Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc have millions of users in China, the world’s largest Internet market, where the social networking services are banned, according to a survey released on Thursday.
Facebook grew to 63.5 million users in China in the second quarter of this year from 7.9 million in 2009, London-based researcher GlobalWebIndex said in a blog post. Twitter users tripled to 35.5 million in the same period.
Sites blocked in China can be accessed through so-called proxy services, which connect users to servers outside the country so they can visit sites that are filtered. The proxy services have helped Facebook and Twitter compete with local sites, including microblogging service Sina Weibo (新浪微博), GlobalWebIndex founder Tom Smith said.
“It only takes a little bit of desk research to discover that what is called the Great Firewall is actually much more porous than the Chinese government would like to admit,” Smith said in the blog post.
While they have grown, Facebook and Twitter are smaller in China than Qzone, a Web site operated by Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), with 286.3 million users.
Local rival Sina Weibo had 264.1 million users. Google+, the social network created by Google Inc last year, had 106.9 million users. China has 513 million Internet users, according to the government-backed China Internet Network Information Center.
GlobalWebIndex asked 2,000 Chinese Internet users earlier this year which social sites they have created an account for and which ones they used in the past month.
Facebook has been restricted in China since 2009. Prior to selling its shares to the public, the company said in its prospectus to investors that the Chinese market “has substantial legal and regulatory complexities that have prevented our entry.”
Separately, Facebook on Thursday added a Gifts feature that lets people send cupcakes, coffee, stuffed animals or other gifts to friends at the social network.
Facebook said it was rolling Gifts out gradually, starting in the US.
“Every day, millions of people share special moments with their friends on Facebook,” the California-based firm said in a blog post. “Now, there is another way to celebrate these moments.”
People can click on icons that look like bow-wrapped boxes to select gifts from an array of merchants then send friends virtual cards either as private messages or for posting on public timelines on Facebook pages.
Intended recipients tell Facebook whether they accept gifts and where the items should be delivered.
“There are hundreds of gifts, with more added every day: cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery, a stuffed animal from Gund, or a digital gift card from Starbucks,” Facebook said.
The blog post showed the Gifts feature being used on a smartphone. Facebook has been under pressure to show how it will make money from users who are increasingly opting to access the social network from smartphones or tablets.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
CHANGE OF FORTUNES: Concern over a pricey valuation and the risk of tighter US curbs on chip sales to China have poured cold water on TSMC’s bullish momentum Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares fell the most in three months yesterday upon trading resumption, joining a global technology rout as investors dramatically soured on the promises of artificial intelligence (AI). The shares declined 5.62 percent to close at NT$924 in Taipei, dragging down the benchmark TAIEX, which fell 3.29 percent to 22,119.21 points amid a technical correction, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Other chip stocks also fell, with ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) plunging 9.86 percent, MediaTek Inc (聯發科) dropping 2.35 percent, Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱) falling 1.33 percent and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) retreating 1.17 percent, while Apple