Science communication and dissemination in different cultures: An analysis of the audience for TED videos in C hina and abroad

Disseminated across the world in more than 100 languages and viewed over 1 billion times, TED T alks is a successful example of web‐based science communication. This study investigates the impact of TED T alks videos on Y ou K u, a C hinese video portal, and Y ou T ube using 6 measures of impact: number of views; likes; dislikes; comments; bookmarks; and shares. In particular, we study the relationship between the topicality and impact of these videos. Findings demonstrate that topics vary greatly in terms of their impact: Topics on entertainment and psychology/philosophy receive more views and likes, whereas design/art and astronomy/biology/oceanography attract fewer comments and bookmarks. Moreover, we identify several topical differences between Y ou K u and Y ou T ube users. Topics on global issues and technology are more popular on Y ou K u, whereas topics on entertainment and psychology/philosophy are more popular on Y ou T ube. By analyzing the popularity distribution of videos and the audience characteristics of Y ou K u, we find that women are more interested in topics on education and psychology/philosophy, whereas men favor topics on technology and astronomy/biology/oceanography.