Human Flesh Search Engine: Weibo

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Weibo

I made a Weibo account this morning to "try" to see if I can locate microblog posts on my own without having to go through already-translated western media sources to find out what's going on over on the Chinese internet.

As I began to set up my profile, I noticed the tabbed section on the top "广场" (Public Square), an area to keep up with latest trends and news (like Twitter). I just found this very intriguing because it relates to my research where I related the HFSE and crowd-sourcing in China to public squares and Big Character Posters of the Cultural Revolution - public areas in villages and towns where citizens would read up on the news and postings about recent denunciations.

Anyway, if you have a Weibo account, follow me: 柯文森212.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is Human Flesh Search?

Human Flesh Search (HFS) is a recent, unique phenomenon on the Chinese internet. Comprising thousands of forum, entertainment, and social media websites and mobilizing the overwhelming number of Chinese internet users, HFS is able to quickly find obscure information and identify seemingly anonymous internet personalities. Through clever investigative work, online vigilantes hunt down an individual's identity with the goal of bringing about "justice" - often getting the individual fired, shamed, or simply punished. Those exposed through the search engine lose all anonymity, with personal information displayed to people all over the world. On the other hand, those who seek and reveal this information have the luxury to hide behind aliases. As the internet in China continues to expand and become accessible to a wider net of the Chinese population, it is argued that the power of HFS will need to be reined in.

Contact

If you would like to contact me for any reason, or have come across a relevant article or piece of research on the subject matter, please feel free to e-mail me.

Email: vincentcapone@gmail.com

----------------------

This blog is used solely for the purpose of extending my academic research beyond conventional means and to keep readers and myself up to date with the evolution and growth in the academic subject matter. No material is used for commercial gain.

If you feel something is posted on this blog that shouldn't be, or you feel that the blog author has infringed on copyright then please e-mail the address above to have the content taken down.