Global social media: case study China
It has been said that the citizens of China are missing out of the social media revolution, due to their government blocking access to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media users in China exceed users in Australia and other countries. This is because of the crazy demand China has for media platforms. They are insanely popular! The government in China has absolute control over the internet and is otherwise know as 'The great firewall of China.' 'Social media is exploding worldwide, and China is leading the way. A new McKinsey survey of 5,700 Internet users in China has found that 95 percent of them who live in Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities are registered on a social-media site;1 in addition, the country has by far the worldâs most active social-media population...'Â
There is a huge amount of 532,000,000 people in China using instant messaging services such as Facebook messenger and as this usage grows, so too does the size of the government censors, site monitors and pro-government users. People who have this elite job to ensure 'The great firewall of China' is doing its job makes sure the government is cast in a positive light. There is an estimated 50,000 workforce dedicated to this process. This in turn creates huge employment opportunities over in China all dedicated to keep a lid on Social Media platforms. (Thomas Crampton 2011) explains, 'YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are blocked in China, but their Chinese equivalents are expanding. By some measures, usage of Chinese social media is some of the most intense in the world.'
My exact thought is why China and why they have such strict laws against social media platforms when Australia does not...There are many factors that intentionally drive China to be against social media platforms. 'These include rural-to-urban migration that has separated families, the loneliness of the one-child generation, and a distrust of information from government-controlled media.' (Crampton 2011)
References
Chiu, C, Lin, D & Silverman, A 2012, China's social-media boom, McKinsey & Company, viewed 24 September 2014, <http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/chinas_social-media_boom>.
Crampton, T 2011, 'Social media in China: The same, but differen't, China Business Review, Vol. 38, no. 1, pp 28-31, viewed 24 September 2014, <http://www.thomascrampton.com/china/social-media-china-business-review/>.









