Social media usage in China stems from several key factors related to China's rapid social and economic changes. The massive migration from rural to urban areas has driven more need for communication to stay connected to family and friends. Additionally, China's large population and the government's inability to strictly control the internet has led to the thriving of home-grown social networks. Sites like QZone, RenRen, and Sina Weibo have become segmented to attract different demographic groups and have seen explosive growth and engagement from Chinese users.

1. Social Media in China
a basic comparative probe
Kevin Bin Yuan

2. Social network equivalents
( just search from Google)

5. But quite different

6. The usage variations stem from
Culture context
Economic scenarios
Digital ecosystem.

7. It is the truth that Chinese people
are more enthusiastic with social
media, more actively engaging in
social network, why
According to different data sources

8. Below are several key factors
China is experiencing a remarkable
social changing of the population
migration, from rural to urban , probably
is the biggest migration in the human
history in one country

9. Which drive more need of engaging
and communication
• Keep in touch with family and friends
• Increase social capital when land to the new
neighborhood
• Dealing with lonely : for instance, more 80’s and 90’s
children were born under the “one child policy
• Get more information that is inaccessible from traditional
media

10. What about the nature of censorship
Out of imagination from people live in western
society, the reality is:
Although the government put efforts to control and
censor the Internet.
But they just can filtering few of top sensible
political issues

11. Because no one in the world could predict that
by the end of year 2010, net citizens in China is
approaching 500 millions, the implication is that
it is impossible to be strict controlled !

12. The strict manipulations and restrictions regard
traditional media have result in thriving and
flouring of home-grown social networks
The Internet has provided access to information for
ordinary Chinese citizens in ways that were
unimaginable several years ago. Coming from both
in and outside the geography boundary.

13. Absence of “authority” of traditional media , like
“times” in the West, Chinese net citizens tend to
heavily take advantage of social networks to
acquire information and involve into debate , not
just from home-grown social networks
Hence, China will become the most diversified and
booming place in terms of social media
application in the world

14. China now is the most cultural
diversified place in the world

15. • East vs. West
• Traditional vs. modern
• Remarkable social changing
• More conflicting and arguable issues
The diversification , turbulence situation and fast
changing society create more
demands for commutation , engagement, and self-
expression.

16. Social media in China is
becoming more inspiring and full
of stimulating
cases

17. Some typical social networks

18. Social network sites
Unlike Facebook dominate in
a lot of countries, social networks in China
are segmented to attract several major
audience groups, ranging from urban youth
to university students and migrant workers.

19. Q Zone (http://qzone.qq.com), the largest
social networking site in China, attracts youth
and teens , and dominate second- and third-
tier cities.

20. RenRen (www.renren.com), specializing for
university students and alumnus who use the
platform to connect and interact with classmates.
The site is organized around schools and
graduation class.

21. Kaixin001 (www.kaixin001.com), a
platform designed for a more about young
professionals, white collar workers in first
and second-tier cities.

22. Douban (www.douban.com), a more
specialized social networking site, attracts
those fond of books, cinema, culture, and
music. Users connect according to their
tastes and often hold offline activities, such as
book clubs and to local art activities.

23. Mechanism of “Douban” is unique and innovative

24. Bulletin board systems (BBS)
A wide range of BBS still flourish in China , Postings are
anonymous, which encourages users to give unstrained views.
And the open systems also are abused by some PR company
trying to manipulate the comments, which called “Guanshui” in
Chinese.

25. Twitter vs. Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo is by far the most popular microblogging platform in China

26. Performance metrics list
• Registered users: 50mil
• Monthly growth rate of registered users: 33.8%
• Daily average amount of Tweets: 2.5mil
• Total amount of tweets: 2bil
• Proportion of amount of Tweet from mobile
end: 38%
• API: over 800 pcs
Updated: Oct 2010

27. Some striking features
• Video, music and pictures supportive
• Distinctive classification for all kinds of celebrities and
traditional media and government agencies, social
organizations, business organizations, etc.
• Striking features of celebrities ranking list and
grassroots ranking list are posted in adjacent same
level of position implied for stimulating competition.
• Celebrities, media and government agents are
required to provide institutional authentication,
whereas ordinary people can choose to remain
anonymous.

28. 114 characters in Chinese translates
into around 450 characters in English,
This language efficiency turns
microblogging in China into a more
powerful media vehicle

29. The categorized high profile list greatly facilitate
participation

30. Entertainment Movie star, Singer, Musician, Director, Producer, Opera
Fashion &Lifestyle Model, Beautician ,Cooking, Healthy, Travel, Designer
Finance Entrepreneur, Economist, Stock, Currency, Investment
Sports Football, Basketball, Tennis, Volleyball, Golf, Lottery
Science &technology IT, Internet, VC, Telecom, E-commerce, Programmer
Media TV presenter, Radio DJ, Editor, Media expert,
Correspondent
Arts &literature Drama, Dance, Calligraphy, Animation, Photography
Education Scholar, Education Celebrity, University Lecturer, Training
Publisher Publisher, Writer, Poet, Cultural Celebrity
Real estates Developer, agency, Expert, Decoration, Designer
Government agency Government officer, Government organization, Police
Web-sites Shopping, IT, Entertainment, Community
Automobile Model, Brand, Media,
Military force Military expert, Air force , Military media, Military writer
Organization Charity, Finance

31. YouTube vs. Youku and Tudou

32. • Videos in Youku and Tudou are more
professionally produced.
• Surveys show that video sites having replaced
traditional TV among younger generation.
• The diversified content no longer be reached
effectively via traditional media channels.
which also have affected largely about peoples
attitudes towards many social issues.

33. If you failed to understand what
social media happened in China, you
will
lost great opportunities for your
business and might encounter
unexpected risks

34. Thank you!