Introduction to OSP: Influencers blog tasks
1) What years did YouTube, Twitter and Instagram launch?
founding of YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, and in 2010, Instagram
2) What is the definition of an influencer?
social media users – mostly women – with a large, devoted following, who give their followers access to a carefully curated version of their lives
3) Give an example of an influencer and how many followers they have. Try and add some additional information, brand associations or other statistics if you can.
There’s a bewildering range, from fashion, lifestyle and “mommy influencers” on Instagram to gamers, beauty vloggers and “toy influencers” on YouTube, to teenagers lip-synching to songs on TikTok. Some of the biggest are famous from another field: last week, the rapper Nicki Minaj wore a pair of bejewelled pink Croc shoes on Instagram, where she has 136 million followers; demand for pink Crocs spiked by 4,900% in hours.
4) How big is the influencer industry according to the article?
Very big. By the end of 2019, the influencer marketing industry was worth some $8bn a year. One recent report by Insider Intelligence predicted that it would grow to $15bn globally by the end of 2022. The tech consultant SignalFire thinks that “the creator economy” – built by those who post and monetise content online – employs more than 50 million people, and is the fastest-growing sector for small businesses in the world.
5) What are the problems associated with being an influencer?
. There are the endless hours spent preparing for photo shoots, arranging photographers, changing outfits in cramped “pop-up tents”, editing photos and thinking up envy-inducing captions and hashtags. Demanding clients often force them to endlessly re-shoot photos or videos until they come out just right. There’s the pressure of always seeking to increase your follower count to drive up revenues. But arguably the toughest part, says Amy Hart (1.1 million followers), is negotiating payment in a crowded market. After all, she says, “there are a lot of me. If I turn around and say, ‘No, I want this’, they’ll say, ‘Okay, cool, we’ll go to one of the other 1,500 people who’d be happy to do this’.”
6) Why is it suggested that audiences actually like being sold products by influencers?
“A decade ago, shilling products to your fans may have been seen as selling out. Now it’s a sign of success,” noted Taylor Lorenz, who writes about internet culture for The New York Times. Some fledgling influencers even put out fake sponcon, on the grounds that the more sponsors you have, the more credibility it gives. An influencer culture has developed – or more accurately a series of cultures. The prevailing Instagram culture mixes rampant consumerism with inspirational bromides about self-worth, personal growth and “wellness”. It has also been accused of propagating an unrealistic version of beauty.
7) What representation of beauty is often found on Instagram or other influencer sites?
The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino noted the gradual emergence, among “professionally beautiful women” today, of a look known as “Instagram face”. It’s “a young face, of course, with poreless skin and plump, high cheekbones”, long lashes and full lips – generally white but with a hint of “rootless exoticism”: you see it among the Kardashian family, and the models Bella Hadid (42 million followers), and Emily Ratajkowski (27 million followers). It is thought to owe its existence partly to the growth of cosmetic procedures, but also to the popularity of Instagram filters such as Facetune, which tweaks images to give a thinner face, bigger lips, smoother skin, larger eyes, and slimmer legs. Professional photos have long been airbrushed; now aspiring influencers can do it at home too.
8) What is YOUR opinion on influencers? Are they a positive or negative influence on our society and culture? Why?
Both positive and negative because influencers are not always experts in the fields they discuss (e.g., health, finance), the spread of misinformation or unsubstantiated advice is a significant concern however many influencers build strong, supportive communities around shared interests, identities, or causes, providing a sense of belonging and representation that might be lacking elsewhere.
founding of YouTube in 2005, Twitter in 2006, and in 2010, Instagram
2) What is the definition of an influencer?
social media users – mostly women – with a large, devoted following, who give their followers access to a carefully curated version of their lives
3) Give an example of an influencer and how many followers they have. Try and add some additional information, brand associations or other statistics if you can.
There’s a bewildering range, from fashion, lifestyle and “mommy influencers” on Instagram to gamers, beauty vloggers and “toy influencers” on YouTube, to teenagers lip-synching to songs on TikTok. Some of the biggest are famous from another field: last week, the rapper Nicki Minaj wore a pair of bejewelled pink Croc shoes on Instagram, where she has 136 million followers; demand for pink Crocs spiked by 4,900% in hours.
4) How big is the influencer industry according to the article?
Very big. By the end of 2019, the influencer marketing industry was worth some $8bn a year. One recent report by Insider Intelligence predicted that it would grow to $15bn globally by the end of 2022. The tech consultant SignalFire thinks that “the creator economy” – built by those who post and monetise content online – employs more than 50 million people, and is the fastest-growing sector for small businesses in the world.
5) What are the problems associated with being an influencer?
. There are the endless hours spent preparing for photo shoots, arranging photographers, changing outfits in cramped “pop-up tents”, editing photos and thinking up envy-inducing captions and hashtags. Demanding clients often force them to endlessly re-shoot photos or videos until they come out just right. There’s the pressure of always seeking to increase your follower count to drive up revenues. But arguably the toughest part, says Amy Hart (1.1 million followers), is negotiating payment in a crowded market. After all, she says, “there are a lot of me. If I turn around and say, ‘No, I want this’, they’ll say, ‘Okay, cool, we’ll go to one of the other 1,500 people who’d be happy to do this’.”
6) Why is it suggested that audiences actually like being sold products by influencers?
“A decade ago, shilling products to your fans may have been seen as selling out. Now it’s a sign of success,” noted Taylor Lorenz, who writes about internet culture for The New York Times. Some fledgling influencers even put out fake sponcon, on the grounds that the more sponsors you have, the more credibility it gives. An influencer culture has developed – or more accurately a series of cultures. The prevailing Instagram culture mixes rampant consumerism with inspirational bromides about self-worth, personal growth and “wellness”. It has also been accused of propagating an unrealistic version of beauty.
7) What representation of beauty is often found on Instagram or other influencer sites?
The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino noted the gradual emergence, among “professionally beautiful women” today, of a look known as “Instagram face”. It’s “a young face, of course, with poreless skin and plump, high cheekbones”, long lashes and full lips – generally white but with a hint of “rootless exoticism”: you see it among the Kardashian family, and the models Bella Hadid (42 million followers), and Emily Ratajkowski (27 million followers). It is thought to owe its existence partly to the growth of cosmetic procedures, but also to the popularity of Instagram filters such as Facetune, which tweaks images to give a thinner face, bigger lips, smoother skin, larger eyes, and slimmer legs. Professional photos have long been airbrushed; now aspiring influencers can do it at home too.
8) What is YOUR opinion on influencers? Are they a positive or negative influence on our society and culture? Why?
Both positive and negative because influencers are not always experts in the fields they discuss (e.g., health, finance), the spread of misinformation or unsubstantiated advice is a significant concern however many influencers build strong, supportive communities around shared interests, identities, or causes, providing a sense of belonging and representation that might be lacking elsewhere.
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