Microblogs came into China in 2009 and this social platform has grown tremendously in the past several years. With most Microblog users being young people (defined as under 30), and of this generation (born in the 80’s and 90’s), microblogs have shown great influence in China in both social and political aspects.
Yang Lan (Wikipedia), a famous journalist, TV show host, and entrepreneur gave a TED Talk on this phenomenon. (For more on social media and how it can affect change, see this TED Talk from Clay Shirky.)