Almost everyone who has tried microblogging believes it has changed their lives, according to a survey conducted by China Youth Daily.

The survey involved 3282 people from 30 provinces around China, of whom 92.4 percent had tried microblogging at least once and 45.3 percent microblogged often. Microblogs are similar to normal blogs but with much smaller content.

Ding Jie, who works for China International Publishing Group, considers microblogging useful and funny. "I am busy and don't have long time to write full blogs," he said. "But I can record my feelings in just one or two sentences by microblogging. It is also funny to share information with colleagues and friends".

Ding also gets her news from microblogs, which she says are more pertinent and selective. "It may not be the quickest but it is what I want most."

According to the survey, 3 out of 4 people use microblogging to learn new information, while two thirds use it to discuss interesting subjects and just over half to keep in touch with friends.

Others microblog to give vent to their feelings, to ask for other people's ideas on certain topics and to find out more about their business contacts.

The survey showed that half of all microbloggers believe it has become an important marketing platform and three quarters choose it as an important channel to get news.

Min Dahong, an internet communication researcher, says microblogging can be done anywhere, any time, so it is a great source for live news reports and photographs.

Although microblogs just contain fragments of information, they can help to form public opinion or mobilize people into action.