Bloggers face harsh facts at conference

http://special.globaltimes.cn/2009-11/487977.html

Bloggers face harsh facts at conference

• Source: Global Times
• [18:12 November 26 2009]

By Zhang Lei

Asked about Twitter and the Great Firewall of China, US President Obama told students at a town hall meeting recently that he was both a big believer in technology and the abolition of censorship.

Conceding %26ldquo;there's some price that you pay for openness,%26rdquo; President Obama confessed he had never used Twitter, despite it being one of the most popular mediums mentioned at the recent Chinese Blogger Conference in Lianzhou.

Sooner or later attendees to the conference in the city district of northern Guangdong Province knew somebody would mention the tightening Internet restrictions experienced since the Xinjiang riots of four months ago, including the blocking of popular mainstream sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

An event that embraces the idea that any individual enabled by technology can bring about positive societal change, the conference offered a rare chance for bloggers to share feelings about the apparently bleak Internet situation. The current Internet environment might be harsh, but in the larger picture, comparatively brief, said Xue Ying, a market strategist who targets the blogosphere.

%26ldquo;The conference truly reflects different stages of China%26rsquo;s Internet development during the last five years, from the technology and business patterns to the emergence of a cyber elite and online public opinion,%26rdquo; she said.

Much debate focused on the rise of social media and so-called %26ldquo;Web 2.0%26rdquo; since 2006 that has transformed web users from content consumers to content providers.

Internet users increasingly prefer microblogging %26ndash; brief text updates, photos or audio clips sent to a select group via text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail or digital audio %26ndash; as it is short, fast and easy to update, said Hu Yong, associate professor of the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University.

%26ldquo;The future of Twitter in China largely depends on whether more people join up,%26rdquo; Hu said. %26ldquo;Despite the temporary obstacles, it can hardly be abolished.%26rdquo;

Hu also quoted a recent survey by blog search engine company Technorati that %26ldquo;among over 130 million blogs indexed, just 7.4 million have added an item in the last 120 days,%26rdquo; which means about 95 percent of blogs are basically empty or idle.

Microblogs are different, he said. Even if they don%26rsquo;t earn the author much recognition, at least they offer an opportunity for free expression and fast feedback.

%26ldquo;It%26rsquo;s much easier to take down your mood or upload pictures in SNS (Social Networking Services) than writing insightful blogs to exchange ideas or get to know new friends.%26rdquo;

Social media would establish thick, delicate and multi-layered connections within society, believed Isaac Mao, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

%26ldquo;The social neuron, the basic unit of social media, can spark a blizzard from a tiny bit of gravel, through endless retweets,%26rdquo; he said.

An amateur Twitter user surnamed Xu said the service is not that attractive, as it enabled rightists to disseminate propaganda, benefiting from instant circulation to create a buzz.

%26ldquo;As there are 1,000 ways to get away with the Great Firewall, it is actually invisible,%26rdquo; he said.

Small actions online caused bigger impacts, according to Teng Biao, a lawyer.

%26ldquo;The trend of Internet is irreversible. We can expect deeper changes from the growth of civil society and separation of powers,%26rdquo; he said.