"Traffic Attraction" and "Fan Retention" under the Framework of Meaning Construction: Content Production, Interactive Communities and Value Realization of Virtual StreamersAn Virtual Ethnographic Study of Virtual Streamers

Virtual streamers (Vtuber) refer to content creators who conduct activities on video websites in the form of virtual avatars. Based on motion capture technology (mainly facial capture) and the combination with 2D or 3D character models, real people can hide behind the screen and perform with virtual avatars and voices. In the early stage, Vtuber mainly produced videos, but later shifted to live-streaming content such as games, chats, singing, and collaborations to attract fans and eventually monetize through "merchandise", paid subscriptions, and donations. The emergence of the virtual streamer cultural phenomenon and the development of related industries have contextually shaped new ways of connection and interaction among media, society, and individuals. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the social significance construction behind the behaviors of virtual streamer cultural participants. This article uses virtual ethnography as the research method to study the characteristics of virtual streamer content production, interactive communities, and value monetization. The research finds that "meaning construction" occupies a hidden main line in the activities of virtual streamers and is one of the driving forces for viewers to pay and participate in the re-creation cyber community. Virtual streamers use short-term live streaming and long-term "re-creation" community construction to combine short-term and long-term fan attraction and retention. In this process, the relationship between virtual streamers and viewers has also changed with the commercialization and systematization of the virtual streamer industry.