Infrastructural intermediation: Refining datafication, reinforcing commodification, and replenishing selection in the platformization of cultural production

This study analyzes how short-video platforms, with Douyin as a case, depend on cultural intermediaries (e.g. multi-channel networks and digital marketing agencies) to sustain operations and expand platform power. Unlike existing studies that exaggerate or underestimate cultural intermediaries’ agency, this study offers a middle-ground perspective and conceptualizes it as “infrastructural intermediation,” in which cultural intermediaries act as external dispositifs of platform power in cultural production. Using participant observation and interviews with intermediaries and creators, we identify three primary infrastructural functions: (1) visualizing: converting data into actionable guidance for platform strategy implementation; (2) reinforcing: optimizing creators’ practices to advance monetization; and (3) repairing: remedying deficiencies in technical and institutional mechanisms. As an indispensable component of the platform, they reinforce platformization structures, complete the “last mile” of platform power implementation. This study also reveals how China’s distinctive state-platform relationship shapes the role and strategies of cultural intermediaries.