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This book aims to identify the most important political, socio-economic, and technical determinants of Internet development in China, through a historical approach that combines political economy, cultural, and public studies. Firstly, the book looks at the most important strategies that compelled the Chinese government to invest in the construction of the Internet infrastructure. Secondly, it examines the relationships between the development of the Internet in China and the emergence of a nascent civil society. Finally, attention is given to three different Chinese online platforms in three different historical periods. This three-pronged approach presents a coherent set of analyses and case studies which are committed to the investigation of the complex process of change undergone by Internet development in China.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. Studying the Internet in China: Relevance of the Topic.- 3. A Historical Overview of the Media Political Economy of the Internet in China.- 4. How Chinese People Use the Internet.- 5. BBSS and Blogs: the First Participatory Online Spaces (2003-2008).- 6. 2008-2011: From the Social Network Services Copycats' Struggle to Sina Weibo (the Most Popular Microblogging Platform).- 7. The Development of Mobile Internet: Weixin (Wechat) a Killer Applicatin for Sina Weibo?.- 8. Conclusions.-
About the author
Gianluigi Negro is both Post Doctoral Researcher in the Faculty of Communication Sciences and Assistant Editor at China Media Observatory (CMO) at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), Switzerland.
Summary
Topicality: capitalises on huge interest in the growth of the Chinese economy
Illustrative case studies: draws upon the implementation of the Golden Shield Project, the failed launch of the Green Dam Youth Escort, the anti-rumours campaign and real name registration system
Research base: based upon interviews with the most important Chinese scholars, think thanks and managers in the field of the Internet studies, as well as managers and executives at Sina Weibo, the most popular microblog platform in China, Baidu, the most used search engine, Tudou Youku, Sohu the most used video sharing platforms and many other Internet companies
Report
"Negro provides a valuable and comprehensive analysis of the co-evolvement of China's internet infrastructure and its nascent civil society. It is useful for readers to track and understand the changes in China accompanied by internet infrastructure development. The rapid development of internet technologies ... creates much room for future research along this line. The cases or phenomena this book analyzes make it very interesting to read." (Yao Han, AI & SOCIETY, Vol. 39 (3), 2024)
