Weibo in China: Understanding its development through communication analysis and cultural studies
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Weibo is considered to be the Chinese media phenomenon of 2010 and 2011.This paper provides a brief historical overview of microblogging in China and identifies the social and cultural roles held by Sina Weibo, a multimedia-enabled Weibo website.Using as case studies three of the most significant news items and events of 2010 and 2011 on the Weibo platform, we investigate how microblogging has been used in China and then analyse this using communication theories.Specifically, communication on Sina Weibo is examined in terms of impersonal-interpersonal-hyperpersonal interaction; individual-group-mass transmission fission; and communication interaction, taking into consideration the involvement of both the multimedia platform and citizen journalism.The final part of the paper discusses the relationship between Sina Weibo's development and Chinese culture-a factor that the authors believe must necessarily be considered in future studies of Weibo's growth.
Authors: Zhan Zhang, Gianluigi Negro
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2464521798