Originally post: “The Facebooks of China” at Fast Company
C
hina’s fake Facebooks started as mere copycats but now drive innovation in advertising and gaming. They’ve also built something unique in their country: a place where people can find love, speak out, and be whoever they want to be.
Wang Xing, who started the site that is now called Renren, says his goal in creating a social network was “to make a better world.” Today, he almost never goes on Renren….
jmain
Excellent article.
I specifically loved how self-created virtual identities are used in a culture that traditionally shuns self-expression. It is very freeing on the one hand. On the other, it may create a larger divergence between the manufactured identity one builds online and one’s daily experience. Or does it?