Weishan Miao
Biographic Data
| ID | 232107 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Weishan Miao |
| GIVEN NAMES | Weishan |
| FAMILY NAME | Miao |
| SIGNATURE | MIAO W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Chinese Academy of Social Sciences |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8071-8666 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Chinese digital nomadism in Dali
Digital nomadism is deemed as a form of individual emancipation and a postmodern lifestyle. However, extant literature predominantly focuses on Western-centric privileged mobility, leaving the unique digital nomadism in Chinese context largely under-explored. Through fieldwork on digital nomads in Dali and a multi-stage grounded theory analysis, this study provides a panoramic narrative of Chinese digital nomadism. The findings indicate that the …
Selective permeability in interdisciplinary knowledge organization
Understanding the academic field in China
Education arbitrage in Southeast Asia
Digital intimacy in lockdown
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly reshaped everyday life, with long-term effects across multiple domains. While much existing scholarship has emphasised the negative consequences of the crisis, this article highlights its unexpected potentials by examining how single gay men in mainland China used Blued, the country's largest gay dating app, during lockdown. Grounded in domestication theory, we used in-depth interviews to explore how users app…
Domesticating algorithms through data reflectivity and user reflexivity
Using the concepts of data reflectivity and user reflexivity, this paper explores the intricate interplay between human users and algorithms through the lens of domestication. Through the metaphor of yanghao on the Chinese digital platform Xiaohongshu (RED), this paper posits that three failure types relating to data reflectivity result in dissatisfaction with RED’s algorithmic outputs and a perceived loss of control over algorithmic identity. In…
Platformized production of homonationalism
Queer media production research, almost exclusively conducted in the western context, predominantly focuses on the queer-capital interplay and overlooks the role of the state in contexts where the state remains the dominant force in limiting LGBTQ rights. In bridging queer media production with homonationalism, this paper presents an ethnographic account of Danlan, the longest-lasting commercial queer media in China. We demonstrate that Danlan is…
Revisiting community and media
What roles do media play in community building? Based on life story interviews with 72 older gay men living in China, this study traces the rise and fall of four significant digital media platforms used by Chinese gay communities since the late 1990s. We propose the notion of community-based media affordance as an analytical device and show that the four platforms vary in terms of pervasiveness, self-presentation, searchability, visibility, edita…
More than business
Although TikTok has in recent years become a highly popular yet controversial digital platform, few empirical studies have examined its development and the challenges it faces. In this article, we investigate how major media in China, the United States and India have interpreted and responded to the rise of TikTok, based on an analysis of news articles from 2017 to 2020. We identify the dynamic discursive practices of the de-politicisation and re…
Embedded symbiosis
Studies on the Chinese internet mostly focus on how the government censors content and regulate digital platforms. We rarely know how internet companies understand, respond to and negotiate the relationship with the government. This study examines Danlan, the company that runs the world’s largest gay dating app Blued. We approach the interaction between Danlan and the government with an institutional perspective, treating them both as organizatio…
Persona
With the shift of social interaction to online venues, do women still conform to existing gender norms? This article examines the online performance of professional women in urban China and their interactions with workplace colleagues on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app that is an important venue for workplace interaction. As interviews showed, workplace interactions on WeChat perpetuated traditional gender norms of hegemonic masculinit…
Should I Click the “Like” Button For My Colleague? Domesticating Social Media Affordance in the Workplace
Guided by domestication theory, this article examines the contextualized and grounded process of how people understand and practice using social media “Likes” in the workplace. Taking the Likes of WeChat Moments in the Chinese workplace as a case, we interviewed 52 people from different professions and identified a multilayered liking practice by focusing on the ambiguity, negotiations, and contradictions caused by using WeChat Likes in social in…
Modernization Planner, Authoritarian Paternalist, and Rising Power
This article combines semantic network and critical discourse analysis to examine China’s official cybersecurity discourse from 1983 to 2018. By integrating the securitization theory and positioning theory, it shifts the analytical focus from ‘threat politics’ to ‘power politics’ by theorizing securitization as a dynamic power game. Three historical phases of cybersecurity discourse are identified, reflecting China’s evolved understanding of the …
Re-domesticating social media when it becomes disruptive
This article examines the emerging phenomenon of the non-use of WeChat Moments. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with 21 users who used Moments for at least 6 months, then voluntarily discontinued their use of the feature, we discuss the complex dynamics of Moments use, exploring the implicit micro-behavioral process of social media practice. Countering the purported hyper-centrality of WeChat, we identified a periodic loop of “use, non-us…
Between sexuality and professionalism
Recent scholarship on gay social apps has largely focused on the experiences of their users. In this article, we take a production-side approach to examine the politics of sexuality and professionalism in Blued, a Chinese gay social app company. Based on ethnography at the company and in-depth interviews with its workers, we found that workers at Blued actively weaved their sexual identity into their professional identity. Also, its CEO made use …
Domesticating Gay Apps
Drawing on domestication theory and intersectionality theory, this study explores the multiple roles dating apps play in Chinese gay men’s lives amid changing personal and social circumstances. We present in-depth narratives of three Blued users from different generations and classes with unique relationship statuses. The app’s geo-locative features strengthened the gay capital of our younger participant but threatened our middle-aged, closeted p…
Social constructivist account of the world’s largest gay social app
Given China’s political conservativism and limited social acceptance of sexual minorities, it is paradoxical to find that Blued, a gay social app headquartered in Beijing, has become the largest app of this kind globally. Informed by the social construction of technology perspective and based on a yearlong ethnography, this article identifies three major factors that have shaped the developmental trajectory of Blued: (1) work with the Communist P…
Encountered but Not Engaged
Thus far, few studies have examined how scientists choose different social media platforms, or how using multiple platforms of social media is related to public engagement with science. This article investigates the role of social media in China’s science communication and scientists’ selective use of them. We found that social media enabled Chinese scientists to avoid relying on legacy media and to develop more interdisciplinary collaborations. …
Internet governance
Policy review
Domesticating Gay Apps
Drawing on domestication theory and intersectionality theory, this study explores the multiple roles dating apps play in Chinese gay men’s lives amid changing personal and social circumstances. We present in-depth narratives of three Blued users from different generations and classes with unique relationship statuses. The app’s geo-locative features strengthened the gay capital of our younger participant but threatened our middle-aged, closeted p…
Social constructivist account of the world’s largest gay social app
Given China’s political conservativism and limited social acceptance of sexual minorities, it is paradoxical to find that Blued, a gay social app headquartered in Beijing, has become the largest app of this kind globally. Informed by the social construction of technology perspective and based on a yearlong ethnography, this article identifies three major factors that have shaped the developmental trajectory of Blued: (1) work with the Communist P…
Policy review
Between sexuality and professionalism
Recent scholarship on gay social apps has largely focused on the experiences of their users. In this article, we take a production-side approach to examine the politics of sexuality and professionalism in Blued, a Chinese gay social app company. Based on ethnography at the company and in-depth interviews with its workers, we found that workers at Blued actively weaved their sexual identity into their professional identity. Also, its CEO made use …
Encountered but Not Engaged
Thus far, few studies have examined how scientists choose different social media platforms, or how using multiple platforms of social media is related to public engagement with science. This article investigates the role of social media in China’s science communication and scientists’ selective use of them. We found that social media enabled Chinese scientists to avoid relying on legacy media and to develop more interdisciplinary collaborations. …
More than business
Although TikTok has in recent years become a highly popular yet controversial digital platform, few empirical studies have examined its development and the challenges it faces. In this article, we investigate how major media in China, the United States and India have interpreted and responded to the rise of TikTok, based on an analysis of news articles from 2017 to 2020. We identify the dynamic discursive practices of the de-politicisation and re…
Re-domesticating social media when it becomes disruptive
This article examines the emerging phenomenon of the non-use of WeChat Moments. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with 21 users who used Moments for at least 6 months, then voluntarily discontinued their use of the feature, we discuss the complex dynamics of Moments use, exploring the implicit micro-behavioral process of social media practice. Countering the purported hyper-centrality of WeChat, we identified a periodic loop of “use, non-us…
Platformized production of homonationalism
Queer media production research, almost exclusively conducted in the western context, predominantly focuses on the queer-capital interplay and overlooks the role of the state in contexts where the state remains the dominant force in limiting LGBTQ rights. In bridging queer media production with homonationalism, this paper presents an ethnographic account of Danlan, the longest-lasting commercial queer media in China. We demonstrate that Danlan is…
Persona
With the shift of social interaction to online venues, do women still conform to existing gender norms? This article examines the online performance of professional women in urban China and their interactions with workplace colleagues on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app that is an important venue for workplace interaction. As interviews showed, workplace interactions on WeChat perpetuated traditional gender norms of hegemonic masculinit…
Modernization Planner, Authoritarian Paternalist, and Rising Power
This article combines semantic network and critical discourse analysis to examine China’s official cybersecurity discourse from 1983 to 2018. By integrating the securitization theory and positioning theory, it shifts the analytical focus from ‘threat politics’ to ‘power politics’ by theorizing securitization as a dynamic power game. Three historical phases of cybersecurity discourse are identified, reflecting China’s evolved understanding of the …
Internet governance
Internet governance
Policy review
Encountered but Not Engaged
Thus far, few studies have examined how scientists choose different social media platforms, or how using multiple platforms of social media is related to public engagement with science. This article investigates the role of social media in China’s science communication and scientists’ selective use of them. We found that social media enabled Chinese scientists to avoid relying on legacy media and to develop more interdisciplinary collaborations. …
Re-domesticating social media when it becomes disruptive
This article examines the emerging phenomenon of the non-use of WeChat Moments. Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with 21 users who used Moments for at least 6 months, then voluntarily discontinued their use of the feature, we discuss the complex dynamics of Moments use, exploring the implicit micro-behavioral process of social media practice. Countering the purported hyper-centrality of WeChat, we identified a periodic loop of “use, non-us…
Between sexuality and professionalism
Recent scholarship on gay social apps has largely focused on the experiences of their users. In this article, we take a production-side approach to examine the politics of sexuality and professionalism in Blued, a Chinese gay social app company. Based on ethnography at the company and in-depth interviews with its workers, we found that workers at Blued actively weaved their sexual identity into their professional identity. Also, its CEO made use …
Domesticating Gay Apps
Drawing on domestication theory and intersectionality theory, this study explores the multiple roles dating apps play in Chinese gay men’s lives amid changing personal and social circumstances. We present in-depth narratives of three Blued users from different generations and classes with unique relationship statuses. The app’s geo-locative features strengthened the gay capital of our younger participant but threatened our middle-aged, closeted p…
Social constructivist account of the world’s largest gay social app
Given China’s political conservativism and limited social acceptance of sexual minorities, it is paradoxical to find that Blued, a gay social app headquartered in Beijing, has become the largest app of this kind globally. Informed by the social construction of technology perspective and based on a yearlong ethnography, this article identifies three major factors that have shaped the developmental trajectory of Blued: (1) work with the Communist P…
Should I Click the “Like” Button For My Colleague? Domesticating Social Media Affordance in the Workplace
Guided by domestication theory, this article examines the contextualized and grounded process of how people understand and practice using social media “Likes” in the workplace. Taking the Likes of WeChat Moments in the Chinese workplace as a case, we interviewed 52 people from different professions and identified a multilayered liking practice by focusing on the ambiguity, negotiations, and contradictions caused by using WeChat Likes in social in…
Modernization Planner, Authoritarian Paternalist, and Rising Power
This article combines semantic network and critical discourse analysis to examine China’s official cybersecurity discourse from 1983 to 2018. By integrating the securitization theory and positioning theory, it shifts the analytical focus from ‘threat politics’ to ‘power politics’ by theorizing securitization as a dynamic power game. Three historical phases of cybersecurity discourse are identified, reflecting China’s evolved understanding of the …
Embedded symbiosis
Studies on the Chinese internet mostly focus on how the government censors content and regulate digital platforms. We rarely know how internet companies understand, respond to and negotiate the relationship with the government. This study examines Danlan, the company that runs the world’s largest gay dating app Blued. We approach the interaction between Danlan and the government with an institutional perspective, treating them both as organizatio…
Persona
With the shift of social interaction to online venues, do women still conform to existing gender norms? This article examines the online performance of professional women in urban China and their interactions with workplace colleagues on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app that is an important venue for workplace interaction. As interviews showed, workplace interactions on WeChat perpetuated traditional gender norms of hegemonic masculinit…
Revisiting community and media
What roles do media play in community building? Based on life story interviews with 72 older gay men living in China, this study traces the rise and fall of four significant digital media platforms used by Chinese gay communities since the late 1990s. We propose the notion of community-based media affordance as an analytical device and show that the four platforms vary in terms of pervasiveness, self-presentation, searchability, visibility, edita…
More than business
Although TikTok has in recent years become a highly popular yet controversial digital platform, few empirical studies have examined its development and the challenges it faces. In this article, we investigate how major media in China, the United States and India have interpreted and responded to the rise of TikTok, based on an analysis of news articles from 2017 to 2020. We identify the dynamic discursive practices of the de-politicisation and re…
Domesticating algorithms through data reflectivity and user reflexivity
Using the concepts of data reflectivity and user reflexivity, this paper explores the intricate interplay between human users and algorithms through the lens of domestication. Through the metaphor of yanghao on the Chinese digital platform Xiaohongshu (RED), this paper posits that three failure types relating to data reflectivity result in dissatisfaction with RED’s algorithmic outputs and a perceived loss of control over algorithmic identity. In…
Platformized production of homonationalism
Queer media production research, almost exclusively conducted in the western context, predominantly focuses on the queer-capital interplay and overlooks the role of the state in contexts where the state remains the dominant force in limiting LGBTQ rights. In bridging queer media production with homonationalism, this paper presents an ethnographic account of Danlan, the longest-lasting commercial queer media in China. We demonstrate that Danlan is…
Chinese digital nomadism in Dali
Digital nomadism is deemed as a form of individual emancipation and a postmodern lifestyle. However, extant literature predominantly focuses on Western-centric privileged mobility, leaving the unique digital nomadism in Chinese context largely under-explored. Through fieldwork on digital nomads in Dali and a multi-stage grounded theory analysis, this study provides a panoramic narrative of Chinese digital nomadism. The findings indicate that the …
Selective permeability in interdisciplinary knowledge organization
Understanding the academic field in China
Education arbitrage in Southeast Asia
Digital intimacy in lockdown
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly reshaped everyday life, with long-term effects across multiple domains. While much existing scholarship has emphasised the negative consequences of the crisis, this article highlights its unexpected potentials by examining how single gay men in mainland China used Blued, the country's largest gay dating app, during lockdown. Grounded in domestication theory, we used in-depth interviews to explore how users app…
Sociology (14 works) · Political science (11 works) · China (8 works) · Gender, Feminism, and Media (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Politics (7 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Gender Studies (5 works) · Law (5 works)