Radical change

Unlike traditional official websites, microblogs allow a person to put in a key sentence of a story on them, attached to a website link. Viewers can get a rough idea about the main story, and, if they are interested in the detail, a simple click will bring up the full article.

After all, as an ordinary user, it's impossible to check out four or five microblog accounts at one time. In the end, the attention of users tends to focus on just one or two.

I don't often use Sina's microblog service, but I do check out the website once in a while to find out what media people and financial commentators are saying about the latest company news and market trends.

The so-called Web 2.0 era has radically changed how people use the Internet. No longer do they have to be passive in receiving news. Instead, anyone with a computer or a mobile phone can become a news source.

Domestic web users have quickly embraced new platforms such as Kaixin and Sina's microblog, which are similar to their United States counterparts Facebook and Twitter. Now with smartphones and relatively cheap connection fees to the wireless Internet, updates from all over the world can be seen from a single monitor.

For big and unexpected events, smartphones allow ordinary viewers to take photos at the scene where something dramatic is happening and upload them to a microblog. Live broadcasts are no longer the exclusive realm of TV and radio stations.

Sina is now allowing users to log onto its blog platform and instant-messaging tool UC using an MSN ID.

In the near future, MSN users will be able to see the latest updates of their friends on the microblog and chat with MSN contacts on the platform whenever they're online.

According to Liu Zhenyu, manager of MSN China, the company is seeking to use an open platform called Messenger Connect to put together user-generated content on other websites and allow contacts on MSN Messengers to see one another's updates.

Although MSN looks to be lagging behind QQ in market share of active Internet-messaging users, it has a relatively high-quality user base drawn largely from white-collar workers in China's biggest cities.

"Although we don't have the largest instant-messenger user base, we focus on the high-end and valuable opinion leaders, so advertisers will surely be willing to pay more," MSN China's Liu said.

The Messenger Connect platform saves users the trouble of checking multiple websites to see updates from their friends.

It would be only natural for users to search for interesting news after a mention from a friend, and instant messaging is the easiest way to do that.

Sina Vice President Peng Shaobin said his company's microblog, which started trial operations in August 2009, had 50 million registered users by the end of October.

Twitter, by contrast, had about 175 million users by August.

On Tuesday, Sina established an industry alliance to support third-party software developers who provide value-added services to microblog users.

The initial 200 million yuan (US$30.3 million) investment will be funded by private-equity investors, including Sequoia Capital, IDG and former Google China head Kaifu Lee's new venture Innovation Works. Sina will contribute 100 million yuan.

Software developers will receive 70 percent of the income from value-added services, while Sina will take the remainder, according to Peng.

"Part of Sina and MSN China services overlap, and both sides are working very hard toward an open platform that lays a solid foundation for our collaboration," Sina's Chief Operating Officer Du Hong told a media briefing when the partnership was announced .

Sina CEO Charles Chao said the firm is still working on potential advertising models so the microblog will have solid revenue next year. He said the goal is to make the microblog the company's biggest revenue source.

Sina is more focused on building its user base and platform, Chao added.

Marketing will be critical in raising user awareness and achieving that goal. But there's no doubt that the new partners are already way ahead of their rivals.

The next big challenge is to keep and enhance that momentum.

Read more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=454986&type=Business&page=2#ixzz15iEJ2myP