Three Chinese blogs of Years 2005 (2005年的三个博客)
[in translation]
EastSouthWestNorth
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/weblog.htmThe world is flat? In New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's bestselling book for the whole year, the Internet seems to have broken down all the boundaries between nations and between people. Various types of information flow unrestricted through the fiber optic cables at the bottom of oceans.
But in practice, there are objective differences in language. The information relay between the Chinese- and English-language blogospheres was in an imbalanced situation from the very first day. "If an event was not described in English, it did not really happen," according to Chinese judge Michael Anti at the Deutsche Welle Best of Blogs Competition. Currently, Chinese intellecturals go to the English-language media to get the first-hand news about what is happening on the other side of the ocean. But most European and American persons can only depend on non-indigenous foreign correspondents based in China to observe the rapid changes in this mysterious eastern country.
The appearance of EastSouthWestNorth has more or less altered this situation. This blog run by a Hong Kong person was able to use astonishing speed and accurate expression to disseminate in English the most important viewpoints in the Chinese media and blogs. In the many news stories in China this fall, EastSouthWestNorth has unwittingly influenced the viewpoints of the foreign media organizations based in China, in terms of opinions as well as the manner in which suddenly breaking incidents ought to be handled.
From the viewpoint of communications theory, the information in mass media does not flow directly to the audience. Rather, they go through those opinion leaders who have frequent contact with media information in order to influence more individuals. Without doubt, EastSouthWestNorth has begun to play the role of opinion leader in the process by which information is spread from the east to the west.Economic Observer
东南西北
http://www.zonaeuropa.com/weblog.htm
世界是平的？在《纽约时报》专栏作家托马斯•弗里德曼那本热卖了整整一年的畅销书中，互联网似乎已经推倒了所有国家与人中之间的藩篱，各种形态的资讯在各大洋的海底光缆中畅通无阻。
但实际上，由于语种差异的客观存在，中英文博客生态圈之间的信息传递从其初具雏形的那一天起就处于极大的失衡状态。“没有被英文描述过的事情其实没有真实存在过。”德国之声博客大赛的中国评委安替认为。当中国的知识分子通过英文媒体了解大洋彼端的第一手新闻时，绝大部分欧美民众只能通过境外媒体驻华记者水土不服的视角来观察这个神秘的东方国度里每日的剧变。
“东南西北”的出现或多或少地改变了这种状况。这份由香港人操持的博客以惊人的速度和准确的表意将每日中国本土媒体和中文博客上的重要观点以英文为载体传播出去。在今年秋季国内的大量新闻事件中，“东南西北”已经在不经意间左右了海外媒体驻华机构的视线、意见甚至是对突发事件的处理方式。
在传播学理论看来，大众传媒的信息并非直接流向受众，而是通过那些频繁接触传媒信息的意见领袖来影响更多的个体。毫无疑问，“东南西北”已经开始在自东向西的消息传播路径中扮演起意见领袖的角色。经济观察报