In Chinese, the term wanghong refers to creators, social media
entrepreneurs alternatively known as KOLs (key opinion leaders) and
zhubo (showroom hosts), influencers and micro-celebrities. Wanghong also
refers to an emerging media ecology in which these creators cultivate
online communities for cultural and commercial value by harnessing
Chinese social media platforms, like Weibo, WeChat, Douyu, Huya,
Bilibili, Douyin, and Kuaishuo. Framed by the concepts of cultural,
creative, and social industries, the book maps the development of
wanghong policies and platforms, labor and management, content and
culture, as they operate in contrast to its non-Chinese counterpart,
social media entertainment, driven by platforms like YouTube, Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitch. As evidenced by the backlash to TikTok, the
threat of competition from global wanghong signals advancing platform
nationalism.