Anatomy Of New Sina Weibo, Is It More Than a Microblogging Site?

Whether you like it or not, Sina finally rolled out the new look of its Weibo to a small group of users. Like other typical Chinese web site, the page is now fully packed with menus, information and links. For the readers who are interested in the new layout but don’t read Chinese, here is the anatomy of the new Weibo. I don’t think it makes much sense to company it with the Twitter any more, but you probably can have some sense that if Sina Weibo is more than a microblogging site, i.e. is it evolving to a social network?

Layout – The page is re-designed and now has three column instead of the original two to give more space for more content and features.

Online Chat – the most interesting feature the new version brought in is the Online Chat. Just like Facebook online chat, user now is able to see which friends (Note, Friends here mean you two follow each other) are currently online on Weibo and chat with them. The conversation is saved as the direct messages;

Sina Apps – Like other social network site, Sina now list its own apps on the left column to give better exposure. Photo, Music, Events, Vote etc, obviously Sina has developed all the standard features for social networks by its own.

Third-party Apps – the third-party apps user has been using are listed on the left column too. Sina wants to better promote its open platform which hopefully can be the cash machine to bring Sina Weibo to the real success. Remember, that’s how Facebook started with.

Plaza – Sina Weibo is growing very fast in terms of the number of users and the amount of content generated. A good mechanism to push the interesting users and content to the users is getting important. In addition to Hot Topics and Recommended Users on the main page, Sina Weibo also has a Plaza which is the place you can find all sorts of featured content and users.

At last, Sina Weibo’s virtual currency, Weibi is now listed in My Account. On Weibi page, you can check the mini-games in which you can buy virtual stuff with Weibi, your purchase history and add credit etc.

Related posts:

1. Sina Weibo Virtual Currency Information Leaked, One Weibi is Worth One Yuan
2. Sina Weibo Took Back The Account Called MicroCoin, Might Launch Its Virtual Currency In May
3. Sina Weibo Will Launch Virtual Currency Next Monday

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Tokyo’s Long-Standing Club “Harlem” Produces Old-School Hip Hip Social Game

The long standing club in Shibuya "HARLEM" [J] has produced the hip hop themed social game "Battle HIPHOP!!! HARLEM." [J]  Service began on Mobage for Japan.

"Battle HIPHOP!!! HARLEM," developed by Alchemia, [J] is the first hip hop social game in the country, based on the creative production of the established soul music club "HARLEM."

The basic structure is an avatar battle game in which the user selects their favorite of three occupations: DJ, dancer, and rapper, and levels up by changing their avatar’s look with various fashion items. In addition to social game users, the game also appeals to young people who like hip hop music and fashion, and the company estimates that over 500,000 users will join.

Translation licensed by VSMedia

Tokyo’s Long-Standing Club “Harlem” Produces Old-School Hip Hip Social Game

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