When Wang Jipeng first heard the rumour Shanda Interactive was planning a blitz to buy NASDAQ-listed Sina Corp, he immediately published the "news" on his Weblog, or blog.

That was 1 pm on February 18, 2005, Beijing time.

Wang claimed his message, on his blog, scooped the world.

"I got more than 50 calls on February 18. And most of people simply didn't believe the news," Wang says.

The reason is simple: Wang was not a reporter, and his message seemed to lack credibility.

But the news was confirmed the next day by Shanda.

As a result, the traditional print and broadcast news organizations were slower in reporting details of Shanda's planned acquisition.

Wang, a blogger a person who maintains an online journal of reflections, comments and hyperlinks since 2003, was proud he broke the story.

"That should be a sign that blogs are beginning to take on traditional media," he says.

Wang might be exaggerating a bit, but blogging is catching on in China rapidly.

People like Wang are logging onto Weblogs to spread gossip and keep online diaries about their daily lives and work.

"I spend half an hour, on average, blogging five out of seven days a week," Wang says.

He adds his sources about Shanda's acquisition blitz are well established.

"You know, I wrote a book on Shanda before the blitz. And I had some contact with Shanda, and many well-informed sources from investment banks and brokers," he says.

Growing community

China's information technology (IT) journalists, who are more sensitive about new technology tools, were among the first in the world to establish Web journals.

Liu Ren, one of the country's first IT reporters, runs a website billed as the "IT news writing community."

The community www.donews.net enables IT reporters, editors and freelancers to share information, spread gossip, find news clues and write commentaries on the fast-growing IT industry.

Some companies are also "blogging," to publish information about their news conferences, and to recruit employees.

Donews.net has about 58,000 registered bloggers, Liu says.

Another community, www.donews.com, also run by Liu, has 80,000 registered bloggers.

"I like blogging to communicate with people on the Internet, regardless if they are my friends or strangers," says Wang Yi, a reporter with China Computer World. He became a registered blogger with donews.net last November.

Some people who have read Wang's Web journals, and left comments, have become his friends.

Another IT-related portal for bloggers, BlogChina, is a community not only for IT reporters and editors, but also for industry analysts, researchers, scientists and economists.

Fang Xingdong, a veteran IT columnist and founder of BlogChina, claims the blog has 20 million page views.

"About 300,000 blog messages are being posted on our website, and 200,000 people are signing up to become bloggers each day," Fang says.

BlogChina has more than 1 million registered bloggers, he claims.

"Blogging is still in its infancy in China, but I'm very optimistic about its prospects," Fang says.

Softbank, a venture capitalist from Japan, has invested in BlogChina.

"We are expecting the number of registered bloggers at BlogChina to reach 10 million by the end of this year," Fang says.

China's major Web portals, such as NASDAQ-listed Sina Corp, Sohu.com and NetEase.com, are also pondering launching their own blogging services.

"Blogging will be the basic function of any website in the future," Fang says.

"It will be a big hit and may link up with many things, such as e-commerce."

Personal space

Fang should be right: Blogging is really everybody's game. It's not the sole domain of geeks and technology-sensitive IT reporters.

Why? Blogging is free. That means people can set up their simplified websites free of charge, as long as they can access the Internet.

Wei Wei opened her personal space at www.spaces.msn.com, a blogging space provided by Microsoft, to share her feelings about daily life with other Netizens.

"I really enjoy it a lot, as I can freely voice my happiness or unhappiness, my love or hatred and even some public affairs," says Wei, who lives in Beijing.

"My close friends are definitely frequent readers of my Web journal. And many strangers also visit my blog. The fascinating thing is my blog is available to everyone in the world, and it's very personal."

Wei does not only keep an Internet diary, but also posts her albums and even her favourite songs, books, and hyperlinks on her blog.

The major difference between a personal website and a blog is the blogger does not need to know a lot about designing Web pages.

Many service providers, such as MSN Spaces, have easy-to-use functions that enable bloggers to post messages and design their personal spaces.

"The only thing I must do is continue writing, posting and updating," Wei says.

Boon

Wang Jianshuo, a Shanghai-based blogger, claims his blog space is listed by Alexa, an Internet traffic tracking website, as one of the world's 35,000 busiest sites .

Wang, who "has never lived outside China, and who has never attended private English classes," also writes English blogs.

Wang boasts in his Web journals, based on his server log, his blog has 15,000 page views daily. He adds the visitors to his blog come from 109 countries.

Wang's blog, one of the first in China, was voted as one of China's top 10 blogs in 2003.

Wang says he "enjoys pure geek happiness."

Wang, 28, and his wife, Wendy, are both bloggers.

Fang Xingdong believes the uptake of blogging is creating business opportunities.

For example, ads on a popular personal blog space, such as Wang's blog, can generate revenues for service providers.

Another cool thing is bloggers may be able to write Web journals using their mobile phones in the future.

So, wireless value-added services and fees for blogging services could become streams of revenue for blogging service firms such as BlogChina, Fang says.

"We are still searching for the best models of profitability for blogging service providers," he says.

"Within one month, I think you will see explosive growth of blogging in China."

Fang says he is trying to attract more venture funds for BlogChina, which is preparing to list in NASDAQ in the near future.

Risks

Despite the increasing popularity of blogging, some people are expressing some concerns, especially regarding regulations.

Young Guangzhou blogger Li Li became a sensation in 2003 in China as a result of her Web journals.

Her blog, under the pen-name Muzimei, is a series of essays on love, relationships and her busy sex life.

Muzimei's sudden celebrity resulted in a book based on her Weblog.

But the book was eventually banned.

Some people worry some blogs may become spaces where illicit and pornographic essays are posted.

If so, authorities may clamp down on blogs, much like they did on Web portals' popular SMS (short messaging service).

SMS largely helped many portals survive the bursting of the dotcom bubble.

But many portals were dealt a blow when the government launched a crackdown on illicit and pornographic content via SMS.

Even if blogging develops smoothly in China, some people suggest its business prospects may be overhyped.

It will be difficult, they suggest, for blogging service providers to make money, as a proper business model has not been established.

And both bloggers and readers may hate seeing ads on the blogging space, they add.

But bloggers, such as Wang Jipeng and Fang Xingdong, are undeterred.

"Blogging is not a bubble," Fang says.

"When something new comes along, you should try to catch it."

(China Daily 06/06/2005 page7)