Notoriously known for high Internet censorship, breaking through in China as a blogger, of any kind, is a challenge to say the least. The big boys like Facebook and Twitter have both encountered countless barriers and resistance in launching their products in the Chinese market.
Source: www.amitbhawani.com
A recent article in The Economist examines the situation further, highlighting that as it may be difficult to operate a service such as blogging, and microblogging in particular, the domestic players such are more likely to succeed than foreign. The blockage of Twitter in China encouraged homegrown version to appear on the market, even the Chinese government (including the Communist Party's own microblog The People's Daily) and former critics of microblogging have become frequent users.
However, the prime example of growth this area of communication is Weibo. A recent nationwide survey supports the popularity of Weibo, reporting that more than 45% under the age of 40 are frequent Weibo users and more than 94% said Weibo had changed their lives.
Source: www.starcomchinablog.com
With one of the world's largest population, you could easily see the appeal in this form of communication. Some people are even arguing that the Chinese are world leaders in microblogging, using it for everything possible. I personally think this is slightly optimistic. What can be argued however, is that the likes of Weibo could act as a platform for change, maybe even be a step towards "modernising" China's authoritarian regime. Though, as Internet analytics argue, if someone wanted to truly go beyond borders, microblogging wouldn't be the way as the government can track and actually shut them down whenever they want to. Now, they are simply playing ball.
Even if microblogs might not be a significant breakthrough in the history of Internet censorship, the Chinese open-minded attitude towards this form of communication, is. The relationship between the consumers and companies have significantly improved through the use of microblogs (please refer to figures above for further detail).
Is this sustainable. Maybe. If China continues to modernise itself, including opening the border to foreign goods and services in order to satisfy the demand of the Chinese consumer, then it is just a matter of time before lifestyle is another key aspect, which the Chinese wish to mirror. And that is when the real breakthrough (or breakdown even) in Internet censorship will really occur. Pessimists might think that this will take a while, however, personally I believe that at this rapid growth and development in a future superpower - this is a given, and will most definitely happen sooner rather than later.
So, in terms of an attractive investment, I don't think these specific companies (Weibo or Twitter for that matter) have enough exciting potential for a return of you investment, however, keep your eyes open because the company who is the first to innovate this further, and take it to another level, will be the golden ticket. Well, that is if you believe in the potential of the power of the Chinese consumer as much as I do.
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