The development and integration stage

The eight years after 2005 when the number of China’s netizens exceeded 100 million for the first time is the rapid development stage. At this stage, the construction of broadband networks were upgraded into the national strategy, meanwhile the numbers of China’s netizens kept rapidly increasing and the online retailing and social networking became new highlights of the industry, and mobile Internet drove the Internet development into a new phase.

Furthermore, the Internet governance system was going forward and continuously improving in the exploring process. We are now at the integration and innovation stage. Since China proposed to build a strong cyber power as a strategy in 2014, innovations in the Internet industry have been more deeply integrated with all aspects of economic and social life, meanwhile the Internet plus Initiative has advanced Internet-based industrial development in an all-round way, and Internet governance has entered into a new phase of reinforced coordination.

2005

In 2005, Web 2.0 changed the Internet. In this year, the number of Chinese Internet users exceeded 100 million, making China the country with the second largest netizen population after only the United States. A great number of users entered into the cyber world, and they need a new platform to cater for their needs and activities. At this time, a new network application model, Blog, as the most well-known Web 2.0 element, became an icon of this phase.

Web 2.0 has overturned the traditional information production model of the Web 1.0 era, as it emphasizes more on peer-to-peer information exchange of focus communication. Users as receivers of information are also creators of information, realizing information circulation of their own, which is a subversive creation. Blog was the epitome of this model. It completed the subversion of traditional elite model of information production, and influenced an era of Internet development.

The Web 2.0 concept, represented by the Blog, fueled the Internet development in China. While it was widely in use, it also gave rise to a series of new social things, such as Blog, RSS, WIKI, and SNS social network.

It was also in this year that Baidu was listed on NASDAQ, lifting the development of Chinese Internet to a new level. The heated debate triggered a year ago by the fact that the market value of Shanda exceeded many domestic portal sites still lingered, yet the market value of Baidu set a new target for Chinese Internet corporations.

The listing of Baidu also triggered the fever for the profession of webmaster. Webmasters formed a community-level group most close to the Internet and represented an important force fueling the development of Chinese Internet.

In 2005, the capital market for the Internet was very brisk. All sorts of mergers and acquisitions sprung up one after another; the most famous one was the acquisition between Yahoo! and Alibaba.

It was also in this year that the first IPTV business license in China was issued and that the college BBS in the Chinese mainland were forced to "transform" and restrict some functions due to the impact of YTHT BBS closing down. The effects of Chinese-style Internet management were becoming apparent. In this year, related governmental departments also promulgated some new policies on the future development of Internet and new regulations on its management.

In 2005, the first year of Blog has unlocked the new model of Web 2.0, from where the brilliance of Internet continues to sparkle.