Micro-blogging has been growing quickly over the past year. As a result, many other forms of social networking are no longer popular, even if they just came into being several years ago. However, micro-blogging is a two-side blade. It helps, but it also hurts.

Micro-blogging is famous for spreading messages almost immediately. It also helps the public manage some agencies and organizations. For example, in March 2011, some micro-bloggers persuaded the Nanjing government to stop cutting 600 old trees in the downtown area; after a serious earthquake and tsunami(海啸) hit Japan, micro-bloggers called for giving a helping hand to the Japanese victims. In July, micro-bloggers made clear the “Guo Meimei” scandal（丑闻）, and brought the Red Cross Society of China under investigation.

    Like everything in life, micro-blogging also has an opposite side.

Guo Meimei, who was involved in the scandal of the Red Cross Society, suffered from all kinds of online attacks, and said she was being followed up on and even threatened. Another problem is the spreading rumors（谣言）, such as the rumor that Shanxi was going to be struck by a big earthquake and “Jin Yong’s death”—Jin Yong is a Chinese novelist famous for his wuxia novels.

In the online world, large amounts of information is easily spread to a large network, but sometimes there is no official source. So it’s highly important for everyone to have the ability to tell truth from rumor. It is also suggested that Internet companies should stop the accounts of users who spread rumors.

1.Why are many forms of social networking no longer popular?

2.What is micro blogging famous for?

3.Who persuaded the Nanjing government to save 600 old trees?

4.What are bad points of micro-blogging?

5.How can people deal with the online world?