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Launched in August 2009, Weibo is a microblogging service offered by Sina Corporation. Bearing much resemblance to Twitter in its initial design, Weibo is often regarded as Twitter’s Chinese counterpart. In this paper, we delineate the historical evolution of Weibo as a social media platform (2009-2017). Rather than focusing on individual case event, we showcase how Weibo evolves over the years in the push-and-pull forces of commercialization, capitalization and political control.
Upon examining the political economy of Weibo, platform interface design and functions, we explore both the technological and socioeconomic dimensions of Weibo. Through a historical periodization of Weibo’s development, our study analyzes Weibo in its relationship with Sina Corporation, in its struggles with profitability and economic viability, and in its journey to define the meaning of the platform amidst the country’s increasingly stringent internet control environment. We argue that how Weibo maneuvers user interfaces and articulates its value as a “platform” to stakeholders, users, advertisers and developers is not only important in unpacking the political and economic tensions but also bears significance understanding the contexts within which Weibo platform emerges and its implications for Chinese society.