Breaking down Weibo’s language barrier

By Hannah Leung Source:Global Times Published: 2013-2-27 20:43:05

 

Main: Non-native Chinese speakers soon will be able to use an app that provides translations of Weibo content.
Inset: Jeffrey Broer, co-founder of the app Surround. Photos: CFP and courtesy of Surround
Jeffrey Broer, co-founder of the app Surround
 
Main: Non-native Chinese speakers soon will be able to use an app that provides translations of Weibo content.
Inset: Jeffrey Broer, co-founder of the app Surround. Photos: CFP and courtesy of Surround
Non-native Chinese speakers soon will be able to use an app that provides translations of Weibo content. Photos: CFP and courtesy of Surround
 

Sina Weibo gives insight into what Chinese Web users are thinking, reading, watching and doing everyday, but the problem is, most of the content is in Chinese. Non-native Chinese speakers and those curious to take a peek into the minds of the reported 500 million registered users on Sina Weibo have long used the services of websites like chinaSMACK, which translates popular Web users' comments and reactions into English by the hundreds, every day.

But let's say someone hoping to gain access into a celebrity or person's Sina Weibo wanted an instant, easy solution. How can you do it?

That's the service that the people behind the mobile app called Surround are hoping to provide. Set for a pre-launch in April, the app aims to provide instant translations of any post or comment put up on Sina Weibo. The first release will be free and they plan on including add-on features at a cost, such as live human translations.

The idea for the app was born of co-founder Jeffrey Broer's personal frustration at spending a decade or so in and out of China and not being able to connect virtually with people. Broer, who currently resides in Hong Kong, would meet people during his travels in China that he wanted to follow on Sina Weibo, but was unable to due to the language barrier.

"It's excruciatingly painful to do all the translation work on your mobile. So I thought, why isn't there an app that can do this? There isn't one, so that's one of the reasons I started Surround," he told Metro Beijing in a Skype interview. 

The makers behind the Surround app are at the forefront of efforts to tap into the Chinese social media industry something that other Western companies and celebrities are doing as the platform grows in popularity.

Western wave

Sina Weibo, launched by the Chinese Internet company Sina Corporation on August 14, 2009, is often referred to as China's version of Twitter.

Like Twitter, Sina Weibo allows users to post photos, videos, comments and messages, while following other users. In addition, Weibo users can comment on each public post, with the ability to add embedded photos a feature that allows for some innovative and entertaining comments.

Earlier this year, Sina Weibo offered an English interface edition, with English available as an option for navigating the basic menus. And more recently, there has already been an influx of Western celebrities and public figures rushing in to sign up.

NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, for example, just set up an account last week, and has amassed 600,000 followers. His first post on February 15 read, "Valentine's Day sneaks ready to break Clipper hearts. Big game tonight." This seemingly mundane comment was reposted over 80,000 times. 

Bryant joins the ranks of other celebrities like Emma Watson, the band Radiohead and Tom Cruise, who all have verified Sina Weibo accounts.

But how does Weibo's popularity overseas break down into hard data?

Independent research company Goldpebble issued a summary on Sina on February 6 which found that Weibo "already penetrated over 60 top global brands as well as top local brands."

After researching the top global 500 brands, the company found that "211 of them have Weibo enterprise accounts with an average of 218,000 fans/followers."

Development of a useful app

Based on the premise that "one out of five online users worldwide are Chinese" and the impact Weibo has in both China and now the West, the mobile app Surround is trying to tap into the rapidly growing market of people interested in China, from celebrities and students of Chinese to researchers at financial institutions conducting reports on consumer activities.

"Last semester, I didn't really go on Weibo much…reading Chinese characters is a bit intimidating," said American Alexandra Tirado, who is currently in the middle of a one-year language program at Peking University. 

For Kaiser Kuo, head of communications at Baidu, the app could clear away some of the hurdles non-native speakers face in gathering information.

"I have a Weibo account, but after a while, it was taking up too much time. My account is essentially dead. I'd be eager to try out an app that does translations. I'm anxious though, to see how well they implement Chinese to English translations, especially in light of how full of slang Weibo posts tend to be," he said.

They are also working on adding a slang database and a feature that will include a translation done by an actual person, and the translations would be instantaneous.

When asked if the potential customer base at home will see any differences as they switch between Western social media sites like Twitter and Chinese counterparts like Sina Weibo, Broer said that the functions are generally the same, but that Westerners may have to adjust to shifts in cultural significance.

"You have some things that are a local problem that can become a national problem through Weibo. It raises more the cultural and social aspects in China. Twitter [has] the social aspects of US or Europe but less of the political…. Things like Sina Weibo force more transparency," he said.

Official papers might reveal breaking news in Western media, but in China, political and social outreach often occurs first among Web users on Weibo. This will only make Chinese social networking platforms more valuable in the years to come.

As for the future, Broer isn't just setting his sights on Sina Weibo.

"We want to tear down language barrier walls in all social media platforms," he said, mentioning among others, such as popular Tencent WeChat.

Though WeChat is not a microblog, similar features on this mobile app, like the ability to chat, post moments and tag friends, is quickly making it a competitor to Sina Weibo.

Broer predicts that Sina Weibo's targeted demographic might not change that much in the coming years.

At this moment, it does not seem interested in tapping into the Western market, he said.

"Though it [released] the English option, in the next few years, I still see Sina Weibo will be focusing on China," Broer said.



Posted in: Metro Beijing

blog comments powered by Disqus