Called 'bridge blogs,' chinaSMACK is a daily-updated collection of translated internet content from the Chinese-language internet. These latest stories, pictures, videos, and topics have become very popular, spreading across China’s major BBS forums, social networking websites, or through email forwards sent between normal Chinese people everyday. Why are these bridge blogs so important? Here are reasons why:(1) Preciously Scare Resource - In a political system that does not encourage individual opinions,- especially political -by heavily regulating the formal channels of communication and search engines, bridge blogs are an incredibly precious resource for the West's understanding of the East.
(2) The cultural diaspora of Chinese - About one-third of chinaSMACK's readers are in the United States, 18 per cent are in China, while Britain, Canada and Singapore each account for roughly five per cent of traffic. Bridge blogs not only reveal what Chinese in China think, but ultimately what Chinese around the world think, especially its digital natives.
(3) Cultural Weather Vane - Like, the U.S. celebrity news site TMZ.com,chinaSMACK is a has the finger on the pulse of the Internet culture in China that is a lot more vibrant than Americans think,
