Cyberstars in India get a lift from China

For example, Komal Singh, a woman in northeastern India, started by uploading videos of herself dancing indoors. Gao's team discovered through big data analysis that app users tend to click on videos of women wearing traditional Indian clothes. So she suggested to Singh that she do her dances in colorful costumes, and that she find better backgrounds outside her home.

After half a year, Singh has accumulated more than 1 million fans on Vmate, which has also brought her a respectable income of more than 20,000 rupees ($279) per month.

Singh told Gao that she learned about videos from her husband, who now steps in to help with housework when she is busy recording her dances-unusual in an Indian family.

"Many Indian women like Singh have achieved fame and money from Vmate, earning them new respect in their families," Gao said. "It's not just about their domestic status being raised. They become more independent overall."

Predictably, not everyone is an instant fan of short videos. Take, for example, the business boss of Suresh Kumar, an employee who uses the stage name Suru to sell women's clothes at a sari store in Surat, Gujarat state, India. Kumar puts on saris to show them off through the online videos.