Netizens vote for the top ten internet hot events of 2007

2007 is about to come to an end. The complicated and intricate cyber world remains fascinating. In reviewing this year, we can see that parody, materialism, humanities, ethics, wanted notices, hype, grassroots and other factors have caused more and more traditional media outlets to focus heavily on these events.

The Hunan provincial Party Secretary's online post for the New Year greetings, Chongqing's most hardcore钉子户 (nail household - referring to people who refuse to move despite government or corporate pressure), Shanxi's illegal brick kilns, and the Shaanxi South China Tiger photo scandal all created huge sensations due to the internet. Reports by traditional media were merely further extensions of events disclosed online.

However, this has also caused some members of traditional media's editorial staff to lose their sense of judgment. A prime example would be the salary standards for white-collar workers, which was actually an old post from two years ago, and ended with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences issuing a denial.

In 2007, China's 162 million internet users (second largest in the world) influenced the media and China in their own special way.

At its core, they represent the power of the grassroots level, the voice of the common folk. Through the洗礼 (baptism/trial) of one wave after another of internet trends, netizens are gradually becoming more mature, moving beyond simple online condemnations, and instead thinking about how to rationally vent their emotions, directing their anger towards condemning those who violate conscience and break the law.

This has also changed the past limitations of traditional media, which could not allow more people to express themselves due to space and page restrictions. In a certain sense, the internet is changing, and will continue to change, the ecology of the media and the lives of ordinary people.