A celebrity’s popularity can determine whether a platform survives

Evidence

The intertwined relationships between platforms and wanghong are one example of the intra-actions between the agential power of platforms, the workings of infrastructure, and the participating individuals: a platform can be the indispensable stage of a wanghong’s performance, infrastructure can determine how platforms are designed, adopted, and performed, but a wanghong’s popularity can also determine whether a specific platform survives its fierce competition. — Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown (eds.), Microcelebrity Around the Globe, 522

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains Lamarre’s ‘platformativity’ via concrete example of platform-celebrity mutual agential influence.
• CANDY: Nice fodder about celebrity-platform mutual dependency — a famous user can make or break a platform.
• XREF: connects to: Chinese real-name registration spawned platform-verified ‘Big V’ opinion celebrities — Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown (eds.), Microcelebrity Around the Globe:…, 530; Celebrity functions as stored attention convertible into commercial influence — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 150; Celebrity fame now functions as a loss leader for other products — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 656 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Celebrity functions as stored attention convertible into commercial influence #expands (0.85) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 150
• A platform founder admits popularity is rewarded above information quality #corroborates (0.82) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 212
• Celebrity fame now functions as a loss leader for other products #expands (0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 656
• Traditional media smear viral stars to protect their own declining attention market share #expands (0.72) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 206