The symbiotic development of Fandom and online media platforms in the era of new media

"Fandom" is a subcultural community formed by a gathering of fan groups. In recent years, with the continuous development of new media, the connection between the circle of fandom and new media has become closer. The both sides are complementary and gradually "make themselves outside of the fixed circle" in the contemporary Internet world. This paper takes Weibo, a platform where fandom has become prominent, as an example to discuss how Weibo has become bigger and stronger through the fan economy, and how fandom becomes widely known by relying on Weibo and other similar platforms.