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Two staff members at Chen Mo Network Marketing company, whose founder Chen Mo is best known for shooting pictures of Sister Lotus and propelling her to stardom before he set up the company. (Photo: China Daily)
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BEIJING, June 1 -- With more than 384 million netizens desperate to discuss or deride the "next big thing", the demand for Web celebrities - people made famous overnight by a well-seen clip, blog or post - has become enormous.
In recent years, pictures circulated online have helped a homeless man shoot to fame for being "well dressed" and a pretty village girl in traditional ethnic Qiang clothing become a pin-up model.
Although this seems like luck, analysts say these people are often the clients - and sometimes victims - of so-called tui shou, Internet marketers who stand to earn big money by thrusting them into the limelight.
By paying thousands of netizens to leave positive or negative posts on China's popular websites, thereby generating attention, tui shou (literally pushing hands) potentially stand to make thousands of yuan on advertising tie-ins and promotions, even if the star of the show does not.
For the casual browser, forwarding hilarious or shocking stories or clips about crazy stunts maybe just a bit of fun. To some, it is a serious business.
"It's very competitive," said He Mingchen, 30, an online promoter based in Beijing. "Anyone who knows how to find enough paid posters to work for him can do this kind of work. It's easy to make money from people who have limited knowledge about the Internet."
About 10 percent of He's clients are individuals aiming to become celebrities "and they are far more profitable than working with businesses".
"There are so many rich people who want to be famous," said the entrepreneur, who founded his business in 2008 and works for entertainers, talent show contestants, inventors and artists.
On average, it costs about 3,000 yuan ($440) to pay netizens to leave just one post on more than 3,000 online forums - and with a large enough budget, marketers can almost guarantee that their client will become an Internet sensation.
