How to use Sina Weibo | Movements.org

how to:How to use Sina Weibo

Posted by Afsanieh Rassti in Build Awareness , Attract Supporters, Event Planning, Twitter Activism, Social Media for Social Good, Plan and Strategize

Launched in 2009, this Chinese microblogging site was developed as a response to a 2 year old block on Twitter accessibility in China and now has more than 200 million registered users. Sina Weibo is a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook and has similar applications and market presentations. The Weibo phenomena is watched closely under the scope of the Chinese media and government and has gained wide recognition among blogger. The interface is more in line with the Chinese consumer’s behavior and additionally pictures, movies and music can be integrated into posts.

This new social media platform seen as a more intellectual and professional outlet and has raised the reservations many Chinese companies had about social media channels. The “Chinese Twitter” format- 140 characters makes it easier and faster to share content.

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BEFORE YOU BEGIN

The Chinese government practices a high degree of censorship and speaking out against the government or its policies could be dangerous for you. Before you consider using Sina Weibo for activism in China be sure to educate yourself about the risks and security issues. Here are some resources to get you started:

- News and information about censorship in China from Movements.org

- GlobalVoices on China

- What are you allowed to say on Chinese social networks?

Step 1

Registration takes 30 seconds at http://weibo.com. Set up a account username, set up your profile and start reading and sharing.

Tip!

Remember Sina Weibo functions much like Twitter.

Tip!

Key Facts and Features:

140 characters per "Tweet" but you can say far more in 140 Chinese characters than in English letters
Followers are called “Fans”
Inline photos and videos, emoticons, and song lyrics, either from Sina’s own services or 3rd Party
Direct uploading of videos, voice-to-Weibo service through mobile phones
Native iOS, Android and Symbian applications installed for Weibo
Groups (Beta) and Lists--set up or join groups around interests, create private lists of users
Events-schedule meetings, parties etc and invite your followers
Voting-create questions, poll users
Trends-highlights hot topics across dozens of categories by hour, day, week

Step 2

You can also download the Weibo app on iTunes which will also be available in English in the future.

Step 3

Visit Weibo Square on Weibo to find fans and follow fans and to join groups that interest you. You can also create events, polling/ voting sites and download applications.

Step 4

Understand: Micro-topics. Weibo takes any tweet that’s related to certain topic, then create an unique page for all users to view and discuss the particular topic. This enables users to: