Fame and fortune for Internet’s celebrities
Print Edition
TRENDING on the Internet brings you fame, and can mean great fortune too.
A 12 million yuan (US$1.84 million) investment in a female vblogger from Shanghai hascaptured the imagination of China’s Internet community.
Jiang Yilei, who is known online as Papi, is a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama and began posting her homemade videos on social networks in August last year.
She quickly gained a huge following, and her quirky videos caught the attention, and the investment, of Luo Zhenyu, a media commentator with his own huge following.
Papi’s humorous yet critical monologues on issues that affect people in China have been shared across China’s social networks, such as WeChat and Weibo, where she has 8 million followers.
Each video can easily get 100,000 views.
Her popularity and ensuing great fortune have not gone unnoticed by the public.
Comments on Weibo range from: “Her hilarious commentaries on pop culture not only get the point, but are also thought-provoking” to “It must take her a while to shoot even the simplest of scenes. She deserves the money.”
Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research, said: “Because they have so many followers, Internet sensations are an attractive addition to any promotion. That’s why people are keen to invest.”
However, such online celebrities have their detractors.
“There have been sensations like this before. They usually don’t last very long,” was another comment on Weibo. “Only those backed by professional agents can really make their way in this business.”
And Shen Yang, professor at Tsinghua University, expressed concern about Papi “selling out.” “It remains to be seen whether Papi can stick to her own style after the investment.” he said.
“Whether her commercial value continues to rise is also questionable,” Shen added, recalling past Internet sensations Fengjie and Shi Hengxia who did not last long in the spotlight.
Still, a lot of people believe in Internet celebrities.
“Attitudes regarding the Internet have changed,” commented a WeChat user. “That means people are now willing to pay for what they love to see on the Internet, especially if those people do or say things that resonate with them,” he added.
Luo is convinced the future is bright after his investment in Papi. They are set to appear together in commercials in the near future.
“The sky is the limit for Papi,” he said.
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