On September 15, 2005, a female student “Chen Yi” in Southwest University post an article “Sell myself to rescue my mother” in Tianya community with an anonymous ID, to seek for fund-raising to save her mother suffering from serious illness. From large-scale donation to insider disclosure, in less than a moth’s time, the incident was known as top social news, CCTV, Phoenix TV, Southern Weekly, as well as numerous local media carried out follow-up reports. After then, Tianya also consolidated its leading position of online communities in mainland China.
However, since that accident, people began to consider the social influence of Tianya. Actually, the controversy between Tianya, these online communities and traditional news organizations have never stopped in mainland China.
The internet is developing from web 1.0 one-way message to more personalized and interactive web 2.0 (Web 1.0 & Web 2.0). In the process, online community gradually became the focus of information and technology innovation. Actually, the development of the online community has brought a lot of inspiration for the new information gathering channels on the internet. Compared with the traditional media, online community, as a communication platform for lots of ordinary internet users, represents the potential influence of grass-roots cultural in China.
According to China Online Social Network Research Report 2007, conducted by Comsenz and Iresearch. There are 45.3% online community in China built in 2007, almost as twice as many compared with last year. In china, there are about 5 million readers in these famous online communities, such as Tianya and MOP, however, only 500 are the power users, who will take charge of publishing the news and upload the videos. Although the quantity is not so much, they are the main force to decide the quality of information and guarantee enough news recourses in the community. Besides, about 50,000 active users supply the comments and reactions everyday. And the others are about 3 million readers wandering among different website to search the information they need. Therefore, how to motivate the power users and how to attract more new readers become the key to develop as an good online community. Especially, nowadays, the increasing threaten come from the new communication system, such as Blog and Face book, and the traditional Web 1.0 websites successfully transform to Web 2.0 multimedia era, such as Sina and Sohu. To find its unique position in the internet, the online community have to learn from others’ strong points to offset its weakness.
Based on the Iresearch 2007 report statistics, the most important function of online community is a exchange platform for people share information with common interests. It is just the advantages for online community, which could get together groups of users with special interests, at the same time, it could easily enlarge its influence the other potential users in this particular group. Therefore, people’s recommendation has became the most significant extending method for online community in the internet.
However, only recommendation is not enough. Compared with the traditional media, regarding the search engine system, online community is still in a passive position. Take the “Chen Yi” as an example, I type it into google search, the first items still come from the traditional websites, such as Sina and Sohu, however, Tianya, as the recourse of “Chen Yi” story, is only listed in the following pages. Therefore, for large numbers of people, who used to gather information from search engine, it is very hard for online community to motivate them as the potential users and readers.
Over the past two years, because of the unclear classification and mixed contents in the online community, amount of valuable authorships and articles were covered among miscellaneous information. Therefore, it is pretty difficult to reflect the originality and innovative of online community. How to amend the outlook to better guide the new readers, how to improve the functions to better serve the power users, how to keep the valuable recourses of unofficial news in the society, all of these factors are very important for online community’s development and improvement.
There is a slogan in Tianya community’s homepage, “Global Chinese Online Home”. Chen Yi ’s story has passed two years, people are gradually changing their focus to other new-born websites and technologies. Tianya must change in the future, however, whether the improved edition of Tianya be qualified for “Global Chinese Online Home”, we will wait and see.
The last week, I tried to contact with some interviewees to develop my advancer story about “Voting Motivation”.
Till now, the confirmed list is asfollowing:
1). Dr. Lam, professor in HKU. Her major research interests include political culture and political participation.
The interview will be made on Tuesday (Nov.6).
2). Dr. Lee, professor in HKU. Her current research interests are the politics of social policy development, civil society organization and participatory governmance.
The interview will be made on Tuesday (Nov.6).
3). Mr. Chong, the executive director of Oxfam Hong Kong (an independent development and relief agency), who was a candidate of District Council Elections in 1996.
The interview will be made on Friday (Nov.9).
4). Voters in Southern Districts, Central/Western Districts.
The interview is under contacting.
And the audio and photo together with the interviews would be well-prepared in the end of next week.
On the other other, I am working on the research work for some social survey results for 2003 Elections, including the voter participation this year and before. Basically, all the text-organized preparation would be done before Nov. 11.
Subject: Motivation of Voting
Discussion Topics:
-How will voters make decisions?
-How ballots impact the voting process? (Conducting a survey)
-What’s percent of the public will participate in voting? (Statistics and Graphics)
-To what extent are people voting on local issues or party political views?
Interviewees:
-Voters from different district (How they make decisions, based on Party or local issues)
-HKU Professors (How ballots impact the voting process)
-Government Official (Introduce the participation of the voters this year and before)
Photos:
-Interviewees’s photoes
-The community with candidates are doing propaganda. (Slideshow)
Audio:
-Important quotes from the interview.
Graphics:
-Some charts to conclude the statistics.
Useful links:
-One Forum, where they have a special section for DC Election
-Blogs of Derek Greybhund, the general comments on Local HK politics.
Ms.Kwok is a local resident of Hong Kong. In this short interview with Ms. Kwok, she talked about the district council election candidates in Wah Fu Estate, which is a public housing estate located by the Kellett Bay, Southern District, Hong Kong.
Ms. Kwok is a staff in a local university, last time, she voted in the North Point constituency, where she lived until she got married three years ago. She explained her standard to give a vote and also put forward her evaluation and expectation for the district councilors.
The interview went as follows:
Interview with Ms. Kwok
According to the Oct. 16 news in Mingbao, there are 918 candidates have been enrolled in district council election this year, however, four have dropped out and one switch his constituency , so a total of 914 will run for the election. Compared with the previous 841 last year, it increased by 73 people.
The most intense competition is the Tsim Sha Tsui East in Yau Tsim Mong district , a total of seven people will run for a seat; and the other new constituencies, such as Tung Chung North, also 5 candidates run for one seat. (One Forum)
Regarding the most candidates in the history of elections, there will be the most intense election this year. According to the expert’s explanation, the advantages of DAB seemed obviously decreased this year, maybe, it is related to the challenge from the rising parties, such as the Civic Party and the League of Social Democrats. Election Day is approaching, the struggle between political parties is increasingly fierce. When the most grass-roots political elections become a tool for political parties to struggle for power, who on earth will consider the welfare of the ordinary people?
Today I interviewed Tia in class as part of my Audacity demonstration.
Here is the audio file:
Tia
The seven-day holiday week has become a virtual opportunity for the development china’s tourism market despite disputes about the rationality of the “Golden Week“, which has exerted great pressure on transportation, catering, hotel and tourism infrastructures, according to relevant experts. (Xinhuanet)
The National Day is a traditional festival in China, after The Handover in 1997, which is also one of public holiday in Hong Kong. To celebrate the 58th National Day of Peoples Republic of China, there are a lot of celebrating activies in different regions in Hong Kong.
The photo is a huge banner board in Lamma Island, which is located besides the pier.
On Octorber 1st, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong watched a resplendent fireworks display to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Starting 9:15 p.m. in Victoria Harbor, one of the world’s most famous harbors, the display lasted for 23 minutes and 26 seconds. The ten scenes of the display, which costs 3 million Hong Kong dollars.
The fireworks supply great brilliant to the one-day-holiday in Hong Kong, but behind the glory, hiding a huge environmental problem. Despite the security in the square was tight, orderly, but the newspapers and plastic bags left by the crowd has become a inharmonic scenery after the fireworks.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department spokesman said that by 6 pm to 9 at night, the cleaners in Hong Kong Cultural Center collected 1.2 tonnes of rubbish, and in the Tsim Sha Tsui, the Avenue of Stars and the Urban Council Centenary Park collected a total of 2.9 tonnes of rubbish.
How much noise made by the Fireworks? How much air pollution caused by the Fireworks? How much potential safety problems exist after the Fireworks? How many forests destroyed by the fireworks? The firecrackers to celebrate the festival is understandable. But when we face the tons of fireworks rubbish, The government and the public should consider that is it really worth to celebrate the festivals in this way.
Hong Kong’s air pollution problem has become increasingly serious, how to improve the air quality have become the commen concern of both the government and the public, Hong Kong people look forward to the governmental practical actions.
The nomination for District Council elections started on October 2, Democratic Party and DAB (The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong) firstly held ceremony on September 30, and there are more than 100 candidates arrived.
The Democratic Party sweared in the ceremony, “fight for universal suffrage in 2012″ as their election slogans. 
Democratic Party Chairman Albert HO described that DAB is a strong opponent, but the Democratic Party candidates win in they are young and professional, and said that the district board elections, “represent the battle between pro-democracy and against democracy.” (Singtaonet)
The DAB did not refer to Universal Suffrage, while stressing learn from past experience and the practical work. (The photo is took in Lamma Island, which is included in Island District)
For the public, what are really benefical for improvement of living standard is the practical work, but not the attractive slogans or banner, to some degree, DAB is in the right direction.
On the other hand, all the 18 District Councils will be suspended from October 2 to December 31 to facilitate the holding of the third general elections in the district boards. How could the district management ensure the social stability and society in line?
This is a photo made in an open market after the New H5N1 birds flu found in Guangzhou Panyu.
BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — China’s Ministry of Agriculture on Monday confirmed a bird flu outbreak in South China’s Guangzhou, which began with the mass deaths of ducks on September 5.
It also said no further deaths of fowl have been reported in the Panyu district or nearby areas.The last reported case of H5N1 bird flu in China occurred on May 19 at Shijiping Village in Yiyang city of Hunan Province, which killed more than 11,000 poultry with another 52,800 birds culled.
China has reported a total of 25 human cases of bird flu since 2003, which have resulted in 16 deaths.
PANG Kin-Kee, the chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, hold the press conference in Wanchai Electoral Affairs Department on September 19th, and showed the new design of the votes. Regarding the schedule for the Legco By-Election and District Council Election, Pang Kin-Kee have the different explanations from Emily Lau Wai-hing, the former full-time member of the Legislative Council, who think the two elections should be hold at the same day. Actually, for the current situation, the two elections are only apart for two weeks, however, the government make the taxpayers to spend more millions of money, obviously, it is to waste the public’s money.
As for as the explanations of PANG Kin-Kee, it is to avoid the confusion, however, Emily Lau Wai-hing criticized that it is to undervalue the electorates’ intellect.
The reply from the people who are in charge of appeal during the election period is that the government will follow up the related problems caused by schedule conflicts. The whole story could be found on Apple Daily. (Chinese)
I also want to follow up the news, because it will directly the reputation of the government elections in the eye of the public. Anyway, the elections is for the public to elect the future leaders who will improve the living standard in the next few years, however, the elections cost the unnecessary money from the taxpayers, then, who on earth will be beneficial from the elections?
