What is Weibo & how does it work?

Weibo was launched in August 2009 as the micro-blogging service of Sina.com, one of China’s leading technology companies. It has since played an essential part in the public life of the Chinese people, reflecting China’s socio-political transition in the post-Olympics decade.

Is Weibo a networked public?

Weibo as “networked publics”—both a public space and collectives (boyd, 2010)—have amplified the visibility and social impact of public events, and enabled individuals to gather on this public “square” to participate.

Did Weibo polarize social media?

However, the split of “Chinese characteristics” and “universal values” did capture the polarization of networked publics with escalated contentions and the party-state’s more aggressive taking over of social media. Weibo enhanced public visibility of both sides of the ideological contention (“universal values” versus “Chinese characteristics”).

Is Weibo Still Here?

I’m glad that Weibo is still here.” (@yaochen, December 9, 2015). 22 As a veteran user with the largest number of followers, she has been vocal in almost all major public events over the past years, and represents what has been called Weibo’s golden age.

Did XI say 'live news' on Weibo?

At 1:16 am the TV program “LIVE NEWS” broadcasted the news in form of a copy with the same title. Later, on 6:03 am the Weibo issued a piece of news showing President Xi’s comments on this event and the message was reposted by many other social media accounts.

Is Weibo a reliable source?

The “official” sources are not trustworthy, but Weibo is portrayed as an alternative that better informs the public. The “collective witness” mode that mainly featured confrontation between the “grassroots” and powerful institutions has gradually changed its shape as the official media began to take a significant step into Weibo.