Between Disorder
and Enlightenment,
or Even Beyond It?
Dr. Shishi Fang
School of Journalism
Fudan University
6th August 2014
Tampere, Finland
The Significance of Knowledge
Production on Chinese Social
Media Sina Weibo
We make
tools,
You make
them do.
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
The Rise of
Problem:
Suspend
Comments!
On 31st March 2012,
300 million Sina Weibo
users were officially
informed that they were
forbidden to comment on
any information on Weibo
during the next 3 days.
What is the
matter? And
how to
understand it?
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Research Perspective and the Method
— Sociology of knowledge as a theoretical perspective
—Fragmentations VS the Whole Existence
—The spread of rumor
—Solve the problem of Functionalism
— the researcher’s hidden point of view and the social power
— theorize the a-theoretical things
— Questions
— What was the social context when Sina Weibo was born in China?
— What is construction of Sina Weibo?
— What is the policy on China’s social media?
— Do social media effect the power distribution in Chinese society?
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Analysis Frame
Social Context
The Objective Meaning
Media Structure
Technology
The Expressive Meaning
Policy and Regulations
Media Habits
Behavior Analysis
The Documentary Meaning
Power Redistribution
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Socialized Mass
Media: the
communicating
position of Sina
Weibo
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
The Panorama of Social Media in China
What is the
differences
between the two?
Source from: http://www.cr-nielsen.com/marketing/201203/26-1991.html.
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
—Social media focus on
the information
dissemination through
the mass
—Social networks focus
on interpersonal
communication and
group communication
The meaning of
“Social Media”
And “Social
Network Site” (SNS)
in China
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
2012 The Usage of Social Media in the World (million)
Social
Media
Face book
Sina
Weibo
Twitter
G+
Tencent
Weibo
Pinterest
Registered
Account
900
317
500
-
425
-
Active
Account
845
129
127
90
67
21
The Functional differences between Sina Weibo and Twitter
Functions
Characters
Long Weibo
Comment
Forward
Forward and
Comment
Sina Weibo
140 Chinese
Characters
Yes
Display All
Display All
Yes
Twitter
140 English
words
No
Display top
5
Display 50+
No
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
The Social
Context and
Media Structure
of Sina Weibo
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Internet laws
and
regulations
Weibo Community Policy
Weibo.com
Twitter
Functions
Media Weibo
Individuals
Sina Web Portal
V Group
Government
Official Agency
Weibo
SNS Construction
Sina Celebrity
Blog
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Knowledge
Generation,
Communication
and Fermentation
on Sina Weibo
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
The Complaint
The Technology Support
The Veiled Sarcasm
The Statement
As a record of
behavior and an
expression of the
worldview, we need
to combine the social
context and history
the two dimensions
to understand this
particular knowledge.
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Therefore, the flow of speech on Sina Weibo is
neither completely irrational chaos nor as
beautiful as depicted like another Enlightenment.
—Firstly, the confrontations of mutual discourses on Sina Weibo make
people access to critical thinking about China's state and government
system.
—Secondly, although people on Weibo gabble a lot, the government
uses the ban to warn that the so-called freedom of speech is only a
limited freedom.
—Thirdly, people get to know more clearly that the right to speak is still
the goal for the Chinese society to fight for.
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Findings and
Conclusion
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
—As Chinese largest social media, Sina Weibo achieves its
media position as a “socialized mass media” and should fulfill
its responsibility.
—The discourse practice on Sina Weibo is neither irrational
disordered chaos nor the optimistic Enlightenment, but to
some extent a mixed state between the two.
—The documentary meaning of this discourse practice is that
through such a mixed behavior, we can synthesize some
worldview (Weltanschauung) about modern China:
—People begin to have some sense of criticism
—The media both the mass media and the social media are
still under the control of the government
—Power of communication is chasing by different social
forces.
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
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The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
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The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo
Acknowledgements!
The Knowledge Production on Chinese Social Media Sina Weibo