Why have short videos and mobile live streaming become the focus of attention: too many people and too much money?

Stupid people, lots of money, come quickly!

Although the authenticity of the source of this sentence cannot be verified, from a business perspective, this is indeed a characteristic of many new models.

The Chinese Internet, which has experienced the "Thousands of Group Wars" and the "O2O Wave", seems to be ushering in the "Live Streaming War". In a short period of time, a large amount of capital and senior people have joined in.

The temporary popularity is comparable to that of news portals and blog platforms back then. So why are short videos and mobile live streaming so popular?

To sum it up in one sentence, it might be: lots of people, lots of money, and lots of room for imagination?

Can short videos and mobile live streaming give birth to the next giant?

Although no one dares to make assertions, this does not prevent various funds and people from investing in the field of short videos and mobile live broadcast services.

Recently, according to media reports, Pengpai News CEO Qiu Bing confirmed that he will leave the company and move to the video industry. This is not the first senior media person to switch from traditional media to the video industry.

In addition to Qiu Bing, Xu Husheng, former editor-in-chief of The Bund Pictorial, Feng Xincheng, former executive editor of New Weekly, and Miao Wei, former deputy editor-in-chief of Sanlian Life Weekly, have also left traditional media and headed for the video industry in the past two years.

In fact, if we count television media practitioners and celebrities, there are more people engaged in the video industry, such as Liu Jianhong, Huang Jianxiang and so on.

Not only that, the increasingly popular field of short videos and mobile live streaming has also become an important battlefield for various funds to compete to "station troops".

For example, LeTV Sports acquired the sports live streaming platform Octopus TV for 300 million yuan, Tencent invested 400 million yuan in Douyu TV, the listed company Kunlun Wanwei invested 68 million yuan in the mobile live streaming APP "Inke", and 360 chose to cooperate with Beijing Television to launch the new media "Beijing Time", etc.

So, why have the shocking "baby-making" incidents and online live broadcasts or short video services that use "borderline" methods become the focus of various funds and people?

Mobile live streaming: advantages and disadvantages coexist, deep depression and great opportunities?

First of all, videos bring a greater sensory experience or impact than text, pictures, audio and other content.

From the perspective of communication media or form, video itself is easier to spread than text, pictures or audio.

From the perspective of user usage or experience, short videos or mobile live broadcasts are more in line with users' mobile Internet or mobile phone Internet habits, and are more likely to attract user attention.

Secondly, short videos or mobile live broadcasts that integrate elements such as barrage are more in line with the preferences of young people.

In the eyes of most people, the current mobile live broadcast content is generally of poor content production level. Without functions such as barrage and interactive chat, these short videos or mobile live broadcasts will not be able to attract users.

It is precisely because of the poor level of current mobile live broadcast content production that many spectator users have a more "game" or "entertainment" mentality.

By watching short videos, mobile live broadcasts and real-time barrage, you can get a new video viewing experience. By having people watch and complain, the topic becomes a focus and you get a comprehensive experience, which dilutes the direct impact of the video content itself.

Third, there is a lot of room for improvement in current short videos and mobile live streaming content.

Previously, many mobile live broadcasts were run in a show mode with beautiful anchors, which was a bit like an online "nightclub", satisfying the needs of some users to kill time.

However, previous grassroots live broadcasts had relatively poor content in terms of ideology, value or practicality. Although some "Internet celebrities" emerged, their sustainability was not very strong.

It is precisely because the current content of short videos and mobile live broadcasts is relatively "crudely made" that there are many areas that can be expanded or elements that can be introduced in this field, which is undoubtedly a value gap for entrepreneurs who are good at content production.

A lot of people and a lot of money: Will this help boost the continued popularity of short videos and mobile live streaming?

The above three reasons may be the key reasons why senior media professionals such as Pengpai News CEO Qiu Bing, former editor-in-chief of The Bund Pictorial Xu Husheng, former executive editor of New Weekly Feng Xincheng, and former deputy editor-in-chief of Sanlian Life Weekly Miao Wei are flocking to the video field.

Because on the one hand, this is a new trend in media communication, and on the other hand, it can give full play to their expertise in content production.

For various capitals or funds, topics, trends and content are what attract them. Some grassroots netizens have transformed themselves into highly-watched "Internet celebrities" with the help of short videos, mobile live broadcasts, etc., which has become a new path to "making stars".

Once celebrity elements are introduced, similar to the various celebrity reality shows that are popular today, it is bound to attract more attention from users.

For example, on the eve of the broadcast of the hit TV series "Ode to Joy", the heroine Liu Tao appeared on a video live broadcast APP, which quickly attracted more than 700,000 online viewers. Not only did she earn 600,000 in just two hours of live broadcast, she also caused the live broadcast software service to crash. This shows how popular it was.

Therefore, by introducing professional organizations or personnel, adding celebrity elements according to the operation mode of entertainment programs, and planning live broadcast content with specific themes, a new form of celebrity reality interactive live show is expected to be born.

More importantly, in addition to celebrity reality shows, there is huge potential for live streaming of professional content in various vertical fields such as cooking, education, travel, and emergencies.

Simply put, because short videos and mobile live streaming are still in their infancy, not only have various funds or individuals rushed to seize the beachhead, but the future development space in this field is also full of imagination.

It can be seen that the field of short videos and mobile live broadcast is a typical "many people, silly money" field, with fast user growth, a complete payment chain, and solid payment habits. This means that as long as there is better content, more eye-catching star effects, and more fun interactive promotions, you can reap considerable income.

From the perspective of the media, establishing a payment system based on the Internet or mobile Internet has always been the focus of transformation of various media. From the perspective of capital, faster capital circulation and monetization models are the focus of their pursuit.

All of these seem to be achievable in the field of short videos and mobile live streaming services. Therefore, although there has been a large amount of infringing and vulgar and obscene content in the field of short videos and mobile live streaming before, this has not prevented senior media professionals from joining in, nor can it stop the influx of funds from all walks of life.

Of course, the biggest risk in this field may still be regulatory policies. Previously, many online live broadcast platforms were investigated and punished by the cultural department, which regarded online live broadcast as an Internet cultural product of "online performance" and regulated it accordingly.

In fact, there is some controversy or overlap as to whether live streaming is considered an "online performance" or an "audio-visual program."

The possible overlapping of regulatory responsibilities will also bring some "variables" to the development of this industry.

For grassroots entrepreneurs, the risk of this "variable" may be greater than the benefit. However, for senior people with strong financial resources or strong production capabilities, the benefit may be greater than the risk.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.