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Q: Which social network should I choose?
I will be leaving the USA for mainland China in May or June, and my family here in the States would like to somehow maintain a social network link with me. Facebook is only accessible in the PRC if one is willing to skirt the local law, something I am unwilling to do. MySpace, while available in the PRC, is of course a worthless shadow of what it used to be five or six years ago. I have considered QQ, but my family cannot really read Chinese. So, what should I do? Should I perhaps opt for the Confucius Network?
12 years 3 weeks ago in Web & Technology - China
There are two things you could do, choose one between the two, or even do both eventually.
1.- There is "supposed" to be an international version of QQ, I think V1.2 is the latest one, and can be downloaded at http://www.imqq.com/. The real problem is that while some is indeed in English, many pages once inside are still in Mandarin. But if you use it solely to communicate with your family back home, it may do the trick. Maybe with the help of Google Translate and / or just clicking to see what happens, you can figure out how to upload photos, etc., like I did.
2.- Or, once you arrive in China and settle down, get a subscription to a VPN, which will allow you to access Facebook from China. It is against the existing regulations, but if you keep it to yourself and do not talk about it, nothing will happen. Many have it here, locals and foreigners, and so far, no action at all against it.
jleav14782:
Thanks for the advice. I know about VPNs, but I don't want to use one because I want to adhere to the law.
HappyExPat:
Jleav: pleaase learn one thing. There is no "law" against having a VPN or entering Facebook. In regards to Facebook, sometime back some comments were made that pissed someone in local Government, and next you know you could not access it from China. But the concern is with the general populace, not with a few foreigners. I know people in China with VPN's who surf the net for years, even XXX stuff, and they are around. If someone has an eye on you, there are many things they can catch you for, from spitting on the streets to jaywalking, and that is done by 110 % of local persons. But you do as you think, once you are here you will realize that laws here are not black and white as you are accustom too,
The "international" version of QQ is just their instant messenger client. All of their social network content a la Facebook will be in Chinese. Even though it can be translated...I find it's usually quite slow, and a pain to use in general.
If all you want is an instant messenger...QQ will work fine, as will MSN. MSN also provides a quasi-social network service which will work fine, and is of course available in english.
Another option, is if you bring your USA mobile smart phone and keep the service through your USA phone company (Verizon, AT&T, whoever)...that phone should still be able to access Facebook when using the wireless data connection (won't work over wifi, obviously). Of course, without an international data plan from your provider, international roaming data charges can get out of hand quickly at $0.02/kb.
Twitter is supposedly going to be available in China soon-ish.
GuilinRaf:
And then, like Youtube and FC will be made UN available "more soonish!"
You can always set up a blog someplace for about $6 per month. Then, there is Skype, which is useful for 1-on-1 communications, as is MSN & QQ (International version).
If you don't want to skirt the laws here in China, you will find living here very difficult. For example, if you want a DVD or piece of software, there is no place that I know of where you can buy legal copies. Everything here is pirated.
If you want clothing, and you don't want to pay outrageous prices (US$120 for a pair of levis), then you will probably be buying knock-off clothes at the local vendors.
There are more rules and regulations here in China, but very little enforcement. And if you try to follow them all, you will find it almost impossible to get things done.
I am not suggesting that you give up following the rules, just letting you know that you will be swimming upstream here. And of course, if the local law enforcement wants to give you trouble, they won't worry if you are following the rules or not.
Welcome to China. Have fun and stay safe. :)
jleav14782:
Thank you for you advice. Although I carry my humble laptop with me wherever I go, and though I usually wear a suit and necktie, I don't need DVDs, pieces of rare software, or expensive clothing. Hehe... I live a fairly simple lifestyle that doesn't need a lot of luxury.
Use skype. Lots of my friends in States use this software. As far as I know, it is popular in States. And you may buy mins on skype so you can call your family as a cell phone.
I'd say use myspace just to try to bring a movement and bring back those old memories. It has gotten old I admit that but I know when it was popular was it ever!! Best site to keep in contact I would say!
