Research On The Difference Of Gains Of Online Bridging Social Capital Among Different Microblog Users

Nowadays, both “Microblog” and “Social capital” are research hotspots inacademic circles. In despite of the large number of researches on both these the twotopics, there are very few researches which combine them together. Based on the casestudy of Sina microblog, this research aims at explaining this kind of social mediafrom the perspective of social capital theory.The research discusses the concept of “Social capital” firstly, and then focuses onthe study of “Online bridging social capital”, mainly discussing the difference ofgains of online bridging social capital among different microblog users. Specificspeaking, this research tries answering three key questions:“Could microblog usersget online bridging social capital by using microblog?”,“How do microblog usersget online bridging social capital by using microblog?”,“Is there a significantdifference of gains of online bridging social capital among different microblogusers?”. By interview and question survey, we find the answers as followed:Conclusion Ⅰ: Online bridging social capital can be found in microblog,microblog users have structure opportunity to get online bridging social capital byusing it.Conclusion Ⅱ: Microblog users have three key ways to get online bridging socialcapital: following and subscribing, initiative searching and browsing the agenda ofmicroblog.Conclusion Ⅲ: There is a significant difference of gains of online bridging socialcapital among different microblog users.