Everyone is a reporter
Besides selling fake followers, revenue also comes from promoting products through bloggers who have numerous fans.
"A micro-blogging site is a de facto type of media, and everybody on it can be seen as a reporter. It can be used to spread words and information, or even ads," an insider from a Weibo marketing company told Chinanews.com.
Another list offered by the insider shows more than 300 micro-bloggers who each have more than 1 million followers. "Asking such a blogger to relay a post costs 700 yuan ($109), and 1,000 yuan ($156) for posting it directly," said the insider.
Selling followers or advertising through blogs does not violate the law, said You Yunting, an attorney. But it is immoral and unethical conduct, he added.
Although the explosive growth of micro-blogging sites has lent a powerful hand to the public in terms of exposing scandals (including the recent crises faced by the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) and Beijing's Palace Museum), the irregularities mentioned above reflect the need for regulatory measures in the industry.
Unethical conduct like buying and selling followers will harm the service in the long run, said Zhao Zizhong, a professor at the Communication University of China.
Zhao sees the irregularities as temporary marketing schemes that every new form of media faces in its primary stages. But since they are distracting bloggers from the real purpose of the service, it is necessary to keep such companies under control, he said.
