Historicising Wanghong economy: connecting platforms through Wanghong and Wanghong incubators

Wanghong, short for ‘wangluo hongren’ (Chinese for ‘people who have gone viral on the internet’), is often used as the vernacular term for influencers and microcelebrities in China, which are increasingly defined by their acute ability to convert internet viewer traffic to money with diverse economic models in its contemporary context of wanghong economy. This essay historicises the emergence of wanghong economy in which both the meanings and practices of wanghong are being produced and reproduced and it examines how wanghong economy’s developing trajectory and economic models are underpinned by the strategic expansion of major domestic platform companies. Using the leading wanghong incubator, Ruhnn Holding Limited, as a case study, this essay deconstructs the profitable model of e-commerce wanghong that is widely adopted so far as a prototype across the wanghong industry. Such value chain integrates advertising and e-commerce and it further connects two powerful platforms, Weibo and Alibaba, by facilitating a transplatform business ecosystem that benefits, and is promoted by, both companies.