This one's for all you tweetaholics out there. There's finally an app that helps you sync your Twitter and Sina Weibo accounts! The app's called Twitter2Weibo, and using it is real easy too. All you need to do is to log in with your Twitter account, and then your Weibo account, and you're good to go! Various options are available to customise your experience -- you can choose whether or not you want to sync retweets, mentions, geo locations and upload images. Try the app out here and don't forget to follow Shanghaiist on Sina Weibo.
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From TechWeb via TheNextWeb Asia comes the news that Sina's going to launch an English-language version of Weibo in less than three months to compete head-on with Twitter. We hate to be a party-pooper but we really don't see this working out -- why would anybody out there in the free world want a heavily censored microblogging platform? On the bright side, those of you looking for a way out of your English-language teaching jobs can now look forward to being part of Sina Weibo's English-language moderation team. more ›

Hey Sina Weibo users, you can now follow Alibaba Group CEO Jack Ma! Alibaba is the internet giant behind eCommerce platform Taobao. Ma's inaugural post, tagged "Zen and the art of environmental conservation", has received over 2000 comments. Follow him and us! Not sure how to set up a Sina Weibo account? Lucky for you, the folks over at World of Chinese just wrote you a idiot'snon-Chinese-speaker's guide! And if that's not enough, Digicha's guide has lots of pictures. more ›

Not a bad way to make ancient relics hip with the kids these days: draw a comparison between 2000-year-old bronze and the number one iPhone app. Thanks goes out to the Chinese microblogger who spotted this Shang dynasty wine container at the Shanxi museum and tweeted it to the world. It's now been forwarded 5,000 times and drawn 500 comments on Sina Weibo. more ›

At 5am on Monday morning a forest fire broke out 30 km away from historically-preserved Lijiang in Yunnan province, sparking worries that the popular tourism destination could be in danger. A force of 400 fire prevention workers and two helicopters moved in to control the blaze, but high winds on Monday postponed containment efforts. Thanks to the hard work of many, by early this afternoon the fire had been effectively put out! Special thanks also to this Sina microblogger, who supplied us (and most of the Chinese media!) with updates and photos of fire. Causes of the fire are still under investigation. more ›

According to Shanghai Daily, massively popular microblogging platforms like Sina and Sohu are quickly becoming the best new way to find love in China. So guys, you can forget texting, calling or god forbid talking to the girl. Now you can find true love in three simple steps: 1) locate female 2) lurk 3) initiate contact. more ›

Unsurprisingly, the Chinese government has censored much of the material available online about the uprising. more ›

Earlier today, Fang Binxing (方滨兴), president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and the grand architect of the GFW, signed up on the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, but not for long. The amount of vulgarities and curses that overwhelmed his page as soon as his account was opened forced him to delete his tweets just three hours later. Check out China Digital Times for a sample of comments that led him to swallow his own bitter pill. Fang's fate reminds us of the microblogging misadventures of General Mao Xinyu (毛新宇), the grandson of Chairman Mao. With just one tweet on Dec 4, Mao managed to attract over 46,000 followers, but Sina editors eventually had to delete all the comments that inundated that tweet. He has not been heard from since that fateful day. more ›

• "In recent months, protests over the severe illnesses caused by China's heavy industries have resulted in a crackdown on polluters. Leading the charge has been the state-run media, which the central government is now using to gain control over corrupt local authorities and powerful commercial enterprises." [Environment 360]
• The family of a 69-year-old grandmother who was buried alive by demolition crews has won compensation: five houses and 600,000RMB. The grandmother had tried to stop an excavator with her own body. She somehow fell into a ditch, but the excavator continued shoveling, burying her with a load of earth. [China Hush]
• Wen Jiabao has dismissed claims that Chinese foreign policy is becoming more assertive, saying, "There are already views about China’s arrogance, China’s toughness, and China’s inevitable triumph. You have given me an opportunity for me to explain how China conducts itself" in a defensive speech at a press conference. [Economist]

Those who read a report about Hu Jintao joining a microblog service on People's Daily and tried get on as well in hopes of contacting the President of China have apparently been disappointed. Sky Canaves of The Wall Street Journal went searching for Hu, only to find dozens of messages also questioning where he was. Turns out People's Daily had automatically registered all VIP guests on its "Strong Country" online forum (which would include Hu) for microblog accounts without their consent or knowledge. They've now suspended Hu's microblog until they've confirmed that he actually wants to broadcast the daily minutiae of his life. more ›

Months after Twitter was blocked and Chinese Twitter clones Fanfou, Digu, and Zuosa (apparently Zuosa is still alive) were felled by the mighty hand of the CCP censorship army, Internet portal Sina has started its own "microblogging service." more ›