wishcrys

New pop article: Layers of Identity

Posted on April 24, 2018 by wishcrys

Moshimoshi folks,

My latest piece for Real Life is on Influencer culture: On how to look extremely real when you are extremely online.

Read Layers of Identity: How to be “real” when everyone is watching, as part of the week’s series on Influencers.

“for influencers to convince an audience that they are being authentic, it is not enough for them to merely show themselves without “artifice”: barefaced, with a bedhead, and in pajamas. Instead, they must actively juxtapose this stripped-down version of themselves against the median and normative self-presentations of glamour, to continually create and assign value to new markers — faults and flaws, failures and fiascos — to affirm the veracity of their truth-ness.”

“An audience is enticed into trying to evaluate and validate how genuine a persona is by following the feedback loop across the front stage of social media and the backstage of “real life,” through inconspicuous and scattered holes or gateways that were intentionally left as trails for the curious.”

Radio interview: Internet celebrity and Influencer cultures

Posted on April 14, 2018 by wishcrys

Hi folks,

On 11 April 2018, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Richelle Hunt of ABC Radio Melbourne on internet celebrity and Influencer cultures. 16:39 of our brain-making is below. With many thanks to producer Katy Gallichio for facilitating this.

Keynote video: Cultures of Internet Celebrity on YouTube

Posted on April 11, 2018April 11, 2018 by wishcrys

Moshimoshi folks!

In March, I had the pleasure of keynoting at the Brand Experience Through New Media Event at Aalto University, in a building that was really a luxurious Finnish spa resort masquerading as a place of higher learning.

If you are so inclined, here is 23:59 of me speaking on Cultures of Internet Celebrity, based on my forthcoming book, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online.

Many many thanks to Miikka Lehtonen, Markus Ahola, and Tanja Sihvonen for the invitation and for pulling this together with your super efficient team and the unrivalled Finnish hospitality.

The event was held in Mordor with giant mustard bean bags and giant table lamps for the Cosiest Atmosphere At An Academic Event ever. I almost didn’t want the event to kickoff so that I could lounge in Mordor forever in my matching mustard sweater.

We ended the day with a 47:36 panel discussion and Q&A on Influencer cultures, featuring yours truly and Stina Varsikko of Splay, moderated by Miikka Lehtonen. Watch that goodness here:

Events in April and May.

Posted on April 4, 2018 by wishcrys

Moshimoshi folks!

I am finally back on the continent where the sun is perpetually glorious (and sometimes threatening to kill you but at least everything is beautiful).

This April and May, I am Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University, thanks to a competitive grant awarded to the imitable Kath Albury.

At Swinburne, I will be keynoting at the Selfie Subjectivies Symposium and launching my forthcoming book alongside Katrin Tiidenberg, speaking at a colloquium on The Influencer Industry, and teaching a masterclass on Internet Paralanguages.

I’ll also be visiting RMIT to guest lecture in the Global Communication in a Digital Age Masters’ Programme thanks to an invitation from media-anthropology-brain-hub John Postill.

Between Melbourne happenings, I’ll be making quick trips to the Media Industries conference (London) to speak on a panel on “Global Developments in Social Media Entertainment”, to the Theorizing the Web conference (New York) to speak on a keynote panel on “The Next Generation”, and to the International Communication Conference (Prague) to give a paper on “Cultures of Celebrity and Labour within Tumblr’s Architecture”.

If you’re based in Melbourne and would like to chat, please beep! Otherwise, I plan to spend all my time harassing all my friends for all the hot chocolate and margarita dates.