The runaway growth of Sina’s microblog service Weibo has been one of the hottest tech stories of the year in China, and we found out the power of the platform firsthand during the promotion and planning of TechCrunch Disrupt Beijing. One curious thing about China’s microblog wars is that an older technology company– not a scrappy startup– became the dominant winner. That’s partially a testament to how entrenched the massive Web brands are with Chinese users and evidence of Sina’s willingness to cooperate with the government, back when other microblogs like Twitter were shut down.
But we had a hunch it was more than just that. For our second Beijing episode of TC Cribs, Sarah Lacy visited Weibo’s headquarters to see what life inside the microblog was like. They told us they’re constructing a massive, glitzy campus a la Baidu as we speak, and in this video you’ll see why. The current digs are packed to the gills with entrepreneurs and low on the frills. You know what they say about all work and no play? In a white-hot market for tech talent, it makes it impossible to recruit Jack.