Micro-blogging and Its Potential
Li Pan, Alex Mou, Livid, Carol Lin, Jiwai.de, Fanfou Team
(btw Fanfou is the Chinese version of Twitter(.com)
Moderator Li Pan
-Microblogging took off early this year
-Twitter is more, really, ‘what are you doing right now?’
But Fanfou is much more closer to a personal mini-blog
We keep from using the word blogger,
Learning from Twitter
A lot of people just need a space to put a few lines every now and then, and associate
A great place to both:
-share information
-mix with friends
The most important point of microblogging, is letting others (or yourself :p) know what you are up to, at any given time.
——
One thing work keeping in mind with microblogging, is the value of what’s being written
Why microblogging is also social networking, strangers often come across what you write
And become ‘friends’
If they like what they see
——
On twitter/fanfou, what often happens is people will add someone they see a previous friend add first
It’s a good opportunity
But could you in theory then get 150 friends without even talking to them?
——-
People have their own judgement
On who to add
Just because I add you doesn’t mean we’re friends
[moving on to another topic]
…
[back to it, via Alex Mou]
What’s key, he says, is being able to differentiate between friends, good friends, family etc.
How to reconcile posting and flooding your friends with {..}
Taiwan’s Bubble(.com?) (Babu) has a feature to choose who sees what
In Taiwan, there’s a trend for friends to be split btwn Babu.com and Twitter…not clear why?
From what Alex Mou is saying now, it seems this could be related to Babu’s choice of selective posting
What’s even more important, he says, for the Mainland, is that it would cost me about 1yuan per message if I were able to get my cellphone connected to my Twitter account.
China’s different
‘How many people actually post to their microblog via SMS?’, asks the moderator
Adding that during these two days, there is a number people can use to ask any questions or reflect any issues, just send an SMS
THe number is in yuor conference package
China Mobile: 9911-8816-103
Unicom: 93188-816-103
——-
Carol Lin:
As a personal user,
When I get so many followers
I can’t help but become a kind of media
And certain users are becoming known
Isaac Mao’s twitter has been recommended somewhere in foreign press
If u watch one, Isaac’s is it
Carol has been approached by certain companies
To give them some promotion
——-
Can you make money off your personal Twitter/Fanfou if you are a heavy user/oft-read?
——-
Talking about sending photos to your microblog
MMS?
There is a way, not sure who provides it…Jiwai.de?
Alex Mou‘s company offers 30 cents/MMS
——
We have a message here via SMS, but it’s being delivered the old-fashioned way.
1) @the speakers, to BSPs in attendance, how to adapt to include microblogs?
2) How to make money off your microblog?
Carol Lin is responding
As a Fanfou user, she blocks people that flood her feed
And frequently uses her cellphone to post to her fanfou, and notices information occasionally disappears
Fanfou’s rep is saying they have problems with certain phone companies
Alex Mou offers one way to integrate a traditional blog with microblogging, sharing what you write on the former (longer) with your friends on the latter (short and quick)
Of course many people like Isaac mainly give links not just their own other blogs, but to links of interest
On making money off microblogging… (let’s ask Zola how he makes money :[ )
------
A question is being passed around now to reps of the various Chinese micro blogs:
From Zola: Would you be willing to let your services be integrated with other microblogs/competitors, be more interactive?
Can't hear Zola who has not been given a microphone...appears he's complaining about current services
Jiwai.de says that most micro blogs provide APIs (I think) and this could be done separately
Five more minutes
Something lost has been found
Someone speaking in Beijing dialect... 
Seems he's asking what the difference between 'add' and 'follow' on Twitter is.
And within 'Add', the difference between all your friends seeing it this new person's feed in yours when they view it (yours), or just yourself? (I think)
Alex Mou relates '@' to being in a chatroom, chatting in 'open chat' mode vs. 'private chat'
So this would be in reference to the functions within microblogging where one can send a private message which only the sender and recipient can view, similar to e-mail, or a public message (@feng37) which—and this seems was the first part of the question, who can see the public messages (@[username])?
During the session a cellphone documentary Carol filmed with Twitter users in Taiwan was shown, how they send in their messages via cellphone. 11:15, session ends.