THE CONVERSATION
In China, the phenomenal growth and influence of micro-blogging, or “Weibo,” has revealed an insatiable appetite to share information on topics from pop star gossip to corporate behavior.
What should communicators do?
Weibo, the Chinese term for “micro-blogging,” has become an extraordinary – and increasingly corporate – cultural phenomenon in China, its precipitous growth driven by recent crises amid China’s rapid economic and social development.
In 2007, a Chinese company called Fanfou, which was founded by serial entrepreneur Wang Xing, first used the term “Weibo.” Many believe that the earthquake in Sichuan province a year later marked the birth of Weibo as an influential medium, as millions of people tried to communicate what was happening to them and those close to them via real-time blogs.
