Development of Weibo or Microblog is getting more and more intensive and extensive in China everyday. Besides integrating weibo service into its LBS Weilingdi, group buying aggregator service Weituan etc, Sina is cooperating with multiple parties, including the telecoms, to cover the country with it Weibo services.
Sina Weibo x China Telecom
On 3 June 2011, Sina Weibo and China Telecom officially announced an intention to deepen their cooperation. According to the cooperation agreement, China Telecom users using e-surfing, broadband and fixed phone users could use their China Telecom accounts to log into the Sina Microblog, and Sina can gain identification services from China Telecom in the future.
Besides these, China Telecom would embed the Sina Weibo into 189 mailboxes that would let users apply for Sina Weibo synchronously. As a part of this cooperation, both parties would form the first BREW type mobile terminal. Thereafter, millions of BREW users can use the mobile to access Sina Weibo.
Sina Weibo x China Unicom
China Unicom and Sina reach a strategic cooperation agreement, to co-promote Sina Microblog video on 14 June 2011. Both sides will cooperate on basic telecom service, development and co-marketing areas.
In addition, both sides will co-develop the Sina Weibo derived products and launch new products including a Sina Weibo video.
Sina Weibo x U.S. market (??)
And Sina is not satisfied with the local market only, Sina Weibo is arranging for an English version, and plans to enter the American market in two-three months, according to some media.
This means it would compete with Twitter directly It was conveyed in the Sina 2011 1Q financial report that registered user number in Sina Weibo has reached 140 mn, while the entire accounts in Twitter are over 300 millions and supported by nine languages including English, French and Japanese. However,compared with the total number of fans following the Top 100 accounts, Sina Microblog would likely exceed Twitter in May or June.
The CEO of Sina states that the main difference between Sina Weibo and Twitter is that Sina Weibo can convey every information to each user and make this product stickier.
Baidu x Sohu Microblog
Sensing it is difficult to compete with Sina Weibo alone, Sina’s competitors are cooperating with each other. Rumour said Baidu may invest into Sohu Microblog.
Local media revealed that Baidu recently discussed about investment in Sohu Microblog with Sohu. However, this news is still unconfirmed by the two companies. Business insiders hold a positive view about this potential cooperation because it would be complementary to both companies, making some analysts believe this cooperation is possible in the future.