Two Sides to Every Coin
As Weibo has developed over the past two years, people have begun to discuss a more diverse range of topics rather than just giving simple statements about their day or saying hello to one another. These days, job opportunities and medical advice can be found through the service and groups provide a place for marketing and even for policymakers to discuss policies. Weibo is becoming an intrinsic part of the Chinese national conversation.
There are, however, some side effects to the increasing pervasiveness of Weibo. Rumors, rude remarks and irrational behavior are all amplified on Weibo. Weibo can be taken advantage of by those seeking an easy buck through a scam or by someone looking to spread a rumor to sabotage a business competitor.
While many people have proposed greater supervision of the site, it is also believed that government interference in posts and the management of Weibo is undesirable given the original intention of the platform.
Yu Guoming believes that while supervision is necessary, new methods should be applied to adapt to the challenges of the new media culture. “People at the managerial level should be more democratic in their thinking. Greater transparency is needed in national policymaking and regional management, and through Weibo the whole society, not just NGOs, can get involved. Cooperation is the key to good management.”
As for online rumors, Yu Guoming senses that Weibo has its own filtering systems. “When there is more than one source of information and people are free to express themselves and do their own form of investigative journalism, Weibo on the whole should get the information right in a much more accurate and complete way than even the traditional broadcast media.” “Actually I think Weibo will be a great rumor-wrecker,” he adds.
Sina Weibo CEO Charles Cao recently leaked the news that Sina has been developing a “trustworthiness index” to add to the service. “Such a system is needed to guarantee the integrity of information passed on through the service. Rumormongers will be cautioned and flagged, and this will lessen their impact on the activities of responsible users.”
Source: Chinatoday
Editor: Dong Lin
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