Influencers - I honestly dont understand
Discussion
OK, firstly someone has been seriously injured or killed, and I am respectful of that
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2kgvlrmdeo
But WTF is the influencer thing all about?
Ive had a quick peep at the 'Gram' profiles of the two women at the centre of this story and neither have obvious appeal to the average woman/man/wotev on the Clapham Omnibus
Let alone the hordes of z listers with a gazillion followers making a living from I dont know what
COI: Im currently laughing at those who had relocated to the Gulf - sorry about that
So - serious question
Im a middle aged bloke who considers himself to be a decent human being
I hate attention but quite like getting free money
Could I become an influencer and if so how do I do it and what are the sums of cash involved?
Cheers
Yes you can
You need people (men, women) to fantasise being You so you need to create a persona with some kind of USP.
e.g. rich, sexy, successful
You then need to post lots of pictures showing how rich and sexy you, gain lots of followers, start advertising stuff.
Afaics that s basically it.
Sadly I am neither rich nor sexy.
You need people (men, women) to fantasise being You so you need to create a persona with some kind of USP.
e.g. rich, sexy, successful
You then need to post lots of pictures showing how rich and sexy you, gain lots of followers, start advertising stuff.
Afaics that s basically it.
Sadly I am neither rich nor sexy.
Behold: an old bloke that cooks dinners as were cooked around 40 years ago (and most of them are rank).
https://youtube.com/shorts/HkgEi2KWARA?si=Q-OlA_M4...
He has thousands of views for each video.
And hundreds of thousands of followers.
It seems to appeal to a certain millennial/gen z mindset.
Comfort food for the brain or something.
And he ll be making a pretty penny out of it.
https://youtube.com/shorts/HkgEi2KWARA?si=Q-OlA_M4...
He has thousands of views for each video.
And hundreds of thousands of followers.
It seems to appeal to a certain millennial/gen z mindset.
Comfort food for the brain or something.
And he ll be making a pretty penny out of it.
Thousands of people trying to make a living from it, millions to be made for the very top ones.
Anyone remember this guy?
https://youtube.com/shorts/GaNgd4ZYAgM?si=bqwYPKMR...
Anyone remember this guy?
https://youtube.com/shorts/GaNgd4ZYAgM?si=bqwYPKMR...
I don't know who are the biggest idiots.
Those that "influence" or those that are "influenced".
I don't even allow myself to be influenced by advertising, so a personal recommendation from a stranger on the internet will have even less effect.
What really scares me is my Great Niece who is seven, will watch crappy videos on Tiktoc made by people who I would consider irrelevant doing everyday boring stuff. (Although it never seems to include tidying their room, or housework).
Those that "influence" or those that are "influenced".
I don't even allow myself to be influenced by advertising, so a personal recommendation from a stranger on the internet will have even less effect.
What really scares me is my Great Niece who is seven, will watch crappy videos on Tiktoc made by people who I would consider irrelevant doing everyday boring stuff. (Although it never seems to include tidying their room, or housework).
Slow.Patrol said:
I don't know who are the biggest idiots.
Those that "influence" or those that are "influenced".
I don't even allow myself to be influenced by advertising, so a personal recommendation from a stranger on the internet will have even less effect.
What really scares me is my Great Niece who is seven, will watch crappy videos on Tiktoc made by people who I would consider irrelevant doing everyday boring stuff. (Although it never seems to include tidying their room, or housework).
It’s a weird old set up.Those that "influence" or those that are "influenced".
I don't even allow myself to be influenced by advertising, so a personal recommendation from a stranger on the internet will have even less effect.
What really scares me is my Great Niece who is seven, will watch crappy videos on Tiktoc made by people who I would consider irrelevant doing everyday boring stuff. (Although it never seems to include tidying their room, or housework).
My kid is very into YouTube.
However his immersion is into physics videos, philosophy and astronomy. With Minecraft. At 11 his teachers are stunned by his vocabulary and inquisitiveness.
He is bright and in the top 1% and I suspect if he didn’t have the brain flood of YouTube wouldn’t be where he is.
God help me when he discovers pron.
As another old bloke, I can see and understand the content creators who generate YouTube content around particular interests and hobbies. Some random examples, woodworking, building model railway layouts, cooking, travellers who offer genuine reviews and helpful advice, car maintenance. There are a lot more examples.
There are some who clearly have a talent and use that to monetise, of varying interest, some a bit irritating, eg Dr K public piano boogie woogie crew.
But then you get the what I would regard as pure grifters, eg Binky wosserface who just beg gifts of product and services for giving them a presumably favourable mention. Bloody parasites. I suppose they are one step away from professional ad agencies, and maybe some businesses simply divert part of their publicity budget towards these clowns. Maybe they're not clowns because some make a very good living out of it. Which encourages others to try to emulate. Then when the known influencer gets called out for various egregious gifts, as is currently the Binky pile on, you get the wannabe baby influencers complaining that such as her give them a bad name. You're just as bad you bloody parasites, just not as good at the grift.
Trouble is it encourages all sorts of trends where people flock to get content. For example the poor sod raising a herd of Highland cattle in the Peak District. Someone has posted these cattle look cute, and now the farmer's land is invaded by idiots with cameras and what not bothering his herd trying to get content. He even found one stupid b
h filming herself doing yoga right under the nose of one bewildered beast. s
/rant, insufficient swearing, and breathe. Old man stops shouting at clouds.
There are some who clearly have a talent and use that to monetise, of varying interest, some a bit irritating, eg Dr K public piano boogie woogie crew.
But then you get the what I would regard as pure grifters, eg Binky wosserface who just beg gifts of product and services for giving them a presumably favourable mention. Bloody parasites. I suppose they are one step away from professional ad agencies, and maybe some businesses simply divert part of their publicity budget towards these clowns. Maybe they're not clowns because some make a very good living out of it. Which encourages others to try to emulate. Then when the known influencer gets called out for various egregious gifts, as is currently the Binky pile on, you get the wannabe baby influencers complaining that such as her give them a bad name. You're just as bad you bloody parasites, just not as good at the grift.
Trouble is it encourages all sorts of trends where people flock to get content. For example the poor sod raising a herd of Highland cattle in the Peak District. Someone has posted these cattle look cute, and now the farmer's land is invaded by idiots with cameras and what not bothering his herd trying to get content. He even found one stupid b
h filming herself doing yoga right under the nose of one bewildered beast. s/rant, insufficient swearing, and breathe. Old man stops shouting at clouds.
Edited by FiF on Monday 20th April 00:43
What staggers me is that lots of people happily donate money to them.
I used to watch Broadbent until he bought about 5 new cars in 2 years and made it very obvious you were buying them, and it staggered me on the odd stream I watched people would donate often large sums of money, just for watching, I found tgat extremely odd.
then basically became a full time driver as a result, never paid for any gear or games again, that was me done, he becomes something Iam not and therefore irrelevant to me.
I used to watch Broadbent until he bought about 5 new cars in 2 years and made it very obvious you were buying them, and it staggered me on the odd stream I watched people would donate often large sums of money, just for watching, I found tgat extremely odd.
then basically became a full time driver as a result, never paid for any gear or games again, that was me done, he becomes something Iam not and therefore irrelevant to me.
bergclimber34 said:
What staggers me is that lots of people happily donate money to them.
I used to watch Broadbent until he bought about 5 new cars in 2 years and made it very obvious you were buying them, and it staggered me on the odd stream I watched people would donate often large sums of money, just for watching, I found tgat extremely odd.
then basically became a full time driver as a result, never paid for any gear or games again, that was me done, he becomes something Iam not and therefore irrelevant to me.
Content creation is a job just like any other. Most doing it are putting on at least some form of act. This may be exaggerating their natural personality or pretending to be someone else entirely. I used to watch Broadbent until he bought about 5 new cars in 2 years and made it very obvious you were buying them, and it staggered me on the odd stream I watched people would donate often large sums of money, just for watching, I found tgat extremely odd.
then basically became a full time driver as a result, never paid for any gear or games again, that was me done, he becomes something Iam not and therefore irrelevant to me.
If you find them entertaining then why not contribute in some way?, just as you would for other entertainment. Expecting them to remain just like you is rather pointless as the rewards are such that popular Streamers and/or YouTubers can make millions.
JagLover said:
Randy Winkman said:
FredericRobinson said:
What influencer thing?
I was expecting to see a story about influencers too.Glad it wasn’t just me that was confused.
swanny71 said:
JagLover said:
Randy Winkman said:
FredericRobinson said:
What influencer thing?
I was expecting to see a story about influencers too.Glad it wasn t just me that was confused.
Think a female Lewis Hamilton, with photos of jewellery, designer hand bags, expensive cars, private jets, Dubai in the background etc, just without any talent, skill or wealth to back it up.
The video I watched was pretty grim, I'm hoping the driver was massively under the influence of something as acting like that compos mentis would be abominable.
My other half has a close relative who, at 20, clears a staggering amount per month. What started as doing silly dances on TikTok during covid has turned into a full-time content career, with staff, and a realistic path to retiring young.
Nothing unsavoury. She figured out the algorithm, built an audience, keeps them engaged, and executes consistently. It probably helps that she’s objectively stunning, but the bigger factor is that her content is planned and executed at a level most people will never reach.
House, cars, everything paid off. Nothing on tick, nothing extravagant other than the house. The rest goes into investments.. Some of these kids are just built differently.
I’ve worked in social media and marketing and seen what mid-tier streamers make (a few years ago now, but still relevant). When it works, it’s extremely lucrative in the right niches. Sometimes it’s lightning in a bottle with a short runway, but more often it’s years of consistent output.
Most people who try will fail to get traction, which is why anyone going into content creation should set expectations low and treat it as something they enjoy first.
As for why influencers are popular, it’s not one thing, Parasocial relationships, living vicariously, content that’s fast, accessible, and easy to consume, authenticity compared to old 'produced' stuff, yada yada yada.There’s a lot of nuance.
I don’t “pay influencers” directly, but I do pay for platforms and support creators whose content I actually enjoy. A lot of these creators have built real communities around their content, not that different from forums back in the day. I don't understand why people willingly shell out for a TV license, Sky and a litany of subscription services either though, but I spend about 10 minutes on my sofa a day.
Nothing unsavoury. She figured out the algorithm, built an audience, keeps them engaged, and executes consistently. It probably helps that she’s objectively stunning, but the bigger factor is that her content is planned and executed at a level most people will never reach.
House, cars, everything paid off. Nothing on tick, nothing extravagant other than the house. The rest goes into investments.. Some of these kids are just built differently.
I’ve worked in social media and marketing and seen what mid-tier streamers make (a few years ago now, but still relevant). When it works, it’s extremely lucrative in the right niches. Sometimes it’s lightning in a bottle with a short runway, but more often it’s years of consistent output.
Most people who try will fail to get traction, which is why anyone going into content creation should set expectations low and treat it as something they enjoy first.
As for why influencers are popular, it’s not one thing, Parasocial relationships, living vicariously, content that’s fast, accessible, and easy to consume, authenticity compared to old 'produced' stuff, yada yada yada.There’s a lot of nuance.
I don’t “pay influencers” directly, but I do pay for platforms and support creators whose content I actually enjoy. A lot of these creators have built real communities around their content, not that different from forums back in the day. I don't understand why people willingly shell out for a TV license, Sky and a litany of subscription services either though, but I spend about 10 minutes on my sofa a day.
I know plenty of people that claim to be influencers. For those that I know, it's single digits for those who are at a level where they earn enough to pay themselves a decent wage, taxes and pension.
Most if I'm honest piggyback off wealthy parents or partner to make it seem like they work. One of my friends wife has been "an influencer" for more than a decade and on YT has a massive 68 subscribers and a maybe 100 on TikyTok and Gram.
For the working classes, they've all latched on to the fact that they are "Digital Creators" because they happen to take a few pics of themselves at Chessington or a video of their dog.
Most if I'm honest piggyback off wealthy parents or partner to make it seem like they work. One of my friends wife has been "an influencer" for more than a decade and on YT has a massive 68 subscribers and a maybe 100 on TikyTok and Gram.
For the working classes, they've all latched on to the fact that they are "Digital Creators" because they happen to take a few pics of themselves at Chessington or a video of their dog.
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