Shanghai Daily news

History repeats itself.
Investor exuberance about the new economy in the 1990s was not nurtured so much by venture capital as by people's firm belief the Internet would change the world and business.
But Internet start ups, brick and mortar businesses and investors had no clear idea about how to profit from the technology.
But things work themselves out somehow. China's big three Internet portals finally proved they could earn profits online by means of value-added wireless services, adverts and games.
Enter the blog. The 8-million-plus online journals worldwide, which encompasses topics ranging from personal experiences to social issues, have exploded over the past few years.
As the number of registered blog users soars in China, the business model is an inevitable concern for blog-hosting Internet companies. This is a work in progress.
"I don't think there exists a mature profit model for blog-hosting companies to make use of," said Zou Lei, a researcher with Shanghai iResearch Co Ltd, an Internet research firm.
Zou said although adverts, charging for accessory services and derivative products such as book publishing are potentially lucrative, how far blog-hosting companies go by means of these methods remains debatable.
There are now approximately 670,000 bloggers, according to cnblog.org, a non-profit Website which tracks the development of domestic blogs.
"The blog-hosting companies need to attract more people to become bloggers," said Isaac Mao, founder of the Website.
According to Mao, when the number of bloggers reaches 5 to 10 million - which he estimates will take up to two years - it won't be difficult for the companies to break even, or start turning a profit.
Integrating blogging into daily life is desirable as more youngsters become addicted to the idea of learning, sharing and interacting via the medium.
Similar to the situation in the United States, teenagers and 20-somethings complain about school, talk about their dates, office politics, shopping experiences, or even their pets in cyber diaries. They in turn can receive advice through comments posted by blog readers.
These intimate strangers supplement an individual's real world social circle. "It helps the introvert express feelings while giving the outspoken a chance to further broaden their horizons," said George Chen, who blogs at treebar.net. His blog consists of everything from creative writing to his latest pop song.
Blog technology does have an advantage over previous interaction tools.
It is much easier to maintain compared to a personal home page and is user friendly.
The blog has become a unique tool for some people, something they can't do without.
"By jotting down my daily inspirations, I can develop systematic research findings in a shorter period after quickly exchanging ideas with visitors to my blog," said Liu Dong, a researcher at the Shanghai Hongkou District Teacher Training Institute.
Liu has about 3,000 visitors per day. Although it costs about 1,000 yuan (US$120) every year to maintain, he said it was well worthwhile.
There's no question these small Internet spaces can be profitable.
Hu Zhiguang, founder of blogcn.com, is a believer in "only the strong survive." As one of the country's three blog-hosting Internet firms, the company is planning to charge user fees in the future.