Tencent Weibo is a microblogging platform that integrates with Tencent's social services, primarily leveraging its QQ messenger user base. As of March 2011, it boasts 160 million registered users and a complex cross-promotion strategy across Tencent's social apps, although user activity might be inflated due to sync features. While Tencent Weibo has surpassed Sina Weibo in user count, it is challenged in media influence and urban elite engagement.

1. INSIDE
INSIDE TENCENT WEIBO
0700.HK
TENCENT’S MICROBLOG
REPORT BY
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companies listed in the US

2. INSIDE
Tencent Introduction
“If Facebook is the world's social graph, then QQ is China's social graph.”
Chinese IT Blogger Bo Hong (also known by the alias Keso)
• Tencent is one of the three dominant BAT (Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent) firms on the Chinese
internet, with strong leadership in social and gaming.
• Social: The glue of Tencent’s huge userbase are its social services, especially its
dominant IM application, QQ Messenger.
• Gaming: Tencent monetizes users via micro-transactions in games and other services.
• QQ Messenger is the hub from which Tencent builds up its other products including games,
search, portal, e-commerce, mobile, social networks, and microblog (Tencent Weibo).
• Tencent’s QQ Messenger is China’s most popular IM software. Tencent claims that QQ
Messenger has more than 674 million “active users”, although Analysys market research
estimates that unique active users is closer to one-third of that number (~225 million).
• Tencent (0700.HK) was founded in November 1998. As of May 2011, Tencent’s market
capitalization was over $50 billion.

3. INSIDE
Tencent Weibo: Another Spoke In Tencent’s Social Hub
In US terms, Tencent’s social hub is as if AIM, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter were owned by one
company, and all cross-promoted and synced to each other. Tencent has “locked-in” a huge userbase
via the social graph of QQ Messenger.
Tencent Weibo is another spoke on Tencent’s
social hub. Whereas Sina Weibo is gaining new
users for Sina, Tencent is primarily channeling
Tencent spins a tangled web of existing users to a new service.
cross-promotion and syncing Qzone (Nickname SNS)
* Tencent Weibo is available inside of every one
of Tencent’s major social products, indicating
that it’s assigned top-priority
KEY
Tencent Pengyou = Messages sync by default
(Real-name SNS) External links = Messages sync by optional setting
= Status updates by optional setting
QQ Messenger (IM)
Service is accessible via a dedicated tab:
= Tencent Weibo
= Qzone
Image by
= Pengyou
* Status updates + “shares” sync by default;
photos + diaries are optional
Tencent Weibo (microblog)

4. Microblogging in China
• The first generation of microblogs in China (Jiwai.de, Fanfou, Zuosha, etc.) gained modest popularity but
faced severe regulatory constraints due to the sensitive nature of media sites in China. Fanfou was shut
down by the government for over a year.
• It was not until Sina Weibo exploded in popularity in 2009-2010 that microblogging became a hot service
in China.
Infographic Source: CIC Data (www.cicdata.com)

5. INSIDE
Tencent Weibo Key Facts
(March 2011)
• Registered users: 160 million*
• Monthly active users: 93 million*
• Monthly posts: 10 billion*
• 40% of users register for Tencent Weibo accounts via QQ Messenger.
• 12 celebrities have over 10 million followers on Tencent Weibo (many celebrities are
pre-selected as accounts to follow by default)
• Tencent Weibo is available inside of every one of Tencent’s major social products,
indicating that it’s assigned top-priority
• Post to Tencent Weibo: Via QQ Messenger, Qzone, and Pengyou
• Read Tencent Weibo Posts: Via QQ Messenger, Qzone, and Pengyou
• * = Activity on any Tencent social site is often synced to others by default, but the user is counted as active on both services.
User numbers therefore likely overestimate the true level of activity.

6. INSIDE
Timeline of Tencent’s Social Networks
QQ Messenger was launched in 1999. Tencent has since used that
application’s social graph and traffic to launch two social networks
(Qzone and Pengyou) and one microblog (Tencent Weibo).
Tencent Weibo
Qzone launched Xiaoyou launched, a Pengyou reaches 160 million
as a blogging real-name SNS for launched, a real- registered users and
platform, primarily college students name social 93 million monthly
using nicknames network open to all active users
2005.4 2008.6 2009.1 2010.4 2010.9 2011.1 2011.4
Qzone personal center Tencent Weibo Xiaoyou merged
launched (transformation launched into Pengyou
towards a social network)

7. INSIDE USERS:
Sina Weibo vs. Tencent Weibo
Users: 140 million registered 160 million registered*
93 million active*
Demographics: Primarily white-collar urban. Elite-based, Users drawn from Tencent’s userbase, so are
started with many celebrities and media tend to be from 2nd and 3rd tier cities and
figures. below.
User Acquisition: Primarily new users for Sina, though Primarily existing users of Tencent’s other
most users are familiar with Sina’s brand social services (QQ Messeneger, Qzone,
and portal site. Some also use Sina’s Pengyou). Tencent Weibo may increase user
blogging platform. stickniess for Tencent and fights off Sina
otherwise poaching from its userbase.
Market share by 57% 22%
users:
(Dec 2010 iResearch)
Market share by 87% 9%
browsing time:
(Dec 2010 iResearch)
Other major Chinese internet firms such as Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), Sohu
(NASDAQ: SOHU), and Netease (NASDAQ: NTES) also have microblogs, but they
lag far behind Sina and Tencent.
*Note: Tencent’s user numbers likely overestimates the true level of activity on Tencent Weibo

8. INSIDE FEATURES:
Sina Weibo vs. Tencent Weibo
Feature Comparison
Launch 2009.08 2010.04
Open Platform 2010.07 2010.12
Weibo Groups 2010.12 N/A
Sync with MSN 2010.03 N/A
iPhone Version 2010.01 2010.05
Android Version 2010.01 2010.05
iPad Version 2010.10 N/A
IM Version 2011.03 2011.05
Neither Sina nor Tencent has yet figured out a very successful way to monetize their
microblog service, and both remained focused on user growth at present
Source: Mirae Asset, iChinaStock Research

9. INSIDE DEMOGRAPHIC DIVIDE:
Sina Weibo vs. Tencent Weibo
• China’s war of the weibos may not be a
Urban Elites
winner-take-all market. Sina is entrenched
1st tier cities with urban elites while Tencent controls a
huge segment of mass market users.
• In traditional social networks, for example,
Tencent is a leader with Qzone and Pengyou,
but has lost urban elites to Renren,
Kaixin001, Douban, and increasingly Sina
2nd tier cities Weibo.
• 2nd and 3rd tier cities are key battlegrounds
as each is aggressively trying to expand
beyond its traditional audience.
3rd tier cities
• It will likely be challenging, but not
impossible, for Sina Weibo to make progress
in lower-tier cities. It is likely near-impossible
for Tencent Weibo to capture urban elites.
4th and below Social networks tend to spread outward from
a core of elites.

10. INSIDE FUTURE:
Sina Weibo vs. Tencent Weibo
Chinese IT blogger, Bo Hong (also known by the alias Keso), comments:
“Only one firm is capable of becoming China's Facebook: Tencent. The two
(Facebook and Tencent) may be dissimilar in outward appearance, but the
core of each is closely related: the social graph…
Sina Weibo is too close to being a form of media, to the point of being
removed from people's daily lives. To the populations of third and fourth tier
Chinese cities, it's still very foreign.
In terms of users, Tencent Weibo has already surpassed Sina Weibo. In
terms of traffic, the two are also close. But in terms of media influence, it will
be very difficult for Tencent Weibo to surpass Sina Weibo.”

11. INSIDE
A Look Inside Tencent Weibo
t.qq.com

12. Weibo Set-up I
The default setting is to follow all a user’s QQ
Messenger friends on Tencent Weibo.
Tencent uses its existing social graph to
populate Weibo.

13. Weibo Set-up II
Send Qzone status updates to Weibo
Send QQ status updates to Weibo
Recommend my Weibo to my QQ friends
Show my latest Weibo posts to my friends
Invite your QQ Messenger friends to Weibo
Invite your email contacts Weibo
Email contacts come from QQ Email or Qzone

14. Homepage Before Log-in

15. Homepage After Log-in
Post Weibo
Recommended Users

16. Weibo Feed
Like Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo
is far richer than Twitter’s
minimalist microblog. It allows
embedded pictures, videos,
emoticons, and threaded
comments. And one can express
FAR more in Chinese than
English in 140 characters.
Repost of original Animated emoticons
weibo with added
comments
Hashtag
Original post with picture
Click to see all 153 reposts and comments

17. Weibo Re-Post
Re-post and comment #1
Like Sina Weibo, re-posting on
Tencent Weibo is far richer than
Twitter’s minimalist microblog. It’s
more similar in form to status updates
on Facebook, though posts are
visible to all.
Original post (with
picture embedded)
|| @ user comment #1 (added by default
New (second) comment on this weibo post
when “re-post” is selected)
Add: hastag (topic) | @ user | emoticon
Share to Qzone

18. Weibo Events

19. Weibo Applications

20. QQ Messenger – Posting to Weibo
IM Default Page Weibo on QQ Messenger
External links to QQ services (opens in browser)
Includes Qzone, Weibo, Mail, etc.
Toggle between QQ services (opens in QQ Messenger)
IM | Groups | Weibo | Recent Contacts
Weibo
QQ Messenger friends Post Weibo
Weibo Feed
QQ Messenger status of user is his latest Tencent
Weibo

21. Qzone – Posting to Weibo
QQ user name and ID
Friend trends (default Qzone feed)
Qzone status update syncs to
Weibo by default
Indicates new Weibos to read
Opens Weibo directly
on the same page
Qzone “friend trend” feed is populated
with content from Weibo friends—even
if never added in Qzone

22. Qzone –Weibo Setup
Qzone-Weibo setup
Blogs in Qzone sync to Weibo
Photos in Qzone sync to Weibo
Status updates in Qzone sync to Weibo
“Shares” in Qzone sync to Weibo
These two are checked by
default, so Qzone content is sent
to Weibo. These then count as
“active” Tencent Weibo users
Weibos sync to Qzone

23. Pengyou – Posting to Weibo
Indicates new Weibos
to read
Post Status Update
Opens Weibo directly Default is for Pengyou status
on the same page update to send to Qzone, but
Weibo, and QQ Messenger
(status update) may also be
selected

24. Pengyou – With Weibo Inside
By selecting the Weibo tab in Pengyou (see previous slide) the entire page is
turned into the Tencent Weibo, without shifting to Weibo’s t.qq.com domain
Post Weibo

25. Weibo – Content from Qzone, Pengyou, etc.
Tencent spins a tangled web of cross-promotion
and syncing. Many users may be intentionally
“active” by accessing Weibo via other Tencent
social services or unintentionally active because
services are synced by default.
Your Posts
Post from Qzone
Post from Pengyou

26. INSIDE
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© March 2011 iChinaStock