Flood of microblog information nothing to be afraid of
- By Marcel Geller
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Global Times, June 20, 2011
The rush of information on Chinese microblogs sometimes seems hard to contain, especially for the authorities.
But even ordinary citizens can be worried by the flood of rumor and sometimes slander that pervade microblogs alongside the exposure of genuine scandals and abuses.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt once said, "Every two days we create as much information as we did in all of human history up to 2003."
This is an era of information explosion. We cannot expect every piece of information to be "authorized." Some may feel this is annoying or even dangerous, but I see it as the beauty of microblogging and the signature of this age.
The flow of information is no longer in one direction. Web 2.0 technology gets everyone involved, and people may freely express and publish their opinions. In a sense, rumors are byproducts of this freedom.
But there is no reason to be intimidated.
The Internet and Weibo do not exist in a vacuum; they are essentially miniatures of the real world. If a rumor in the real world is not worth panicking about, it will not be a big deal on Weibo, either.
Even if rumors swirl in the beginning, they will eventually fade away as authorized information emerges and spreads. More importantly, microbloggers gradually build their reputation and credibility and more credible sources will attract more followers in the long run. On the flip side, a lack of credibility will lose followers.
Maintaining open communication often helps one build his credibility. For example, Ren Zhiqiang, a real estate tycoon, used to be a highly controversial figure since his opinions on real estate offended many people.
But his open communication with the public on Weibo earned his reputation and now he's one of the most popular microbloggers on Weibo.
The V-tag also helps with this selection process. The V-tag is Sina's official verification of a microblogger's identity. Spreading rumors damages people's reputation, especially for celebrities, so followers may give more weight to the statements of people with V-tags.
One problem can be that minority opinions are drowned out by popular voices. This isn't a phenomenon unique to China, but it is less of a concern elsewhere, because in the US, for instance, there are numerous other social channels available and people don't have to rely on microblogs to express themselves. In China, however, heavier expectations are put on microblogging.
I don't see any problem with unpopular opinions, as long as they get published. The term "minority opinion" is self-explanatory - it means the opinion is not popular. Weibo actually helps minority opinions be heard. In the past, mainstream media platforms only published majority, or popular opinions. With the help of Weibo, unpopular opinions now at least get their voice.
Another concern is privacy, and online identity theft. The good news is that increasing attention is being paid to privacy issues in both the technical and political realms, with new technologies being developed for personal protection.
These problems are probably the price that society has to pay for social and technological advancement.
Microblogging has taken on a strongly political role in China, although Twitter also plays that function in many other parts of the world. The nature of microblogging makes information flow much faster and spread more widely than other services. Some people refer to microblogs as a killer of traditional news publication services, but I don't think this is true. They are more of an amplifier rather than a killer.
But many traditional news channels now post on microblogs, and, the news reaches millions of microblog users within several minutes. The reality is that people still refer back to traditional news sources, but the speed of dissemination is much faster than ever. So it is very natural to see political issues debated on microblogs, only more quickly and with stronger impact.
On microblogging platforms, people often express opinions and freely debate issues, which benefits the whole of society, especially at the grass-roots level. But due to the anonymous nature of posts and the immaturity of defamation laws in China, a certain degree of government supervision may be desirable.
Ultimately, the usages of microblogging are very varied. A user will find his or her own purpose there. Individuals may use it to instantly connect to friends and family; news publishers may use it as an amplifier of their articles, and government agencies may see microblogs as a channel of communication to the public.
For instance, we've seen the liveblogging of events become tremendously popular recently. Eventually, microblogs have the potential to reach everyone's daily life.
The author is a computer scientist working in the US. viewpoint@globaltimes.com.cn
