Alternative Histories of Social Media in Japan and China

Abstract

The range, importance, and influence of aalternative histories of social media is vital, if we are to understand –– not misconstrue –– the contemporary dynamics of social media. In chapter, which draws on our earlier work aimed at internationalizing Internet studies and reframing the Internet in terms of its global histories (Goggin & McLelland, 2009 & 2017b), we discuss a range of alternative histories of social media outside the usual North American and European paradigms. In particular, we examine two distinct though also related Asian cases: Japan and China. Each case has its own complex dynamics, however there are interesting comparisons and contrasts to be drawn. Taken together, we hope that this two-country comparative discussion illustrates the importance and productiveness of generating alternative social histories to the dominant accounts –– which tend to assume, to their peril, that Western social media platforms and corporations have trumped their non-Western counterparts.