China’s largest search engine Baidu said that its new microblogging service Baidu Talk has grabbed more than 1 million users after being launched three months ago. The new service incorporates Twitter-like features with additional capabilities of a fully fledged social networking platform.
Baidu Talk was unveiled in mid-September as a closed beta, with new users joining in through invitation only.
The difference between Baidu Talk and other microblogging services comes from the fact that Baidu requires all users to identify themselves with their real names, the feature that has apparently been the site’s main draw, according to Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo.
Thanks to the third-party verification, Baidu believes that interactions in Baidu Talk are “more civil,” better mirroring real life. “We don’t walk around in life giving out aliases or wearing masks. We shouldn’t do that in all spaces online. There should be a space where people can interact with their real name,” Kuo said.
As you may know Twitter is blocked in China, leaving space for other China-based microblogging services. And with its huge user base, Baidu may be one of the winners in the space in the world’s most populous country…
[Via: PCworld]