Kobe Bryant Joins Sina Weibo, Says Nothing, Gets Many Followers

It seems like every day another Western celebrity is joining Sina Weibo, and LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant chose this Valentine’s Day to hop on the love train. His official account features a cute picture of him as a kid, and while he hasn’t actually said anything yet, his mere presence has been enough to attract nearly 200,000 followers as of this writing. By the time you read this, the number will probably be higher.

Fans are using the rather awkward hashtag “I want to speak to Kobe” to leave messages in both Chinese and English for the basketball star, and according to the AP some fan groups have promised to help translate some of them. Of course, whether or not Kobe will respond is entirely another story.

Last month, Brad Pitt joined weibo (though his account has since been deleted), and Emma Watson’s on there too so it’s hard to argue that the cool celebrities aren’t on weibo (even if the service also has Tom Cruise). But if Kobe really wants to be hip, he ought to follow the group of Western celebs that have already signed up for WeChat. As much as we love weibo, WeChat seems to be where the really cool kids are flocking these days.

(AP via ESPN)