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UM E-Theses Collection (澳門大學電子學位論文庫)

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Title

Explore the role of QQ groups in Chinese tuishou operations

English Abstract

“Pushing hands” (tuishou in Chinese) describe a type of business operations organized on the Chinese Internet which uses paid posters disguised as ordinary netizens to launch promotional and marketing campaigns in social networking sites (SNS). This thesis strives to explain how the internet mercenaries employ the QQ group as a main communication vehicle to organize posting operations and conduct the whole viral marketing campaign. And this study combines text analysis, ethnographic and content analysis for this purpose. Tuishou operation involved in four types of roles: the boss, the sub-contractor, the receptionist and the poster. Each role has given duties to achieve the final goal. Through the text analysis, tuishou operations are categorized into four dimensions: business execution platform, group management system, group communication network and information distribution medium. Compared the features of the QQ group with the six attributes of social media (Postman, 2009), it reveals that, the characteristics of authenticity, transparency and connectedness in the QQ group are blurred; the characteristics of immediacy and participation are obvious; and the characteristic of accountability is ensured. From the viral marketing perspective, four cases were collected to discover the mode of viral communication. Only two of them contain viral elements such as creative ideas, oddness and revealing people behind the scenes. As a conclusion, low-cost, breakthrough geographical limitations, comprehensive communication and vague identity are the reasons that the QQ group enhanced the tuishou industry in mainland China. Powerful media and weak content may be the status quo where it is for Chinese tuishou operation.

Issue date

2011.

Author

Cao, Wen Yuan

Faculty

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

Department

Department of Communication

Degree

M.A.

Subject

Internet -- Social aspects

Internet -- Social aspects -- China

Internet

Supervisor

吳玫

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Location
1/F Zone C
Library URL
991008535709706306