Analysis of general opinions about Sina Weibo micro-blog real-name verification system

Online social network has become more prevalent than ever in our modern lifestyle. Micro-blogs like Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, Renren, Sina Weibo have undergone an exponential growth in popularity, they have become an essential tool in connecting people beyond spatial boundaries. As the policy of real-name verification has launched in Beijing China, the reaction from netizens is noticeably overwhelming; while some people keep a good faith that will help subside online frauds, some expressed concern over the privacy issues like revealing their true identities in online interactions, the freedom of speech and so on. To this end, we conducted a face-to-face survey for collecting some public opinions with a case study of Sina Weibo micro blog. We investigate the perceived effect/affect of real-name verification policy on the uses of micro-blogs. The results are interpreted via simple statistics as well as some data mining approach.