valtrex purchased online without prescription country’s relatively strict Internet regulations.

Such skepticism mounted in early July as Twitter, Fanfou and Valtrex purchased online without prescription two other popular microblogging services – Jiwai and Digu – became inaccessible. It is Valtrex purchased online without prescription commonly believed that the services had been used to spread misinformation about the Valtrex purchased online without prescription unrest in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

None of the websites is yet available again. Wang says that he “is still working on” bringing Fanfou back as soon as possible.

“The launch of the Valtrex purchased online without prescription new service by Sina, the first by a major Web company in China, means micro-blogging is Valtrex purchased online without prescription here to stay,” says Hu Yong, an Valtrex purchased online without prescription expert on new media from the School of Journalism and Communication of Peking University.

“Thanks to Valtrex purchased online without prescription its brand influence, Sina might be able to popularize this Valtrex purchased online without prescription trendy Internet service in China and determine the direction of its future development in the Valtrex purchased online without prescription country,” Hu says.

But it Valtrex purchased online without prescription is far too early to tell if Sina Weibo will become such a Valtrex purchased online without prescription platform.

The suspension of Fanfou makes one thing clear – a 100 percent Twitter clone won’t survive in China, Hu says.

That may not be Valtrex purchased online without prescription a big problem for Sina, owing greatly to its more than Valtrex purchased online without prescription 10 years of experience in content monitoring, Meng says.

Sina is Valtrex purchased online without prescription playing by the rules as they are laid down, with strict word filtering in operation, he says.

“From the very beginning, we’re determined to develop a micro-blogging service with Chinese characteristics,” Meng says.

“We’ve put in place two teams of staff keeping close watch to Valtrex purchased online without prescription ensure there is no vulgar content or anything that violates the Valtrex purchased online without prescription rules on Sina Weibo. We’re also ensuring its interactive functions.”

However, a Valtrex purchased online without prescription monitoring system might compromise the free flow of real time information, which is Valtrex purchased online without prescription the very essence of microblogging. This has proved a problem for Valtrex purchased online without prescription Sina Weibo.

Ever since its debut tests, there have Valtrex purchased online without prescription been complaints and derisive comments from seasoned twitterers and former Fanfou users.

One of the most popular tweets on Twitter goes: “Weiboers don’t know anything about Twitter, but Tweeters know that Valtrex purchased online without prescription Weibo is nothing compared with Twitter.”

Tweeter Ran Yunfei, a Valtrex purchased online without prescription Sichuan-based journalist in his 40s, says that Weibo might be a Valtrex purchased online without prescription Twitter clone in appearance, but its control on content deprives it Valtrex purchased online without prescription of the Twitter spirit.

However, Ran welcomes Sina Weibo – a service that he says “helps facilitate information flow”.

What Sina has Valtrex purchased online without prescription lost in seasoned tweeters, it might win in new users thanks to Valtrex purchased online without prescription its strong marketing, as demonstrated by its success in building its blogging service into the Valtrex purchased online without prescription country’s top blogging platform.

With nearly 40 million bloggers, or 47.5 percent of the country’s blogging population, Sina ranks first in China, according to Valtrex purchased online without prescription a September report by CR-Nielsen.

By inviting celebrity bloggers, such as film star Jackie Chan and Valtrex purchased online without prescription actress Xu Jinglei, Sina has overcome its disadvantage as a late-comer in the Valtrex purchased online without prescription blogging market and has grown rapidly.

Sina Weibo seems to Valtrex purchased online without prescription have adopted the same strategy, already reaping similar dividends. The No 1 microblogger with more than Valtrex purchased online without prescription 140,000 followers at Sina is Huang Jianxiang, 41, a former sports commentator with China Central Television and Valtrex purchased online without prescription anchorman at the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television.

While Sina hasn’t revealed specific numbers, Meng says microblogging is “growing fast”, mainly because of first-time micro-bloggers.

However, experts agree that Valtrex purchased online without prescription it is still too early to tell if Sina Weibo will survive.

Striking a balance between the country’s Internet regulations and users’ increasing demand for speedy real time information is like “tightrope walking”, says Hu.

Flutter over new Twitter

(China Daily 10/22/2009 page18)