Reply to Clarke about social implications of the Chinese social media platforms

The Renren concept of the food print is the magnified version of the Facebook because it explores further the central theme of social networking sites—voyeurism and exhibitionism of the self. To keep tag on who has made the effort to “step” on your profile and the regularity of the visit is an important interpersonal clue about this person’s interest in your personal life and the level of association he or she wants to have with you. The Facebook definitely caters more to the American tradition of the need for privacy and comfortable personal distance, whereas Renren revolves around the mechanism of “peeking” aspect of the footprint function.

 

And specifically in resonse to Clarke’s comment about Weibo’s usage being a social media platform versus a mass politicization tool, I want to clarify further about the weibo platform. You are absolutely right in that anything remotely resemble "aiweiwei" would be censored the moment it is posted. However, the high speed rail debacle in fact is a very politicized issue. It is beyond corruption and the lack of judgment, but reflects the deeper discontent and social unrest of the Chinese public. The problems of unaffordable housing, hiking CPI prices, and the lack of upward social mobility all contributed to the massive outcry from the public after the rail crash. And the weibo became the platform in which these outcries are communicated and expressed. Despite weibo's many imperfections and close monitoring by the government(as all media outlets are in China), it is nevertheless the new and only public sphere in China for expression. The momentum that is building on Weibo, where many public comments about socio-political issues including public officials’ children getting around the law and the unjustifiable government budgetary probing, is slowly elevating—and I believe it is powerful enough to force the Chinese government to consider alternative regulatory changes and fulfill the public demand for justice in order to stay in power.