Sina Weibo is a Chinese micro-blog network like Twitter. It has the nickname “scarf” because “weibo” which means microblog also has the same Chinese pronounciation as “scarf”. According to the research from SIG, the number of  the registered accounts reached 15 million to 20 million in the first half of 2010.

Similar to Twitter there is a 140 character limit on Weibo but when using Chinese characters this allows for a bit more content. Users can also share photos, videos and music in posts. The background can be customized and users can add up to 10 phrases as their tags, through which they can find friends with same hobbies or interests.

Weibo updates can be displayed on several blog sites (Sina blog, NetEase blog, Qzone, WordPress, Blogbus). In addition, users can also tie Sina Microblog with instant messengers like MSN, Gtalk, UC and QQ.  Recently Sina Microblog has cooperated with Kaixin001 and 139.com, which means Weibo posts can be synchronized withKaixin001 and 139.com.

Top 5 Weibo Must-follows:

1. Yao Chen, a famous actress, became the first Weibo user to have more than 1 million followers on February 10, 2010. It is interesting that Yao Chen is not the top actress in China but she is very popular among Chinese young netizen. Her posts center around her daily life and fans perhaps like her so much because she interactions a lot with normal users.
2. 小S, A top hostess in Taiwan, is famous for her bold talk. Now she and her older sister 大S are both the top Weibo’ers. People like to watch her interact with other actors and actresses.
3. Zhao Wei, Another famous actress, became the second user with more than 1 million fans on March 10, 2010. She is a frank person which is why people follow her.
4. Cai kangyong is a top host in Taiwan. His TV show with 小S is really very popular. People follow him not only because his interaction between 大S and 小S, but also because he always write something about love and society, which ease people’s heart.
      

5. 黄健翔 is one of the best-known sports commentators. Huang Jian Xiang is the first media star on Sina Weibo and has posted a lot. At one point because he forwarded (retweeted) too many items, many people complained he was a photocopier and even stopped his Sina Microblogger for a while. Recently he’s become popular again.
   

BONUS:  Li kaifu is the first business user who has fans more than 1 million followers. He announced news that he would leave Google and set up his own business, which gave Sina Weibo a lot of press.

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