View source for Social:Sina Weibo

{{short description|Chinese microblogging website}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Sina Weibo
| logo = [[File:Sina Weibo.svg|150px]]
| url = {{URL|weibo.com}}
| alexa = {{Decrease}} 16 ({{as of|2020|04|14}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/weibo.com | publisher= [[Company:Alexa Internet|Alexa Internet]] |title=Weibo.com Traffic, Demographics and Competitors – Alexa |accessdate= 14 April 2020 }}</ref> <!-- Updated monthly by LkolblyBot -->
| commercial = Yes
| type = [[Social:Microblogging|Microblogging]]
| company_type = Public company
| traded_as = {{NASDAQ was|WB}}
| owner = Pan Weibo (operated by Weibo Corporation)
| language = Simplified Chinese<br>Traditional Chinese<br>English (partial)
| launch_date = {{start date and age|df=yes|2009|8|14}}<ref name="chinadaily0" />
| current_status = Active
}}
{{Chinese
| c = 新浪微博|新浪微博
| p = Xīnlàng Wēibó
| tp = Sīnlàng Wēibó
| w = Hsin<sup>1</sup>-lang<sup>4</sup> Wei<sup>1</sup>-po<sup>2</sup>
| bpmf = ㄒㄧㄣ ㄌㄤˋ ㄨㄟ ㄅㄛˊ
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|x|in|1|.|l|ang|4|.|wei|1|.|b|o|2}}
| j = San<sup>1</sup> Long<sup>6</sup> Mei<sup>4</sup> Bok<sup>3</sup>
| y = Sān Lohng Mèih Bok
| l = Sina Microblog
| t = 
| s = 
| ci = 
| altname = 
}}
'''Sina Weibo''' ({{NASDAQ|WB}}) (新浪微博) is a Chinese [[Social:Microblogging|microblogging]] ([[Social:Microblogging in China|weibo]]) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China,<ref name="chinadaily0">{{cite news |title=Special: Micro blog's macro impact |author=Michelle |author2=Uking |last-author-amp=yes |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-03/02/content_12099500.htm|work=China Daily |date=2 March 2011 |accessdate=26 October 2011}}</ref> with over 445 million [[Software:Monthly active users|monthly active users]] as of Q3 2018. The platform has been a huge financial success, with surging stocks, lucrative advertising sales and high revenue and total earnings per quarter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Weibo Added 15 Million Users in Q3 |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/weibo-added-15-million-users-185700211.html |publisher=Yahoo! Finance}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bylund |first1=Anders |title=Weibo Added 15 Million Users in Q3 – |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/11/29/weibo-added-15-million-users-in-q3.aspx |work=The Motley Fool |date=29 November 2018 }}</ref> At the start of 2018, it surpassed the US$30&nbsp;billion [[Social:Market capitalization|market valuation mark]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Weibo Market Cap (WB)|url=https://ycharts.com/companies/WB/market_cap|website=ycharts.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Daily|first1=Investor's Business|title=Weibo Earnings, Revenue Top; Parent Sina Reports Strong Top-Line Growth {{!}} Stock News & Stock Market Analysis – IBD|url=https://www.investors.com/news/technology/weibo-earnings-revenue-top-parent-sina-reports-strong-top-line-growth/|work=Investor's Business Daily|date=13 February 2018}}</ref>

In March 2014, Sina Corporation announced a spinoff of Weibo as a separate entity and filed an IPO under the symbol WB.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/socialmedia-updates/sina-weibo-china-s-twitter-files-for-ipo-in-us/article1-1195375.aspx|title=Sina Weibo, 'China's Twitter,' files for IPO|website=Hindustan Times|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=15 March 2014|accessdate=17 April 2014}}</ref> Sina carved out 11% of Weibo in the IPO, with Alibaba owning 32% post-IPO.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joecornell/2014/04/14/spin-offs-in-the-spotlight-the-spin-cycle/|title=Spin-Offs in the Spotlight: The 'Spin-Cycle'|work={{wipe|Forbes}}|author=Joe Cornell|date=14 April 2014|accessdate=17 April 2014}}</ref> The company began trading publicly on 17 April 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/16/investing/weibo-ipo/|title=Weibo IPO leads Chinese stock invasion|publisher=CNN|author=Patrick M. Sheridan|date=17 April 2014|accessdate=17 April 2014}}</ref>

In March 2017, Sina launched Sina Weibo International Version. This new version has a clean, concise user interface design, as well as an ad-free feature; while its volume is very small, only occupying one-fifth of the space of the original, it still performs all of the original's functions.

In June 2018, Sina Weibo reached 413 million active users.<ref name=":0" />

In November 2018, Sina Weibo suspended its registration function for minors under the age of 14. In July 2019, Sina Weibo announced that it would launch a two-month campaign to clean up pornographic and vulgar information, named The Blue Plan.

Sina Weibo has attracted criticism over censoring its users.

==Name==
"Weibo" (微博) is the Chinese word for "microblog". Sina Weibo launched its new [[Domain name|domain name]] weibo.com on 7 April 2011, deactivating and redirecting from the old domain, t.sina.com.cn, to the new one. Due to its popularity, the media sometimes refers to the platform simply as "Weibo," despite the numerous other Chinese [[Social:Microblogging in China|microblogging/weibo services]] including [[Social:Tencent Weibo|Tencent Weibo]] (腾讯微博), Sohu Weibo (搜狐微博), and NetEase Weibo (网易微博).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nanjingmarketinggroup.com/blog/complete-guide-china-social-media|title=The Complete Guide to China's Major Social Media Networks|date=16 May 2014|work=Nanjing Marketing Group|access-date=2 January 2018}}</ref>

==Background==
Sina Weibo is a platform based on fostering user relationships to share, disseminate and receive information. Through either the website or the mobile app, users can upload pictures and videos publicly for instant sharing, with other users being able to comment with text, pictures and videos, or use a multimedia instant messaging service. The company initially invited a large number of celebrities to join the platform at the beginning, and has since invited many media personalities, government departments, businesses and non-governmental organizations to open accounts as well for the purpose of publishing and communicating information. To avoid the impersonation of celebrities, Sina Weibo uses verification symbols; celebrity accounts have an orange letter "V" and organizations' accounts have a blue letter "V". Sina Weibo has more than 500 million registered users;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.whatsonweibo.com/sinaweibo/|title=An Introduction to Sina Weibo: Background and Status Quo|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> out of these, 313 million are monthly active users, 85% use the Weibo mobile app, 70% are college-aged, 50.10% are male and 49.90% are female. There are over 100&nbsp;million messages posted by users each day. With more than 100&nbsp;million followers, actress Xie Na holds the record for the most followers on the platform. Despite fierce competition among Chinese social media platforms, Sina Weibo has proven to be the most popular; part of this success may be attributable to the wider use of mobile technologies in China.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chiu|first=Cindy|date=April 2012|title=Understanding social media in China|url=http://asia.udp.cl/Informes/2012/chinamedia.pdf|journal=McKinsey Quarterly|volume=2|pages=78–81}}</ref>

==History==
After the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, China shut down most domestic microblogging services, including [[Social:Fanfou|Fanfou]], the very first weibo service. Many popular non-China-based microblogging services like Twitter, Facebook, and [[Social:Plurk|Plurk]] have since been blocked. Sina Corporation CEO Charles Chao considered this to be an opportunity,<ref name="time0">{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2066367_2066369_2066392,00.html|title=Charles Chao – The 2011 TIME 100|date=21 April 2011|first=Austin |last=Ramzy |work=Time|accessdate=26 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="forbes0">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/global/2011/0314/features-charles-chao-twitter-fanfou-china-sina-weibo.html|title=Sina Weibo|date=14 March 2011 |first=Gady |last=Epstein |work=Forbes Asia |accessdate=26 October 2011}}</ref> and on 14 August 2009, Sina launched the tested version of Sina Weibo;<ref name="Ma2015">{{cite book|author=Feicheng Ma|title=Information Communication|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rtc5CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|date=1 July 2015|publisher=Morgan & Claypool Publishers|isbn=978-1-62705-798-1|pages=92–}}</ref> basic functions including message, private message, comment and repost were made available that September. A Sina Weibo–compatible [[API]] platform for developing third-party applications was launched on 28 July 2010.<ref name="chinadaily0" />

On 1 December 2010, the website experienced an outage, which administrators later said was due to the ever-increasing numbers of users and posts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2010-12-01/15324930344.shtml|script-title=zh:新浪微博恢复访问 发布故障致歉声明|accessdate=26 October 2011|publisher=Sina Tech|date=1 December 2011|language=Chinese}}</ref> Registered users surpassed 100 million in February 2011.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2011-03-02/06005233783.shtml|script-title=zh:新浪发布2010年四季及全年财报 微博用户数过亿|language=Chinese|publisher=Sina Tech|date=2 March 2011|accessdate=26 October 2011}}</ref> Since 23 March 2011, t.cn has been used as Sina Weibo's official [[URL shortening|shortened URL]] in lieu of sinaurl.cn. On 7 April 2011, weibo.com replaced t.sina.com.cn as the new main domain name used by the website. The official logo was also updated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fj.sina.com.cn/news/z/2011-04-07/152896712.html|title=新浪微博今日启用weibo.com域名 同步更换标识|accessdate=26 October 2011|publisher=Sina Tech|date=7 April 2011|language=Chinese}}</ref> In June 2011, Sina announced an English-language version of Sina Weibo would be developed and launched, though content would still be governed by Chinese law.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cn.wsj.com/gb/20110609/rth145806.asp|title=新浪英文微博 挑战Twitter？|date=9 June 2011|accessdate=26 October 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal|author=Owen Fletcher|language=Chinese}}</ref>

On 11 January 2013, Sina Weibo and Alibaba China (a subsidiary of [[Company:Alibaba Group|Alibaba Group]]) signed a strategic cooperation agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2013-04-29/20038293717.shtml|title=阿里巴巴集团战略投资微博|publisher=Sina Corp|access-date=6 March 2018}}</ref>

With more and more foreign celebrities using Sina Weibo, language translation has become an urgent need for Chinese fans who wish to communicate with their idols online; while many already understand English, most users still struggle with [[Social:Korean language|Korean]]. In January 2013, Sina Weibo and NetEase.com announced that they had reached a strategic cooperation agreement. When users browse foreign language content, they can now directly obtain translation results through the YouDao Dictionary.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}

The Sina Weibo financial report in February 2013 showed that its total revenue was approximately US$66&nbsp;million and that the number of registered users had exceeded the 500 million mark.

In April 2013, Sina officially announced that Sina Weibo had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Alibaba. The two sides conducted in-depth cooperation in areas such as user account interoperability, data exchange, online payment, and internet marketing. At the same time, Sina announced that Alibaba, through its wholly owned subsidiary, had purchased the preferred shares and common shares issued by Sina Weibo Company for US$586&nbsp;million, which accounted for approximately 18% of Weibo's fully diluted and diluted total shares.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.chinaz.com/start/2017/0921/806654.shtml|title=新浪微博八年兴衰史|date=21 September 2017|access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref>

===Ownership===
On 9 April 2013, [[Company:Alibaba Group|Alibaba Group]] announced that it would acquire 18% of Sina Weibo for US$586&nbsp;million, with the option to buy up to 30% in the future;<ref name="MW 2013">{{cite web | url=http://www.morningwhistle.com/html/2013/Company_Industry_0503/217448.html | title=Alibaba buys into Sina Weibo with $586 mln | publisher=Morning Whistle | date=3 May 2013 | accessdate=10 May 2013 | author=Kang, Xiaoxiao}}</ref> Alibaba exercised this option when Weibo was listed on [[Company:NASDAQ|NASDAQ]] in April 2014.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2014/05/07/as-alibaba-basked-in-attention-shares-in-its-social-media-affiliate-weibo-tanked-yesterday/ | title=As Alibaba Basked in Attention, Shares in Its Social Media Arm Weibo Tanked Yesterday | website=Forbes | date=7 May 2014 | accessdate=16 September 2014 | author=Russell Flannery}}</ref>

==Users==
According to iResearch's report on 30 March 2011, Sina Weibo had 56.5% of China's microblogging market based on active users and 86.6% based on browsing time over competitors such as [[Social:Tencent Weibo|Tencent Weibo]] and [[Company:Baidu|Baidu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.resonancechina.com/sina-commands-56-of-chinas-microblog-market/|title=Sina Commands 56% of China's Microblog Market|date=30 March 2011|publisher=iResearch|accessdate=26 October 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312111150/http://www.resonancechina.com/sina-commands-56-of-chinas-microblog-market/|archivedate=12 March 2015}}</ref> The top 100 users had over 485 million followers combined. More than 5,000 companies and 2,700 media organizations in China use Sina Weibo. The site is maintained by a growing microblogging department of 200 employees responsible for technology, design, operations, and marketing.<ref>MarketWatch, ''Caixin'', [http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sina-brings-microblogging-to-china-2010-07-04 Sina's microblogging power], 4 July 2010</ref>

Sina executives invited and persuaded many Chinese celebrities to join the platform. Users now include Asian celebrities, movie stars, singers, famous business and media figures, athletes, scholars, artists, organizations, religious figures, government departments, and officials from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and [[Place:Macau|Macau]],<ref name="time0" /><ref name="forbes0" /><ref name="think0">{{cite web|url=http://thinkingchinese.com/index.php?page_id=340|title=Weibo Microblogs – A Western format with new Chinese implications|publisher=Thinking Chinese|accessdate=26 October 2011}}</ref><ref>Erenlai, [http://erenlai.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4739%3Amicroblogs-with-macro-reach-spirituality-online-in-china&catid=706%3Afocus-internet-as-body&Itemid=359&lang=en Microblogs with Macro Reach: Spirituality Online In China], 31 October 2011</ref> as well as some famous foreign individuals and organizations, including Kevin Rudd,<ref>[http://shanghaiist.com/2012/04/23/kevin_rudd_joins_weibo_attracts_100.php Kevin Rudd joins Weibo, attracts 100,000 followers within three days], 23 April 2012</ref> Boris Johnson,<ref>[http://www.echinacities.com/china-media/get-connected-why-are-foreign-dignitaries-increasingly.html Get Connected: Why Are Foreign Dignitaries Increasingly Turning to Weibo?], 23 May 2012</ref> David Cameron,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Zhang|first1=Qiang|title=David Cameron joins Chinese social site Weibo|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-25189219|publisher=BBC News|date=2 December 2013}}</ref> Narendra Modi,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Wong|first1=Tessa|title=Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins China's Weibo|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32579541 |publisher=BBC News |date=4 May 2015}}</ref> [[Company:Toshiba|Toshiba]],<ref>[https://archive.is/20130101202029/http://www.toshiba-tec.com.cn/AboutUs/NewsDetail.aspx?nid=527 (Chinese) 东芝泰格新浪官方微博正式开通 – Official opening of Toshiba's Sina Weibo account] [[Company:Toshiba|Toshiba]] China Official site</ref> and the German national football team. Like Twitter, Sina Weibo has a verification program for known people and organizations. Once an account is verified, a verification badge is added beside the account name.

According to research by Sina Corporation, the number of active users reached over 400 million by Q1 2018, making Sina Weibo the 7th platform with at least 400&nbsp;million active users, and daily usage increased by 21%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2018-05-09/doc-ihaichqz1704770.shtml|title=微博月活跃用户突破4亿|last=新浪科技|date=9 May 2018|publisher=Sina Corp|access-date=26 February 2019}}</ref>

In June 2020, Weibo was among 58 other Chinese apps that were banned by the Government of India. Following this, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi's account was deactivated.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chiness apps ban: PM Narendra Modi quits Chinese social media Weibo as India bans 59 apps {{!}} India News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/after-banning-apps-pm-narendra-modi-quits-chinese-social-media-weibo/articleshow/76730564.cms |accessdate=1 July 2020 |work=The Times of India |date=1 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

== Functions ==

=== Basic function ===
(1) open API

Sina weibo API covers all functions of sina weibo. It can send microblog, send photos, add attention and even search.

(2) client: when sina weibo is officially launched, it will simultaneously launch various mobile phones, browsers, microblogging clients on IM, robots and SMS platforms.

(3) pictures and video sharing: sina weibo has the functions of pictures, video and music sharing. [56]

(4) sync to other micro blogs

(5) search function

=== Main function ===
Publish function: users can publish content like blog and chat tools

Forwarding function: users can forward their favorite content to their weibo with one click (the forwarding function is an improvement of the RT function of Twitter, keeping original posts to avoid tampering in the process of transmission) and add their own comments when forwarding.

Following function: users can follow their favorite users and become followers of this user (i.e. "fans").

Comment function: users can comment on any micro blog. (this is a special feature based on Chinese users' habits. Later, Yahoo Meme and Google Buzz also have comment functions.)

Search function: users can insert a topic between two # signs. Like this, # a certain topic XXX#, then issued micro blog, you can click this, automatic search micro blog all contain "a certain topic XXX" related micro blog. The discussion can be expanded to achieve aggregation of information.

Private message function: the user can click private message and send a private message to any user on sina weibo who has opened a private message port. This private message will only be seen by the other side. Achieve private communication.

==Features==
Many of Sina Weibo's features resemble those of [[Company:Twitter#Features|Twitter]]. A user may post with a 140-character limit (increased to 2,000 as of January 2016 with the exception of reposts and comments),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/2016-01/21/c_1117841841.htm|title=新浪微博将取消140字限制 最多可发布2000字内容-新华网|agency=Xinhua News Agency|access-date=9 November 2016}}</ref> mention or talk to other people using "@UserName" formatting, add [[Hashtag|hashtag]]s, follow other users to make their posts appear in one's own timeline, re-post with "//@UserName" similar to Twitter's retweet function "RT @UserName", select posts for one's favorites list, and verify the account if the user is a celebrity. URLs are automatically shortened using the domain name t.cn, akin to Twitter's t.co. Official and third-party applications can access Sina Weibo from other websites or platforms.

Since a recent update you can now add images and this has made Sina Weibo<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://passport.weibo.com/visitor/visitor?entry=miniblog&a=enter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fweibo.com%2Foverseas&domain=.weibo.com&ua=php-sso_sdk_client-0.6.28&_rand=1568777822.05|title=Sina Visitor System|website=passport.weibo.com|access-date=18 September 2019}}</ref> more similar<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dragonsocial.net/blog/chinese-social-media-weibo-and-twitter-comparison/|title=The Ultimate Guide to Sina Weibo: More Than Just Chinese Twitter!|date=9 April 2019|website=Dragon Social|access-date=18 September 2019}}</ref> to [[Software:Instagram|Instagram]] in its function as a social media platform (also an app) in China.

* People can post images (but are limited to only 9 per post)
* You are able to send personal messages between followers (chat function)
* You can follow people and people can follow you
* You are also able to post stories much like Instagram
* You are able to like post using different emojis
* The writers can also receive rewards in forms of money that you can use in a Sina Weibo store linked to the social media platform
* You can also view post that are considered hot or popular
* It can also track your movements and see where you post from

Hashtags differ slightly between Sina Weibo and Twitter, using the double-hashtag "#HashName#" format (the lack of spacing between [[Social:Chinese characters|Chinese characters]] necessitates a closing tag). Users can own a hashtags by requesting hashtag monitoring; the company reviews these requests and responds within one to three days. Once a user owns a hashtag, they have access to a wide variety of functions available only to them on the condition that they remain active (less than 1 post per calendar week revokes these privileges).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kawo.com/en/2015/02/04/how-to-use-hashtags-on-weibo/|title=How to Use Hashtags on Weibo – KAWO|website=kawo.com|access-date=2 January 2018}}</ref>

Additionally, users are allowed to insert graphical emoticons or attach their own images, music and/or video files in every post. Comments appear as a list below each post; a commenter can also choose to re-post the comment, quoting the whole original post, to their own page.

Unregistered users can only browse a few posts by verified accounts. Neither unverified account pages nor comments to posts by verified accounts are accessible to unregistered users.

Although often described as a Chinese version of Twitter, Sina Weibo combines elements of Twitter, Facebook, and Medium, along with other social media platforms. Sina Weibo users interact more than Twitter users do, and while many topics that go viral on Weibo also originate from the platform itself, Twitter topics often come from outside news or events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-01-05/dutch-sinologist-interprets-chinas-social-media-for-west-101194158.html |title=Dutch Sinologist Interprets China's Social Media for West |website= Caixin|date=5 January 2018|first=Poornima |last=Weerasekara}}</ref>

'''<big>Trending Topics</big>'''

Sina Weibo's "trending topics" is a list of current popular topics based partly on tracking user participation and partly on the preference of Weibo staff. Once a topic is trending, it often becomes a heated issue and can have wide-ranging social influence; as such, the list has reshaped how Chinese people relate to the news media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-BKZY201508004.htm|title=网络"热门话题"的形成机制与议程设置功能——以新浪微博为例--《今传媒》2015年08期|website=cnki.com.cn|access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref>

===Verification===
Sina Weibo has a verification policy, much like Twitter's account verification, for confirming the identity of a user (celebrities, organizations etc.). Once a user is verified, a colorful V is appended to their username; individuals receive an orange V, while organizations and companies receive a blue V. A graph and declaration certifying the verification appear on verified user pages. There are several kinds of verifications: personal, college, organization, verification for official accounts (government departments, social media platforms and famous companies), and [[Social:Microblogging in China|Weibo]] Master (linked with phone numbers and followers). When the number of microblogs reaches a threshold, users can apply for the verification of "Weibo Master."{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

===Clients===
Sina produces mobile applications for various platforms to access Sina Weibo, including [[Software:Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Software:BlackBerry OS|BlackBerry OS]], [[Software:IOS (Apple)|iOS]], Symbian S60, [[Software:Windows Mobile|Windows Mobile]] and [[Software:Windows Phone|Windows Phone]].

Sina has also released a desktop client for [[Software:Microsoft Windows|Microsoft Windows]] under the product name Weibo Desktop.<ref>[http://desktop.weibo.com/ 微博桌面2012 新浪微博-随时随地分享身边的新鲜事儿]. Desktop.weibo.com (1 July 2013). Retrieved 9 August 2013.</ref>

===International versions===
Sina Weibo is available in both simplified and [[Social:Traditional Chinese characters|traditional]] Chinese characters. The site also has versions<ref>[http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/2100/sina-segmenting-weibo-usage-with-multiple-versions/ Sina Segmenting Weibo Usage with Multiple Versions], China Internet Watch, 17 April 2013</ref> catering to users from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Weibo is now developing its international edition in English and other languages. On 9 January 2018, the company ran a week-long public test of its English edition.

Sina Weibo's official iPhone and iPad apps are available in English.

Weibo International supports existing Weibo accounts and allows Facebook accounts to link to the platform; users can also use their mobile phone number (including international mobile phone numbers) to register new accounts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ifanr.com/app/805084|title=简洁、无广告的微博国际版，你用上了吗？#iOS #Android|website=爱范儿|language=zh-CN|access-date=12 February 2019}}</ref>

===Weibo Stories===
One of the most recent features of Weibo is Stories. "Weibo's stories" is a video function allowing users to record a video and save them in a separate "Story" menu in their profile page.<ref name="hicom-asia.com">[https://www.hicom-asia.com/english-guide-to-post-on-weibo-sina/ Weibo English guide to create posts in 2019], HI-COM Asia, 2 May 2017</ref>

===Weibo VLOG===
Weibo has also launched a new "Vlog" function. Now, every video with a hashtag VLOG will be available in the main search page under "VLOG" sub-menu.<ref name="hicom-asia.com"/>

===Other services===
Weilingdi (微领地, literally, ''micro fief'') is another service bundled with Weibo. Similar to [[Software:Foursquare City Guide|Foursquare]], Weilingdi is a location-based social networking website for [[Engineering:Mobile device|mobile device]]s; the site grew out of Sina's 2011 joint venture with GeoSentric's [[Software:GyPSii|GyPSii]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/finance/stocks/SINA.OQ/key-developments/article/2351934|title=Geosentric Oyj Signs Agreement to Create Joint Venture with Sina Corporation|date=27 June 2011|agency=Reuters|accessdate=1 June 2013}}</ref> Sina's Tuding (图钉) photo-sharing service, similar to [[Software:Instagram|Instagram]], is also produced by the same joint venture. Sina Lady Weibo (新浪女性微博) specializes in women's interests. Weibo Data Center enables users to access data analysis about a topic of their choice, Sina Weibo's official data, and demographic information. Sina Weibo has also recently released a desktop version available for free download at its website.

==Censorship==
In cooperation with internet censorship in China, Sina sets strict controls over the posts on its services.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/09/19/idINIndia-59420220110919|title=China's Sina to step-up censorship of Weibo|date=19 September 2011|agency=Reuters|accessdate=18 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904106704576582263223341384|title=Beijing's Weibo Conundrum|date=21 September 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal|accessdate=18 October 2011}}</ref> Posts with links using some URL shortening services (including Google's goo.gl), or containing blacklisted keywords,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2011/07/%e6%96%b0%e6%b5%aa%e5%be%ae%e5%8d%9a%e6%95%8f%e6%84%9f%e8%af%8d%e6%95%b4%e7%90%86%ef%bc%9a%e6%b1%9f%e6%b3%bd%e6%b0%91%ef%bc%882011%e5%b9%b407%e6%9c%8807%e6%97%a5%ef%bc%89/|title=新浪微博搜索禁词|date=7 July 2011|website=China Digital Times|accessdate=18 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= "Big Yellow Duck," "May 35th," and Other Words You Can't Use on China's Twitter Today |url= http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/06/04/big_yellow_duck_censored_in_china_sina_weibo_bans_phrases_on_tiananmen_square.html |author= Jennifer Lai |publisher= The Slate |date=4 June 2013 |accessdate=21 April 2018}}</ref> are not allowed on Sina Weibo. Posts on politically sensitive topics are deleted after manual checking.

Sina Weibo is believed to employ a distributed, heterogeneous strategy for censorship that has a great amount of defense-in-depth, which ranges from keyword list filtering to individual user monitoring. Nearly 30% of the total deletion events occur within 5–30 minutes, and nearly 90% of the deletions happen within the first 24 hours.<ref>{{cite arXiv |last=Zhu |first=Tao |title= The Velocity of Censorship: High-Fidelity Detection of Microblog Post Deletions |eprint= 1303.0597 |author2= Phipps, Pridgen |author3= Crandall, Wallach |date= 4 March 2013|class=cs.CY }}</ref>

On 9 March 2010, the posts by Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei at Sina Weibo to appeal for information on the 2008 Sichuan earthquake going public were deleted and his account was closed by the site administrator. Attempts to register accounts with usernames alluding to Ai Weiwei were blocked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2010/03/201003101526.shtml|title=著名艺术家艾未未挑战新浪微博的网络审查|date=10 March 2010|publisher=Boxun.com|accessdate=26 October 2011}}</ref> On 30 March 2010, Hong Kong singer Gigi Leung blogged about the jailed Zhao Lianhai, an activist and father to a [[Chemistry:2008 Chinese milk scandal|2008 Chinese milk scandal]] victim; that post was also deleted by an administrator shortly thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=20100401&sec_id=4104&subsec_id=12731&art_id=13884022|title=遭勒令刪去內地微博文章 撐維權爸爸 貼文抱不平 梁詠琪被河蟹了|date=1 April 2010|website=Apple Daily|accessdate=1 April 2010}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-35C06KOi4 Video News]</ref>

On 16 March 2012, all users of Sina Weibo in Beijing were told to register with their real names.<ref>{{cite news|title=China's Sina Weibo microblog nears identity deadline |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17337252 | publisher=BBC News | date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

Starting on 31 March 2012, the comment function of Sina Weibo was shut down for three days, along with [[Software:Tencent QQ|Tencent QQ]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/asia/china-shuts-down-web-sites-after-coup-rumors.html | work= The New York Times | title = Coup Rumors Spur China to Hem in Social Networking Sites | date=31 March 2012 | first=Ian | last=Johnson}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/world/asia/china-microblog-commenting-restored.html | work=The New York Times | title=China: Microblog Commenting Restored | date=4 April 2012}}</ref>

In May 2012, Sina Weibo introduced new restrictions on the content its users can post.<ref>[http://rthk.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20120529/news_20120529_56_843891.htm New restrictions on blogging site]. Rthk.hk (29 May 2012). Retrieved 9 August 2013.</ref>

In October 2012, Sina Weibo heavily censored discussion of the [[Company:Foxconn|Foxconn]] strikes in October 2012.<ref>[https://twitter.com/jniccolai/status/254320132061528064 Twitter / jniccolai: Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo]. Twitter. Retrieved 9 August 2013.</ref>

On 4 June 2013, Sina Weibo blocked the terms "Today," "Tonight," "June 4," and "Big Yellow Duck." If a user searched using these terms, a message would appear stating that according to relevant laws, statutes and policies, the results of the search couldn't be shown. This censorship was implemented because a photoshopped version of Tank Man which swapped all tanks in the photo with the sculpture Rubber Duck had been circulating on Twitter.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/censored-in-china-today-tonight-and-big-yellow-duck/?smid=tw-share | work=The New York Times | title=Censored in China: ‘Today,' ‘Tonight' and ‘Big Yellow Duck' | date=4 June 2013}}</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/RichardBuangan/status/341595028948385792 Twitter / RichardBuangan: Chinese netizens 1, Chinese]. Twitter. Retrieved 9 August 2013.</ref>

According to a BBC news report, the decreasing number of users since 2014 can be attributed both to the crackdown by the Chinese government on the use of aliases to create accounts and to the rising threat from competitor [[Software:WeChat|WeChat]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-31598865| publisher= BBC News| title=Is Weibo on the way out?| date=24 February 2015}}</ref>

On 8 September 2017, Weibo gave an ultimatum to its users to verify their accounts with their real names by 15 September.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2110400/chinas-twitter-weibo-orders-users-register-their-real| work= Southern China Morning Post| title=China's Twitter-like Weibo orders users to register their real names| date=8 September 2017}}</ref>

On 18 February 2018, Sina Weibo provided a 'Comment moderation' function for both head users and official members. Comments received after opening this feature will not be displayed immediately, instead requiring approval from moderators. Users can utilize this feature to avoid illegal content appearing in their comment section.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.youth.cn/sh/201803/t20180301_11455301.htm|title=新浪微博向会员用户开放评论审核 实现先审后放_新闻频道_中国青年网|last=青网新闻赵瑛|website=news.youth.cn|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref>

On 11 June 2020, the Cybersecurity Administration of China ordered Weibo to suspend its "trending topics" page for a week. The CAC accused Weibo of "dissemination of illegal information".<ref>{{Cite web|title=China’s answer to Twitter ordered to freeze its trending topics|url=https://www.abacusnews.com/china-tech-city/chinas-answer-twitter-ordered-freeze-its-trending-topics/article/3088589|access-date=2020-06-14|website=Abacus}}</ref>

==Promotions==
===Weibo Paid Ads===
Average organic post view is around 10% – 15% on Weibo. To attract more followers, there are 3 types of paid ads options available:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wowdownthiswall.com/2016/07/14/weibo-advertising/|title=Weibo Advertising 2017 – A Guide For Weibo Paid Promotion|last=Time|first=Beijing|date=14 July 2016|website=WOW DOWN THIS WALL|access-date=23 August 2017}}</ref>
# '''Sponsored Post:''' Promotes to current followers and/or potential followers.
# '''Weibo Tasks:''' Allows advertisers to pay for other accounts to repost, which in turn reach target audiences.
# '''Fensi Tong (粉丝通)''': The most well known paid advertising option on Weibo; allows more specific targeting options, including interests, gender, location and devices. Advertisers can choose between CPM (cost per mille; 0.5CNY per thousand exposure) and CPC (cost per engagement; 0.5CNY per effective engagement). Companies or organizations often use Fensitong and pay well-known Sina Weibo users (usually those with more than 1 million followers) to advertise to their followers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.konvertigo.io/blog/digital-marketing-china-sina-weibo|title=Digital marketing in China: Sina Weibo {{!}} konvertigo.io|website=konvertigo.io|access-date=16 March 2018}}</ref>

===Livery airplane===
On 8 June 2011, Tianjin Airlines unveiled an Embraer E-190 jet in special Sina Weibo [[Engineering:Livery|livery]] and named it "Sina Weibo plane" (新浪微博号). It is the first commercial airplane to be named after a website in China.<ref>{{cite web|title=新浪微博号彩绘飞机亮相 |url=http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/nz/weiboaircraft/index.shtml}}</ref>

===Villarreal CF===
In January 2012, Sina Weibo also announced that they would be sponsoring Spanish football club Villarreal CF in its match with FC Barcelona, to increase its fanbase in China.<ref>{{cite web|title=Villarreal Features Sina Weibo Sponsorship Against Barcelona|url=http://wildeastfootball.net/2012/01/villarreal-features-sina-weibo-sponsorship-against-barcelona/}}</ref>

===CCTV 2018 New Year's Gala===
On 5 February 2018, Weibo officially announced that it will become the exclusive partner of the New Media Social Platform of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 2018 to attract more Chinese people worldwide to use Weibo.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/2018-02-05/doc-ifyreyvz9181505.shtml?_zbs_baidu_bk|title=微博成为央视春晚新媒体社交平台独家合作伙伴|publisher=Sina Corp|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref>

==Statistics==
===Sina Weibo's official accounts===
# Weibo's Secretary: 194,144,293
# Weibo's Service Center: 180,564,151
# Weibo's Staff: 155,444,287

===Most popular accounts (individuals)===
As of 19 April 2019, the following ten individuals managed the most popular accounts (name handle in parentheses) and the number of followers:

# Xie Na (xiena): 125,742,516
# He Jiong (hejiong): 120,013,900
# Yang Mi (yangmiblog): 107,601,756
# Angelababy (realangelababy): 102,212,814
# Chen Kun (chenkun): 93,456,957
# Zhao Liying (zhaoliying): 86,690,864
# Vicky Zhao (zhaowei): 85,650,051
# Jackson Yee (yiyangqianxi): 84,620,416
# Yao Chen (yaochen): 83,811,714
# Deng Chao (dengchao): 80,972,525

===Record-setting posts===
On 13 September 2013, the unverified handle "veggieg" (widely believed to be Faye Wong) posted a message suggesting that she had divorced her husband. The message was commented and re-posted more than a million times in four hours. The record was broken on 31 March 2014 by Wen Zhang, who posted a long apology admitting an extramarital affair when his wife Ma Yili was pregnant with their second child. This message was commented and re-posted more than 2.5&nbsp;million times in 10 hours. (Ma's response generated 2.18&nbsp;million responses in 12 hours.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://huabianshe.baijia.baidu.com/article/9897|script-title=zh:文章道歉声明刷新微博互动记录|date=7 March 2014|accessdate=1 April 2014|language=zh}}</ref> On 22 June 2014, TFBOYS member Wang Junkai was awarded a Guinness World Record title for a Weibo post that was reposted 42,776,438 times.<ref>{{Cite web|title = TFBoys star Wang Junkai sets social media record as millions repost Weibo update|url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2015/6/lead-singer-wang-junkai-of-chinese-boyband-tfboys-gets-record-breaking-number-of-386087|accessdate = 9 August 2015}}</ref> Luhan holds the Guinness World Record for most comments.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Asian star LUHAN sets the record for most comments on a Weibo post|url = http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/8/chinese-star-luhan-sets-the-record-for-most-comments-on-a-weibo-post-59720/|accessdate = 7 October 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Social:Tencent Weibo|Tencent Weibo]]
* [[Social:FreeWeibo|FreeWeibo]] – the uncensored and anonymous version of Sina Weibo, operated by an unaffiliated third party

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
** [http://tw.weibo.com/ Weibo Taiwan] {{in lang|zh-tw}}
** [https://www.weibo.com/mobile Mobile edition] {{in lang|zh}}

{{Microblogging}}
{{Online social networking}}

[[Category:Mobile applications]]
[[Category:Microblogging]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sina Weibo|1}}