Much the same as Twitter, the Weibo microblog allows users to post messages of 140 Chinese characters or less via the Web, SMS or MMS. Microblogging has become an Internet phenomenon since Sina.com started beta testing its microblogging service, Sina Weibo, in August 2009.

In 2011, microblogging showed explosive growth in China. Chinese microblogs now have more than 300 million users and 200 million posts a day, compared with 63.11 million users at the end of 2010.

Thanks to microblogs, the public now has more opportunities to get real-time information and voice their opinion as news occurs. Microblogging became an extremely popular way for netizens to voice their concerns during the Wenzhou train crash and Guo Meimei Red Cross scandal. Microblogging has also lead to the popularity of new patterns of expression on the internet, such as the "snarling style".

2011 has been called "Year of Government Microblogging in China." Data shows that the number of verified government accounts on China's leading microblog service provider, Sina Weibo, reached about 20,000 by the end of October 2011 with more than 10,000 accounts operated by government agencies and nearly 9,000 by individual officials.

"Ping'an Beijing," the Sina Weibo account representing the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, has become China's most influential government microblog in terms of followers and net traffic.

Microblogs are growing into an increasingly vital tool for the government to disseminate information, guide public opinion and interact with the public on equal footing.

(China.org.cn by Li Xiao January 6, 2012)

微博是一个类似于“推特”的微博客平台，用户可以通过网络、短信或彩信发布消息，每次最多只能发送140个字符。自从2009年8月新浪网推出微博服务内测版以来，这种网络服务已成为一种社会风尚。

微博在2011年进入了爆发式增长阶段。2010年底，中国微博用户数仅有6311万；而如今，中国微博用户已超过3亿，每日发布的信息量约为2亿条。

现在通过微博，大众有了更多的机会获得突发事件的实时信息，并发出自己的声音。从温州动车事故到“郭美美事件”，网民们在微博上表达自己对各种社会事件的关注，这已经成为一种流行趋势。微博还引领了“咆哮体”等各种网络流行文体的风靡一时。

2011年同时也是中国政务微博的发展元年。国内最大的微博服务商新浪提供的数据显示，截至2011年10月底，通过新浪微博认证的各领域政府机构及官员微博已近2万家，其中政府机构微博超过1万家，个人官员微博近9千个。

北京市公安局在新浪网上的官方微博“平安北京”成为中国国内最有影响力的政务机构微博，在粉丝数及流量等方面都超出同侪。

微博正逐渐成为政府机构进行信息公开和舆论引导的重要工具，为政府与群众提供了一个平等的沟通互动平台。