Oops, Twitter is blocked in China.

When searching for social media news online, I unintentionally typed “social media news in China.” I’m curious to know what’s happening to Chinese social media, as I keep exploring the power of social media tools in the class. Not surprisingly, I found news titled China puts more blocks on social media and it stated that social networking websites such as Twitter and some Chinese miniblogging websites are shut down. So I sent a message to a friend in China and asked her to check if the news was true. Unfortunately, Twitter is blocked but the Chinese blogging websites are still working. As a matter of fact, I learned at the beginning of the first summer session that Twitter has entered China and has become a communication tool on the ground. I was skeptical at that time about how far Twitter can go in China, because it shares a core value with Facebook: free information flow. And usually, this kind of website won’t exist long. Facebook and YouTube have been long blocked in the country. And now it’s Twitter. However, every time when these websites are shut down, Chinese can always find some substitutes. For instance, a website called Ren Ren Wang (or People’s Network) has become a Chinese version of Facebook, and Youku.com and Tudou.com are replacement of YouTube. So I won’t feel surprised when a Chinese website similar to Twitter appears in the near future. But so far, no tweets and retweets; no followers and no people to follow.

For the news report, please visit http://www.techeye.net/internet/china-puts-more-blocks-on-social-media-report.