What does"#"signify?The Multiple Incarnations of Super Hashtags on Chinese Social Media and the Making of Trending Topic Ecology
This study revisits the fundamental inquiry into"how hashtags shape the ecology of trending topics on social media platforms,"systematically examining the unique role played by hashtags as a"content medium,""representation medium,"and"action medium"in the three crucial nodes of hot spot emergence,amplification,and regulation within the platform's trending topics ecosystem.It is discovered that the multifaceted characteristics of super hashtags contribute to the formation of a differentiated yet interconnected hot spot ecology.During the process of trending,super hashtags with explicit empathy,narrative structure,and detailed perspective initiate and sustain high visibility cycles."Routine and incidental"super hashtags establish an alternating construction ritual for visibility.In the context of driving discussions,the study identifies the"rebellious effect"of grand narratives and emotional appeals in shaping public opinion through super hashtags.Lastly,regarding heat regulation,macroscopically emotional super hashtags tend to transform into amplifiers of viewpoints through user-driven"reinforcement use."Super hashtags with implicit emotional tendencies are more often utilized by actors to create memes to evade platform scrutiny.Additionally,"alternative use"emerges as a primary action strategy for fans to manage heat through individual and group-level utilization of the"hashtag bandwagon."This study significantly contributes by offering a localized integrated perspective to better comprehend the complexity and specificity of the impact of Chinese social media platform super hashtags on platform operations.
super hashtagSina Weibotrending topicrepresentation of hashtagcomputational communicationplatform vernacular theory
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