Chacebook, Chitter, ChouTube and Choogle; China Copy the West to Become the Best.

One must look at China without Western goggles to understand that because it has no Facebook, it doesn’t automatically mean that the country has no social media networks. It, like Syria, Iran and North Korea, doesn’t like to have the West corrupt or alter the minds of its citizens. I think China wants the economic benefits of being global, but wants none of the global culture that could come with it. It does however have a Chinese version of Facebook, which is called Ren Ren. It has a different version of all the social media we have, but its own copycat Chinese version. The Chinese government are smart in that sense. This means they can monitor and manipulate the 2.0 servers and keep its 'Netizen's happy. If the Chinese government did not compromise with its citizens on social media it would prompt revolt, activism and hactivism. Also, despite the censorship that occurs on their social media, there is ways to get around it, slang or memes being one. So there is censorship, but not enough of it too muffle the voices of the masses. Basically China has all the freedoms we have, but the 'Netizens' need to be a lot more covert about what they say and do.

“In addition to having the world’s biggest Internet user base—513 million people, more than double the 245 million users in the United States —China also has the world’s most active environment for social media. More than 300 million people use it, from blogs to social-networking sites to micro blogs and other online communities. That’s roughly equivalent to the combined population of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In addition, China’s online users spend more than 40 percent of their time online on social media, a figure that continues to rise rapidly”, (McKinsey Quarterly, 2012). The regime, by allowing the Internet to be accessed, has allowed citizens to talk amongst themselves and has probably acknowledged that they cannot successfully monitor and censor 500 million users. China's regime has halted Western influence, but it has an unstoppable force in the ranks; the enlightened intelligence of its youth. China not only has the biggest social media scene in the world, but they also take on board what other Netizens comment on. “An independent survey of moisturiser purchasers, for example, observed that 66 percent of Chinese consumers relied on recommendations from friends and family, compared with 38 percent of their US counterparts” (McKinsey Quarterly, 2012). Therefore Chinese are relying less on the traditional media's opinion whilst paying close attention to opinions of others on social media.

I discovered something very interesting about myself when I started to read about China. My Western head was saying, “oh the poor Chinese, they are being told what to do, what to read and being censored by dictators that want their people kept in the dark.” Then I stood back for a minute or ten and thought,” wait a second, without knowing it I have been subconsciously circumnavigated towards using Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.” The genius of Western society  is that they make it look like we have all these freedoms and choices, yet here we are using one search engine, one social media site, one audio visual site, one phone micro blogging service. So we have freedom, but that freedom is of hegemonic design, not a bourgeois one. Also up until the Internet, I was receiving Rupert  Murdoch’s foot soldiers, (aka, journalists), views of the world. Now I can choose from thousands of journalists, writers and bloggers from around the globe.One interesting and coinciding occurrence is happening in both the East and West, we are all discovering the power of social media with trial and error. For example, Chinese teenagers are discovering themselves through their big social media experiences, something they couldn't do in the past. Australians that had a lot of access to self discovery, seem to be recoiling and relying on these digital realms for escape.

I don’t know if China is leading the way with social media, but they are gaining more benefits from  it than us in the West. Consumers seem to be very proactive on these sites and their local economies are thriving.“The Chinese populace is sceptical of information from news sources and advertising; people rely more on word-of-mouth from friends, family, and key opinion leaders, many of whom share information on social media” (Silverman, Lin, Chui, 2012). When we buy on the Internet, the product could come from anywhere, but Chinese tend to buy Chinese; the reverse dream of Dick Smith. Also, if there is any form of corruption or illicit elitist behaviour the micro blogs can create enough stir that the regime has to listen. While here in Australia I think we use social media for quasi socialising, narcissism and self-serving material gains, I think China use it for resisting repression, discovering an individual self-identity and strengthening the society both economically and spiritually. There will be Government interference naturally, but you cannot stop a flood with bamboo floodgates. Although I believe in total freedom with the Internet and social media, I am not in the position to judge the way China are introducing it's citizens to this new modern phenomenon. Nobody knows the limits and repercussions of social media and it is probably a good thing that different cultures take on different approaches to it. In 5-10 years maybe a combination of the East and the Wests involvement in social media will be the global blue print for all.

                                   More proof of china's social media growth

References

Anti, M 2011, 'Behind the great firewall of China', TedTalks viewed 20 May 2013 http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_anti_behind_the_great_firewall_of_china.html

Chiu, C, Lin, D and Silverman, A 2012, 'China's social-media boom', McKinsey and Company, viewed 20 May 2013, <http://www.mckinseychina.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/McKinsey-Chinas-Social-Media-Boom.pdf

Youtube- How social media is changing China and Asia, 2013, viewed on May 23 May, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG3z2ucaR6A

Images

Image 1. http://africanboots.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/China-painting-over-American-flag-280x242.jpg

Image 2. http://ww1.sinaimg.cn/large/6f449937jw1disvvn6lc3j.jpg 

Image 3. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qnmVs_4fibt7qo2Bs2OjSTbkSvw-hDBswxIuEIElioyVFYOU6GWNuBNU-7VmnHPuYu5eocsKg9410twx8XpLAQI0dbjeeDj2aDC-mvG4-Sj3QYIT2GBTqsYxRG9HCas1SDkrYbkmSjs/s1600/SocialMediaRevolutionChinaSM.jpg 

Video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XudtH27BE-I