Dialogue on creator and wanghong studies: Conceptual challenges and global approach

Abstract

This dialogue between communication scholars Lin and Craig explores the conceptual and terminological challenges inherent in “creator and wanghong studies,” particularly regarding the global diversity and local specificity of the emerging creator and wanghong cultures. Both scholars critique the inadequacy and ambiguity of established terms, noting that industry, academia, and creators themselves often resist or redefine these labels due to their loaded connotations. Furthermore, the dialogue analyses the growing role of state intervention in global and Chinese creator economies, with comparative cases in China, Southeast Asia, the US, and Latin America reflecting diverse trajectories, as further framed by and indicating the rise of platform nationalism. Emerging trends such as live or social commerce, performative and platformized authenticity, and the precariousness of creator labor are discussed as central to creator economies. The authors ultimately call for a global but locally grounded epistemological approach, integrating ethnographic depth and comparative frameworks, to better understand how creators and wanghong, platforms, and followers, amongst other stakeholders, mutually constitute changing media landscapes.