Society

Chirpy about tweets

By Hu Yongqi (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-02 08:46

"Micro blogs are a combination of mobile terminal and social network, combined with the fast development of mobile technology," said Cao Guowei, CEO and president of Sina.com.cn, which operates Sina Weibo.

Cao said micro-blogging would continue to provide more than just user-to-user messaging and evolve into e-commerce and electronic games platforms in the next five to six years. He said micro-blogging is a new channel for enterprises to promote their products online.

During the South Africa World Cup, Cai Wensheng, president of the online game website 4399.com, promised to give some of his fans iPads and iPhones as gifts. The promise of gifts drew more than 160,000 fans in 26 days and boosted his and his company's profile.

As micro blogs gain in popularity, any micro blog that has at least 10,000 followers is eligible to post ads and thus gain profits, said one micro blog programmer who declined to reveal his name and employer.

As a result, perhaps, hundreds of online shops have been selling fake micro blog followers or fans on Taobao, China's largest online consumer-to-consumer trading platform. Consumers can find 20 online shops selling followers after typing "micro blog followers" on the website.

"Your page will become a notice board when 1,000 fans keep an eye on your micro blog. When you get over 100,000 fans, you are like a bestselling newspaper in Beijing. When you have 10 million fans, you can advertise like CCTV does," claimed one advertisement from a shop owner to promote his "micro blog followers".

Fake followers sold for around 0.2 yuan (3 cents) in August 2010, but the price increased to 1 yuan in January.

Almost all online shops claim the "high-quality" micro blog followers they sell are legally registered and have their own individual photos, registration information and fans. Even their micro blog messages are updated from time to time.

A shop owner who only wanted to be identified as Jiou (his registered name on Taobao) provides a service package at his shop: 1,000 followers plus 50 comments plus 500 tweets is priced at 298 yuan ($45); 1,500 followers plus 20 comments plus 500 tweets sells for 308 yuan. There's no limit to the number of followers Jiou sells.

According to his site, Jiou earned around 2,000 yuan in December, when he started selling fake followers.

"As micro blogs are becoming more popular, advertisements and false information have shown up. Therefore, the micro blog market needs to be better regulated to prevent deceptive and false information from spreading," said Yin Yungong, director of the institute of journalism and communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Last year, dozens of sensational news items were posted on micro blogs, such as the fake news that famed novelist Louis Cha died in Hong Kong; while singer Leslie Cheung, who jumped to his death in 2003, was rumored to be alive and well.

"It is typical in a way for some netizens to post striking but false news online and thereby attract people's attention and get more publicity," said Guo Wei, vice president of Kaixin001.com, a popular online social networking website.

In April 2010, a high school student surnamed Yang, in Wugong, Shaanxi province, tweeted a "forecast" saying that an earthquake would hit the province. The aim was to increase visits and this was "accomplished" when a student surnamed Zhang, at Xianyang Business College, forwarded the tweet several days later. Zhang's tweet scared millions of residents in Shaanxi province and she was later put into administrative detention for spreading damaging rumors.

"The micro blog necessarily gives sparse information and that worsens the situation where micro blog rumors are concerned," Yin said, adding that micro blog users and the public should keep an eye on the truthfulness of the information they receive and transmit.

Most Chinese netizens are rational, but many of them are easily fooled, said Xia Xueluan, a sociologist at Peking University. Therefore, he said, people need to be careful about what they say and how they react while micro-blogging.

Cheng said he and his friends maintain strict self-control on their micro blogs: No curse words, no radical opinions. But one concern has been there from the first day he started micro blogging.

"Supervision and governmental management are necessary to avoid nasty comments and messages," Cheng said. "But I am worried about whether we would still be allowed to say whatever we like, that is legal and conscious, when micro blogs gain even greater appeal and rumors grow."