A friend of mine, who came from China years ago, has started her own fashion related business. She complains that she has to post the same content for twice on English social web sites (FB and Twitter) and Chinese ones. Some of you may know that the Chinese government still bans Twitter and Facebook in China. No need to feel sorry for them. Chinese have their own twitter- Sina Weibo which is very similar to Twitter: a 140-character limit, hashtags, talking to others using “@Username” and RT. Over 250 million users!!!
Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo has over 250 million registered users and is one of the most popular sites in China. The Twitter-like service has started gaining popularity globally since launching an English version and now claims to have nearly half a million users in the U.S., including celebrities and public figures.
Sina Weibo implements many features that are similar to Twitter, including a 140-character limit, hashtags, talking to others using “@Username” and re-posting what they have written. Users can also insert graphical emoticons and attach images, music and video files to posts.
Bill Gates, Tom Cruise, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde, the Indian Embassy, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, UK band Radiohead and Harry Potter star Emma Watson all have verified accounts on the site. The platform’s growing number of overseas users seem to mainly use the service to interact with Chinese audiences and promote themselves in the country. However, with a similar market penetration that Twitter has established in the U.S., the social media platform could become more widely adopted in future.
Read More: http://www.psfk.com/2012/01/chinese-twitter-sina-weibo.html
