China’s Twitter, Sina Weibo is gaining steam among Chinese users. The micro-blogging service has over 50 million users, including 500,000 users in Taiwan and 600,000 users in Hong Kong.
Sina’s General Manager Meg Lee told Reuters that Sina Weibo aims to have 1 million users by the end of 2011. Most of the users use the service to keep up with celebrities like Jackie Chan and Liang Jing Ru (actor and singer respectively). The Sina Weibo team of developers and designers is currently focused on improving its product quality and experience. Revenue is of secondary priority.
“It’s about enhancing the user experience right now and I’m not too concerned about the finances at this moment,” she said. “Our CEO has told us before that we don’t expect Weibo to have a huge impact on our finances within the next five years.”
As a China-based Internet company, Sina Weibo understands and follows the Chinese law religiously. The laws apply to Taiwan and Hong Kong as well. Sensitive weibo (tweets) regarding the recent Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Liu Xiaobo or any other sensitive political chats are blocked by Sina.
“There are rules in every country, and we have to understand and abide by those rules if we want to operate there,” Lee said.
Sina Weibo continues to grow strongly as Twitter remains banned in China. Sina Weibo’s concept is similar to Twitter’s but the Chinese micro-blog is highly customized for the users need. For example, it allows threaded conversations on each weibo. The idea is similar to the bulletin board system, which is extremely popular in China. Every weibo is now a potential conversational point.
Sina Weibo has also become an effective communication tool for the Chinese government. Through the micro-blog, the Beijing Police communicates safety messages, alerts and even stories with the public.
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