internet - China's crazy blogosphere

In the past they were called the 'chatroom warriors', but in the anarchy of China's internet even decent citizens go crazy. Newfactor.com quotes two experts, Sam Flemming:

Americans "think the Internet in China is controlled and censored," says Sam Flemming, chief executive of CIC Data, a Shanghai research firm that tracks Chinese online forums and blogs. But when it comes to commenting on business, "Chinese people are vocal and active."

And:

Last year General Mills Inc.'s Haagen-Dazs brand suffered a blow when bloggers circulated rumors that the company's ice cream was made in an unsanitary factory in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Haagen-Dazs doesn't even have a plant in the city, but that didn't prevent the faulty information from spreading through the Chinese blogosphere. "Companies can get really screwed if they don't" pay attention to bloggers and online forums, says Shaun Rein, founder of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group.

Update: The original article was published in Business Week; guess that happens when they get syndication agreements with everybody.