Technology

At the same time, social networking is built into the most popular Chinese online shopping platforms, like Taobao, Tmall, and JD.com. They feature livestreamed videos of shopping influencers, and robust chat and photo-sharing functions, blurring the lines between social media and e-commerce.

The model has delivered: In 2023, TikTok’s Chinese sister app, Douyin, said its platform sales exceeded 2 trillion yuan ($2 billion). Xiaohongshu doesn’t disclose detailed figures, but the app’s aggressive expansion into social commerce in 2023 coincided with the first year it turned a net profit to the tune of $500 million.

So China has several profitable social media companies and a model that works regardless of the platform. It feels like Insta has tried this and doesn't quite understand the mechanics but imitates showing influencer driven decisions. The difference is that western influencers sell their exposure while TikTok (et al) use influencers as their product and charge to alter the algorithm to expose the product to a targeted audience. It's insidious because people will be shown something that they didn't know they wanted and led to believe that they made the decision to get this thing. It's Inception, but with our hobbies and interests.

The ramifications for niche porn are tremendous. Both weird categories of pornography and the idea that small groups will be fed a constant stream of their own unique interests. Imagine if you didn't know this was happening and had an expensive hobby. Social media wants you to buy things and will give you the connection to spend instead of pursuing the hobby.

The hobby may soon not be about what we do but what we bought to show we are hobbyists. Consumption as participation. I guess we already do this with streaming entertainment, so why not?