This article was published on October 30, 2013

Users of ‘China’s Twitter’ Sina Weibo can now subscribe to verified accounts for direct updates


Users of ‘China’s Twitter’ Sina Weibo can now subscribe to verified accounts for direct updates

sina-weibo-520x197Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo has officially rolled out subscription-based accounts for verified users on its platform, letting fans subscribe to their favorite brands and celebrities to receive updates from them automatically, Sina Tech reports (hat/tip Tech in Asia).

The Twitter-like service’s latest move gives brands and celebrities a way to connect with their fans, in turn driving engagement and keeping users onboard. Verified users can send their followers updates via direct messages — so fans won’t miss anything that has been sent.

This comes amid fears that Sina Weibo is losing ground as it is being pressured by competition from messaging apps — in particular Tencent-owned WeChat, which already has public platforms for users to follow a particular account and receive updates accordingly.

Sina says that so far, more than 60,000 users have signed up to use this new channel during its beta-testing stage.

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