With the advent of the era of universal live streaming, are internet celebrities a topic or a problem?

In the spring of 2016, when capital suddenly turned cold, live broadcast platforms grew vigorously, driving anchors, fans and capital crazy. It is not like QQ 17 years ago, Weibo 7 years ago, and WeChat 5 years ago. They all became popular after a relatively long period of user accumulation, but the fire of online live broadcast seems to have been ignited overnight. With the development of social media, smart phones, and 4G networks, online live broadcast is becoming a new battlefield for a new round of Internet giants and entrepreneurs to compete.

You can live stream even when eating or sleeping

Yadan and Liu Tao are both trying to grab the jobs of internet celebrities

Overnight, the era of universal live streaming arrived.

Where there are stars, there are live broadcasts. Last Thursday, iQiyi invited fans to watch the finale of "Descendants of the Sun" and invited the popular Korean actor "Jin Goo" to interact with fans. Compared with the screaming fans on the scene, the anchors from Huajiao, YY and other platforms were unusually calm, but their screens were already filled with gifts from fans. Last week, the Sohu Marathon started in Sanya, attracting many stars such as Wang Kai and Yuan Shanshan to participate. The five sexy anchors selected by its "Qianfan Live" also used mobile phone video live broadcast to record the whole process.

Ordinary people’s live broadcasts are more “homely” and seem boring, but they have many fans. When you go out to eat, you have to live broadcast. This dish is too salty, that dish is too bland, and the “cucumbers” that pass by on the screen are worth more than a meal. You can live broadcast fitness, chatting, doing homework, and even sleeping. Last year, on “Double 11”, a girl who live broadcasted sleeping received a 70,000 yuan reward from “national husband” Wang Sicong.

Live broadcasts with a special skill are more popular. Those who teach history, mathematics, erhu, and stock trading have all started live broadcasts. Some people believe in them because they are "eloquent", while others question how "education" can be a tool for making money. People who sing well, dance well, and have talents, even if they are not good-looking, will be loved by people because of their talents, and the probability of them stepping onto a broader stage to realize their dreams is much greater than before. Even college students' employment outlook has changed. Compared with finding a job, "live broadcasting" is free and interesting, and it earns more money. It has become a "good job" in the minds of many young people.

Celebrities also came to compete with "Internet celebrities" for jobs. The live broadcast of the sketch actor "Ya Dan" was amazing. It turned out that the girl who always wore red and green and had two pigtails in front of the camera was so beautiful without makeup. Zhao Benshan's daughter played a live broadcast on a certain platform. After one show, the gift reward reached 880,000, which beat her father in seconds. The gifts were also from big names. Brothers from Deyun Club and apprentices from Liu Laogen Grand Stage came. Liu Tao joined a live broadcast platform. The first live broadcast created 170,000 people online at the same time. The live broadcast platform was even paralyzed within 5 minutes of the opening.

The popularity of live streaming was not built in a day

This is the 3.0 era of mobile video live streaming

Why is live streaming so popular that it has caused a collective fever in capital and the market? Pang Yiming, an analyst at Analysys Consulting, told the Beijing Morning Post that the trend of live streaming has been brewing for several years. For example, the listing of 9158 has proved that this industry has a strong user base. But its sudden "explosion" is inseparable from the joint promotion of the market.

According to the CNNIC article, online video live streaming is the most advanced form of media today. From the perspective of information dissemination, words can be fabricated, pictures can be photoshopped, and even videos can be edited and produced, but live streaming allows users to connect with the scene in real time, providing the most authentic and direct experience. Because of its authenticity, what will happen next is unpredictable, which gives users enough imagination and surprises to attract users to watch. Its strong interactivity also brings fans and anchors closer.

From the live broadcast 1.0 era of uploading personal short videos on video websites such as Youku Tudou, to the "show" live broadcast 2.0 era of web-based platforms such as YY Live and Liujianfang, today's live broadcast platforms have entered the 3.0 mobile video live broadcast era of "walk, watch, and broadcast". However, among them, there are also many names that were once popular but quickly forgotten. Miaopai, Zuji, and GIF Kuaishou, which were once popular in the circle of friends, represent a group of time-lapse live broadcast software, but with the rise of instant live broadcast software, their advantages are no longer there. "The live broadcast platform is bound to go through a process of elimination. With the development of the market, the market concentration will further increase, whether it is the anchor or the user, and the entire industry will form a relatively clear pattern." Pang Yiming said.

Chaos behind the prosperity

After watching too much eating, sleeping, and meaningless chatting, how long can users' enthusiasm last?

Data cited on the Ministry of Culture website show that the number of users of online live broadcast platforms has reached 200 million. During peak hours every day, large live broadcast platforms have about 3,000 to 4,000 live broadcast "rooms" online at the same time, with the number of users reaching 2 to 3 million. The content of live broadcast platforms is also experiencing challenges. On April 14, after the Ministry of Culture included a number of live broadcast platforms in the list of investigations, the chaos behind the prosperity of live broadcast platforms was pushed to the forefront. Coincidentally, on April 13, the Beijing Internet Culture Association organized the heads of more than 20 major companies engaged in online performances (i.e. live broadcasts), including Baidu, Sina, Sohu, iQiyi, LeTV, Youku, Kuwo, Yingke, and Huajiao, to jointly issue the "Beijing Internet Live Broadcast Industry Self-Discipline Convention" to express the industry's attitude.

But after watching too much eating, sleeping, and meaningless chatting, how long can users maintain their freshness? "We firmly resist content that is vulgar and does not conform to the core socialist values, and have established relevant regulatory departments. In addition to focusing on anchors with high appearance, many grassroots live broadcasts on the platform are more subdivided. In addition to singing and dancing talent shows, there are also fitness, food, fashion shopping, and even handicrafts, sand painting, and fishing." The head of the YY platform told the Beijing Morning Post reporter.

The industry chain of "live broadcast" platforms is also taking shape. According to iResearch, in 2016, the number of game live broadcast users will exceed 100 million. The core income model of life live broadcast platforms has also become clear: it will be through platform-specific cameras, paid advertising, audience reward sharing, and other platform rebroadcasting platform copyright fees. Pang Yiming said that around "live broadcast", the platform can operate performing arts brokerage, monetize traffic through advertising, and even generate high-quality IP and produce content for the entire industry. For anchors, in addition to reward income, e-commerce and advertising endorsements are relatively fast ways to realize income.

Witnesses and creators of the live broadcast era

The new battlefield of online live streaming: Are internet celebrities a topic or a problem?

They and their onlookers are the witnesses and creators of this bizarre live broadcast era. Their stories are filled with absurdity, boredom, fun, and dreams. Their future and reality are allegories of countless possibilities.

"Dao Ge" earns millions of yuan a month from live broadcast rewards

"If you want to stand out, you have to rely on professional operations"

Ye Wudao, known as "Dao Ge", is a male anchor on the YY platform. Among many female anchors with fair skin, big eyes and cone-shaped faces, Dao Ge is active in the first-line ranks with his handsome appearance and diligent and inspiring image. Dao Ge's popularity during live broadcasts can reach more than 100,000, and the number of fans is more than 1 million. The average monthly live broadcast reward income can reach 800,000 to 1 million, which is a top anchor. But Dao Ge's business acumen is far more than the reward economy. A door to the anchor business has been opened.

When talking about Ye Wudao, one cannot avoid mentioning his status as a wealthy person. On his personal verified Weibo, he is the chairman of Eslite Media, a film and television investor, and a member of the SCC supercar club. But Daoge told the Beijing Morning Post reporter that he is just a migrant worker in Beijing whose Mandarin is not very standard. Before becoming an anchor, he lived in a shared house in Tongzhou like most migrant workers in Beijing, and spent 3 hours every day working as an elevator salesperson at the Futon Center on the East Third Ring Road, with a monthly salary of only 1,500 yuan.

Dao Ge first started live streaming in May 2015. "I invited friends who had just returned to China to dinner, and I found that they were always talking on their phones, which I didn't understand." Dao Ge started live streaming after his friends persuaded him, but his first live streaming was "extremely embarrassing." "I'm from Fujian, and I can't speak Mandarin well. The first time I live streamed, I just sat there and listened to my friends."

It took Dao Ge three years to go from a 170-pound fat man to a 60-pound handsome man with eight-pack abs. It took Dao Ge less than a year to go from more than 800 people in his first live broadcast to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people online at the same time. Losing weight is easy for Dao Ge: "In the past few years, I gave up pork and rice. I ate less oil and salt. For a period of time, I only drank plain water every day and preferred to eat vegetarian food." But when it comes to live broadcasting, Dao Ge said it is not easy.

"All people see is a mobile phone and a camera, but without hard work and dedication, success is impossible." Dao Ge said that when he was doing live broadcasts last year, some friends did not understand why he wanted to show up in public, and some people thought he was having financial difficulties, but now the public's attitude towards live broadcasts has changed. "Everyone just wants to see something real and interactive, so in order to make the live broadcast perfect, you have to put more thought into it." In order to live broadcast for 3 hours every day, he has to read jokes the night before and think about what background music to play and what to talk about the next day. He also has to constantly change his look, space, and program content to let fans see a different side of him. "People who watch the fun will eventually disperse, and you have to be thoughtful to keep your fans."

Today, Dao Ge has another identity - "the first brother of the union". Play Entertainment Media, which he and his friends founded, is a well-known union organization on YY. "After we set up a company, we became a professional team and also trained the anchors in singing, dancing and talk shows. In fact, the competition for anchors is very fierce. There are 20 offline staff members serving one anchor, and nearly 100 part-time online staff members. If you want to stand out, you have to rely on professional operations."

Post-90s college students are enjoying the youth meal of live broadcast

"I can't sleep every day, thinking about how to make myself talk funny"

Mengmeng is a college student who is about to graduate. She did not join the army of job seekers like her classmates, but started live streaming. She is an anchor on Yingke, mainly chatting with netizens. In addition to being an anchor, she also takes some work as a print model.

Talking about her current work status, Mengmeng is very satisfied. "The advantage of live streaming is that I have free time and relatively free speech."

Meng Meng has a clear understanding of the current situation of the live broadcast industry: "Live broadcasting is a job for young people. While you are young, do it for a few years first, and then make other plans in the future." Meng Meng told the Beijing Morning Post reporter that most of the popular anchors have backstage or companies to promote them. Many people don't understand why anchors can make so much money. In fact, it is the scale effect. With more people watching live broadcasts, the base is large. If one person spends one yuan, the final reward amount will be considerable. Many people who don't know the reason will follow suit when they see that there are so many people in this room, forming a cycle.

Meng Meng said that 10,000 Yingke tickets are equivalent to about 300 yuan. When you have tens of thousands of fans, two hours of live broadcast is equivalent to two to three days' salary for ordinary people. If the gifts are swiped quickly, it will be even more. "But this kind of work cannot accurately calculate the monthly income. If you are lucky, you can earn several months' income for ordinary people in a few days."

Meng Meng told the Beijing Morning Post that in order to increase popularity, joining a union is a good choice. The leaders of unions are usually wealthy people who can operate as a team and are more likely to make anchors popular. However, different platforms have different attitudes towards unions. "Inke is boycotting unions because its slogan is to live broadcast your life, and it cannot appear in this family-like form."

Maintaining fans is also a science. In addition to online live broadcasts, you must maintain your fan base offline and mediate the relationship between fans. "When you are online, you have to control the scene and control the trolls and black fans in time. You also have to build a good relationship with fans in private, chat with them, and send red envelopes. I can't sleep every day, so I think about how to make myself talk funny." Mengmeng said.

Meng Meng is currently enjoying her job as a host. "You don't have to look up to others, you are also a part of the scenery" is her motto, but she is also aware that this path is not as easy as it seems. "If you want to do this full-time, you have to be one of the early starters. If you come in now and don't have your own resources and no one to support you, you won't be able to succeed on your own."

Yuan Tengfei's first show attracted 500,000 fans

“In order to prevent history teachers from becoming history”

Yuan Tengfei, who is famous for his history lectures, recently started broadcasting on a live broadcast platform. His first show attracted 500,000 fans, and the screen was flooded with gifts during the live broadcast. But during the lecture, he repeatedly emphasized that he had not worked in traditional educational institutions for a long time. When asked why he was willing to try a new platform even though he was already famous, Yuan Tengfei said: "In order to prevent history teachers from becoming history."

The live streaming trend has also created a group of previously unknown "Internet celebrities" in the education sector. Shi Jinxia, ​​a female high school Chinese teacher, opened a Chinese online live streaming course on an online course platform. With 23 years of teaching experience, Shi Jinxia is the head of the high school Chinese teaching and research group and the head of the lesson preparation group. On the other hand, her identity as a public teacher has also put her in a "war" over online teaching.

Some internet celebrity teachers have chosen to disappear due to public pressure. Wang Yu, a 33-year-old young man from Jinan, became an "internet celebrity" in the teaching community because of his online teaching income of up to 18,000 yuan per hour, surpassing the popular female anchors at the moment. At the end of March, a list of Wang Yu's online teaching was exposed online. The list showed that a total of 2,617 students bought a high school physics online live class at a unit price of 9 yuan. After deducting the 20% share of the online platform, Wang Yu's actual income per hour was as high as 18,842 yuan, and the total income for 7 hours exceeded 67,000 yuan, which is almost the annual income of an ordinary school teacher.

However, there are more and more "Internet celebrity teachers". On the evening of April 13, Wei Jie, the erhu goddess from Taiyuan Normal University, became a popular young actress in Miaopai live broadcast with her outstanding performance of the two erhu pieces "If you" and "Zebra", creating a super high popularity value of 28,000 fans online at the same time in the 55-minute live broadcast. In real life, Wei Jie is an artistic young woman who likes reading, UFOs, and FBI psychology. She is good at erhu, jazz dance, piano and other talents. She is also the first "Internet celebrity teacher" of "Weibo University Open Class".

The first Meipai video of Little Quail has 140,000 views

"I just want to be happy and have fun"

"It was beyond my expectation. This is the first time in my life that I have received such attention." As a journalist, Xiao Que's articles are often reprinted by major websites, so she is considered "famous." But this time, she unexpectedly became famous in a field unrelated to her work.

"If you have the ability, don't assign me any work..." On March 30, Xiao Que recorded a Meipai video complaining about her boss, which quickly reached 140,000 views and received nearly 5,000 likes and hundreds of comments. Yesterday, she introduced the background of the video to reporters, saying that her boss asked her to be the host of the department's police-related video column and suggested learning more from Papi Jiang. "On the way home, I found a roadside where no one was charging and recorded a Meipai video." Xiao Que's first Meipai video unexpectedly became popular.

A colleague and bestie said, "Quail has a funny face and a strong Northeastern flavor. Why not try shooting funny videos? Maybe you can find a way out." Just like that, Little Quail "debuted." In the following days, Little Quail recorded a few more Meipai videos, but the number of clicks only reached more than 10,000, and some only had a few thousand. "Yesterday, a follower asked me in the background if I would continue to be an Internet celebrity? I told him (her) that being an Internet celebrity may not be my ultimate goal. I just want to be happy and have fun. Together with my journalist friends, I want to find a balance between supporting work and being optimistic about life."

A large number of financial influencers are coming

"I finally saw Oppa... He's so handsome..."

Public fund managers and securities analysts transformed into gentle girls in Hanfu costumes and goddesses with long hair and bright eyes... Almost overnight, "financial influencers" quickly became popular in WeChat Moments. Of course, behind these financial influencers is the sweeping wave of video and direct-shot APPs such as Meipai and Yizhibo, but the financial circle, which has always been rigorous and low-key, was still excited by these "influencers".

Very popular!

Beautiful female analyst recommends stocks via video

Last week, the most eye-catching figures in the financial circle were two girls - one was Li Miao, a coal industry analyst at Haitong Securities, and the other was Liao Lei, a cute girl born in the 1990s from Tsinghua University who worked in the communications industry at Founder Securities.

Li Miao, with her long flowing hair and light makeup, talks about Haitong's new views on the coal industry in the video. As soon as this short video was released, it quickly attracted attention and received 176,000 views. Li Miao said that debt-to-equity swaps are good for coal companies in three aspects, but many people in the industry said that they had completely forgotten what she said. In the era of Internet celebrities, content is not the focus, the key is her beauty.

There is also a cute girl born in the 1990s named Liao Lei, who is a top student at Tsinghua University and currently works at Founder Securities Research Institute as a researcher in the communications industry. In the short video of less than two minutes, Liao Lei, who signed as "Rabbit Jun 123", wore Hanfu and cutely recommended ZTE on behalf of the communications group of Founder Securities Research Institute, and listed three reasons for the strong recommendation. After the video of Rabbit Jun was released, it was immediately reposted countless times on different online social platforms.

Very exciting!

Fund Manager Challenge Live

What the financial circle could never have imagined was that the usually serious and formal public fund managers could also happily challenge live streaming.

Last Monday afternoon, the Beijing Morning Post reporter's WeChat Moments were flooded with messages about Ren Zesong, the star fund manager of China Post Fund. "There are still 1 hour and 40 minutes left before the No. 1 Challenge" When a message flashed on WeChat Moments, the curious reporters were really excited.

"What is Ren Zesong going to challenge? Is there something big happening?" "Looks like we can grab the headlines today!" Financial reporters who don't know what Yizhibo is are still "foolishly" trying to find out the news...

More than an hour later, when the live broadcast began, the financial reporters who were full of expectations realized that they were really out of the game. The challenge had nothing to do with investment performance, but was actually a badminton challenge. Then, there were various comments: I finally saw Oppa... He is so handsome... He is the all-rounder...

Another person who challenged the live broadcast was Rui Chen, a fund manager of Bank of Communications Schroders. Last Sunday, before boarding the plane, Rui Chen recorded a video on Meipai, reporting his recent views on the market and listing several reasons. Of course, Rui Chen did not forget to insert a small advertisement, saying that his own fund product was being issued.

"Live shooting and recorded shooting are very popular recently. As a fund manager who is very optimistic about emerging industries, I will use this emerging tool to report to you our recent views today." Rui Chen filmed while walking and pointed out that the ChiNext is still in a bull market.

calm!

In the end, it all depends on strength

Rigorous, low-key, serious, and serious... these are the typical characteristics of financial figures recognized by the general public. But suddenly, the rapid spread of the Internet celebrity economy has made the financial circle also embark on the road of Internet celebrities who "attract fans".

However, can the influencers who quickly grab the attention of the public continue to be popular? Objectively speaking, the live broadcasting with a unique style or style is only easy to attract the public's attention. In this era of information overload, analysts or fund managers ultimately rely on their own strength.

After all, securities analysts are not celebrities walking on the red carpet. They cannot write high-quality research reports just by looking good. Fund managers cannot achieve excellent investment results just by taking selfies at a 45-degree angle. The nature of work in the financial industry means that it is necessary to make accurate judgments on the economy by combining macro and micro fundamentals, and to carefully analyze large amounts of data to draw reliable conclusions.

During this period, it is understandable that people take non-traditional routes to gain attention. After all, the essence of the Internet celebrity economy is that traditional products are looking for new marketing paths. But it is just marketing. After all, the financial circle is not the entertainment circle. If there is no real talent and no professional attitude, the temporary Internet celebrity will eventually be short-lived.

Capital agitation

I can't count how much money is behind this.

Data cited by the Ministry of Culture's website show that the number of users of online live streaming platforms has reached 200 million. During peak hours every day, large live streaming platforms have approximately three to four thousand live streaming "rooms" online at the same time, with the number of users reaching two to three million.

Live broadcast star-making movement

Pang Yiming, an analyst at Analysys Consulting, said that live streaming platforms are divided into three modes: game live streaming, life live streaming, and show live streaming.

Pang Yiming believes that the popularity of game live streaming platforms represented by Panda TV and Douyu is largely due to the aggregation effect of the game itself. Especially when celebrities get involved, game live streaming platforms have also become an indispensable link in the game industry chain.

The popularity of 4G has enabled users to share their content anytime, anywhere, and has also stimulated the explosion of live show broadcasts such as YY, 9158, and Ku6. The popularity of live show broadcasts is inseparable from the promotion of the "Internet celebrity" group, and the creation of "Internet celebrities" is actually similar to the "star-making" methodology of the entertainment industry. The explosion of life live broadcasts such as Inke and Huajiao is due to the habit change of young user groups. From text, pictures, voice to video, everyone can be a "self-media".

Seeing the trend of live streaming, Internet companies are also ready to make a move. Old video websites have already tilted some resources towards live streaming. For example, many resources of Qianfan Live, a subsidiary of Sohu, come from the acquired 56.com. Baofeng Technology has also stated that it will make a fuss about live streaming. Momo, which started as a social networking site, has a natural advantage in live streaming. The latest version 6.7 of Momo has promoted the live streaming function to a major position, replacing the previous discovery. Momo's live mobile music interactive live streaming has also become a platform for many celebrities in the entertainment industry to release new works. The purpose of live streaming on e-commerce websites is to dispel user concerns and directly stimulate consumption. NetEase Kaola recently announced that it would become a media-driven e-commerce company, and would use live streaming methods such as remote video and VR technology to allow users to participate in the complete chain of product selection, procurement, logistics, and warehousing.

9 A-share listed companies are on the cusp of live streaming

Capital will certainly not give up the scale effect brought by massive users. The heavy investment of foreign social network giants such as Facebook and Twitter has also spread this wave of mobile live broadcasting to the domestic venture capital circle.

Essence Securities said that as the capital market's enthusiasm for Internet celebrities, live video and mobile live streaming grows, more social capital and start-ups are rushing into the live streaming market, and the live video streaming market is entering a period of explosive growth. In the A-share market, there are already 9 listed companies standing at the forefront of the trend, including Bus Online, Kaiying Network, LeTV, Baofeng Technology, Songcheng Performing Arts, Kunlun Wanwei, Aofei Entertainment, Zhejiang Daily Media, and You9 Games, all of which have live streaming platforms.

CICC pointed out in its research report that in 2015, the number of users in my country's mobile video industry reached 1.09 billion, accounting for 85% of the number of mobile Internet users. The mobileization of video live broadcast is undoubtedly the general trend of future live broadcast development. Xie Chen, a senior analyst at Huachuang Securities, said that the video live broadcast industry started in 2015 and exploded in 2016. It includes various business models such as computer-side show live broadcast, game live broadcast, pan-entertainment live broadcast, advertising and game joint operation. The industry market size in 2020 can reach 106 billion.

The "giants" will certainly not be absent

There are also many giants behind the live streaming platforms.

Take Douyu TV as an example. In addition to the 20 million yuan angel investment from Cai Dongqing of Alpha Animation and Culture and the 20 million US dollars A round investment from Sequoia Capital, it also received a B round led by Tencent with a 400 million yuan investment this year, as well as subsequent additional investment from Sequoia Capital and follow-up investment from Nanshan Capital. Alibaba invested in Zhanqi TV of Zhejiang Newspaper Consortium, and Panda TV is backed by huge capital from Wanda represented by "national husband" Wang Sicong. 360 has long been operating Huajiao independently, and Zhou Hongyi himself often appears in Huajiao to reward anchors. In January this year, LeTV Sports acquired 100% of the equity of Octopus TV for 300 million yuan. Inke, currently ranked first in the field of mobile video social networking in China, received an A+ round of financing of 80 million yuan led by Kunlun Wanwei, an A-share listed company. On January 7, 2016, Kunlun Wanwei announced that it invested 68 million yuan in Beijing Milawu Network Technology Co., Ltd. and acquired 18% of the latter's equity. Milawu is the holder of the two mobile applications Inke and MiLive.

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.