What I'm Reading This Week (2024/10.20-10.26)

Table of Contents

• Trends
• What I’m Reading This Week (2024/10.20-10.26)
  • 1. Explanation of KOL Factions on China’s Mainstream Social Media (Weibo) in the 2010s
  • 2. Some Reports in the Healthcare Industry
  • 3. Elon Musk Offers $1 Million Daily to Entice Swing State Voters to Sign Petition

Trends

Trading volume in the A-share market is gradually decreasing

Trading Volume Trend

What I’m Reading This Week (2024/10.20-10.26)

Good morning, this is the 4th week of October 2024.

Recently, I have been participating in the Child Mind Institute — Problematic Internet Use competition.

1. Explanation of KOL Factions on China’s Mainstream Social Media (Weibo) in the 2010s

• Sina Weibo Grassroots Influence

  • According to a survey by “Entrepreneur（《创业家》）” magazine, half of the grassroots users on Sina Weibo are controlled by the “Fujian Gang” (福建帮), with key figures such as “Du Zijian” (杜子建) and “Jiuhong Binglan” (酒红冰蓝).
  • “Cold Jokes Collection” (冷笑话精选) is the top-ranked grassroots Weibo account, boasting over 30 million followers, managed by “Yiguang Xu” (伊光旭), a post-85s individual from Fujian, who also controls several other million-follower accounts.
  • The Weibo Fujian Gang is backed by angel investor “Cai Wensheng” (蔡文胜), who invests in and controls a large number of Weibo accounts, with an astonishing number of followers.

• Three Major Weibo Factions

  • Fujian Gang: Led by “Cai Wensheng” (蔡文胜), with key members like “Yiguang Xu” (伊光旭), controlling a large number of follower accounts.
  • “Huayi Baichuang Media” (华艺百创传媒) in Beijing: Founded by “Du Zijian” (杜子建), holding up to 15 grassroots Weibo accounts.
  • “Jiuhong Binglan” (酒红冰蓝) from Jiangsu: Controls accounts in the Yangtze River Delta region, with over 7 million followers.

• Commercial Value of Weibo

  • These three forces, based on Weibo accounts, have established their own “Weibo Westworld “ (微博江湖), forming an influence similar to media conglomerates.
  • By managing and operating grassroots Weibo accounts, they have gained a large number of followers and profited from the commercialization of Weibo.
  • These three factions are not just social media enthusiasts but early explorers of Weibo commercialization, demonstrating the huge business opportunities behind Weibo.

• Xiamen Turning Point

  • On April 8, 2011, the first Weibo Marketing Conference in China was held in Xiamen, marking an important event where grassroots forces on Weibo went public.
  • “Cai Wensheng” (蔡文胜) emphasized at the conference that future social media users will only need one account to span all applications, showing his thoughts on the future development of social media.

• Growth of ‘Cold Jokes Collection’

  • As one of the most popular grassroots Weibo accounts, “Cold Jokes Collection” (冷笑话精选) started by curating various joke content, attracting a large number of followers.
  • “Yiguang Xu” (伊光旭) used strategies such as mutual following and reposting to quickly accumulate followers, even attracting investors’ attention.

• Weibo Entrepreneurship of Yiguang Xu

  • “Yiguang Xu” (伊光旭) had accumulated experience from operating groups on Douban（豆瓣网） and used similar strategies on the Weibo platform, such as registering popular accounts and increasing followers.
  • Starting from grassroots, he rapidly rose in the Weibo community through continuous innovation in follower growth methods.

• Summary

  • The marketing methods of the old days are still effective, even packaged into books, covered with the skin of other social media sites like TikTok and Xiaohongshu, and sold as marketing courses.

2. Some Reports in the Healthcare Industry

• BCG Annual New Modalities Report: This is a series of reports summarizing the fastest progressing treatment modalities of the year and those most promising for patient outcomes and company revenue.

• Bain Annual Healthcare Private Equity Report: A series of reports in the healthcare and life sciences sector. It tracks private equity investments across various sub-sectors, particularly noting the impact of the rise of Contract Research Organizations (CROs) on the growth of R&D services. The visualizations are beautifully crafted.

3. Elon Musk Offers $1 Million Daily to Entice Swing State Voters to Sign Petition

• Announcement:

  • Elon Musk announced that he will give away $1 million daily until Election Day to attract registered voters in swing states to sign a petition supporting Donald Trump’s “America PAC.”
  • At an “America PAC” event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk handed a check to a person who signed the petition, stating, “I think this is fun and essentially a reasonable use of funds.”

• Eligibility Requirements:

  • The petition is open to registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin, with the signing deadline set before the voter registration ends in Pennsylvania.

• Legal Issues:

  • Legal experts, including Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA, warn that Musk’s actions might violate federal election laws, which prohibit offering financial incentives to entice voter registration or voting.