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Millions of Chinese Stream Reality Shows Starring Themselves (bloomberg.com)
Lulu Yilun Chen, reporting for Bloomberg: Pole dancing, bungee jumping, a woman eating maggots: at any given hour, millions of Chinese are live-streaming all of this and much more on their smartphones. Crazes come and go at neck-snapping speed in the world's largest online marketplace, but China's live-streaming phenomenon shows staying power and is already a significant business. Tiny startups and internet giants alike are making money selling virtual gifts -- flowers, cars, toys -- to people keen to reward their favorite live-streamers. As the business matures, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and others may start selling ads on the most popular streams. "This isn't a fad that will disappear, as the business model has proven to be viable," said Zhu Xiaohu, managing partner at GSR Ventures Management Co., who invested in Inke, one of about 200 live-streaming startups that have attracted an estimated $750 million in venture capital. "But the amount of interest in this sector is so high, bubbles could be forming and many will fail."
Is this a case where the great firewall of China could be a "good thing", containing all these films to China?
... Zhu Xiachu.
"This isn't a fad that will disappear, as the business model has proven to be viable," said Zhu Xiaohu, managing partner at GSR Ventures Management Co.
I don't respond to AC's.
How do I watch these shows and contribute money to my favorite stars?
It may sound crazy, but with people making stuff and putting it on Youku Tudou, it just may be something that gets honed and becomes a positive thing for the Chinese culture for the long term. As time goes on, things get more refined and professional. It also gets more people involved in theater and the arts, and this is always a good thing. This is how new forms of entertainment (be it jazz, vaudeville, opera, etc.) are created.
I wouldn't be surprised if 100 years from now, videos on YouTube and similar sites are regarded with high esteem, similar to how movies made in the early part of the 20'th century evoke nostalgia.
There is more entertainment than anyone can ever enjoy. There is more knowledge than anyone can ever learn. We have been living in a post-scarcity world for quite some time, but the Internet shows us what's available. In a way that is great, but it's also a bit like the Total Perspective Vortex from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
"In this segment, I will overthrow our totalitarian government, and install democracy..."
Table-ized A.I.
If millions of Chinese stream reality shows starring themselves, that would mean that there are millions of Chinese on reality shows, would it not? Seems pretty excessive, even for a country with the population of China.
I, for one, welcome our new Chinese pole dancing, maggot-eating overlords!
The question I have, not living in or ever having visited China, is: Are their 'regular' TV shows there utter, unwatchable crap? If so then it would begin to explain why viewer-generated content like this would be so popular.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
How does it go again? "A billion people in China couldn't care less."
The shameless attention-whore culture is being monetized.
"Look at me me me me meeeeeeeeeeeeee, look at me!!"
(Congratulations User, you've just made 9 cents! Please continue attention-whoring to keep earning.)
"Look at meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Look at me dance, watch me eat breakfast, watch me break up with my boyfriend for the 27th time! Look at meeee!"
(Congratulations User, you've just made 11 cents! Please continue attention-whoring to keep earning.)
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
I live stream myself watching people live stream themselves FTW!
Somewhere I recall hearing something about the population of China being so great and dense that they have more genius-level citizens than the U.S. has of people whom are at any-level intelligence (high or low). Maybe I'm wrong but millions of self-staring reality shows sounds like the collective level of vanity in China is high, which is not what I'd call intelligent. Am I thinking of the wrong country here?
"This isn't a fad that will disappear, as the business model has proven to be viable" The same could be said about beanie babies. Once you see two people eating maggots you've seen enough people eating maggots. It will likely take longer than other fads, but it will eventually fall out of favor too. That doesn't mean you can't make a lot of money off it, just that you should never trust Zhu Xiaohu nor GSR Ventures Management Co for market advice.
So who's started making the ultimate internet-tv-guide, in all 429 major languages?
Or a streaming-on-demand service ( subscription supported, small fee ) to view any one
of millions of web shows?
Or has everyone who started looking at it fallen into a drooling captive state of mind?