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3.24 AVERAGE
3.24 AVERAGE
I like Stephanie McNeal's writing on Buzzfeed News and follow her on IG to get a tl;dr on whatever internet drama's going on that I'm only dimly aware of, so I was always going to get around to reading this at some point. Overall: I enjoyed it, but definitely feels like an introduction to the whole concept of influencers at this point (the 2020s) and how they evolved from the blogosphere to the audiovisual Instagram/Tiktok era. SUfM! does this by following three influencers in different activity/aesthetic spheres: Mirna, a self-identified fat Black runner; Shannon, a "messy" Mormon mommy blogger; and Caitlin, a lifestyle/beauty blogger from the Carolinas.
I want more depth- there's a point where she briefly mentions [a:Rachel Hollis|7578129|Rachel Hollis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1600963867p2/7578129.jpg] and says "but I don't have time to get into that"- you do! It's your book! Why not take the time?? But, in the conclusion McNeal says that the point of this book is that influencers matter, and that's the first hurdle that must be cleared before any of the [b:Girl Wash your Face|35542451|Girl Wash your Face|Rachel Hollis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513038393l/35542451._SY75_.jpg|56965748] etc. nonsense can be unpacked. As [a:Anne Helen Peterson|22074541|Anne Helen Peterson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] would say, influencers are a Rich Text, and there's so much the influencer industry says about perceived marketability, the value of authenticity in advertising, target audiences, etc. This is probably a good start, but there's so many avenues to delve into (again- there was a brief aside about Taking Cara Babies' political donations and Myka Stauffer's "rehoming" of her internationally adopted child with special needs and SO MUCH can and has been written on those). So often, female-dominated online spaces are dismissed as silly (anyone recall the hate for [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700522826l/41865._SY75_.jpg|3212258]? I'll admit to being in the snarkfan category at the time), but the amount of clicks and money here is SO interesting. Like, why do Bachelor franchise alums end up shilling hair gummies and teeth whiteners? (do they even still do the hair gummies or is that a dated #sponcon?) So many questions that could be answered in future work.
Another minor gripe: chapter titles were simply "Chapter #". I did pick up on the theme after reading a few paragraphs, but I would've appreciated having titles or headers to pick up themes at a glance in the table of contents.
I want more depth- there's a point where she briefly mentions [a:Rachel Hollis|7578129|Rachel Hollis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1600963867p2/7578129.jpg] and says "but I don't have time to get into that"- you do! It's your book! Why not take the time?? But, in the conclusion McNeal says that the point of this book is that influencers matter, and that's the first hurdle that must be cleared before any of the [b:Girl Wash your Face|35542451|Girl Wash your Face|Rachel Hollis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1513038393l/35542451._SY75_.jpg|56965748] etc. nonsense can be unpacked. As [a:Anne Helen Peterson|22074541|Anne Helen Peterson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] would say, influencers are a Rich Text, and there's so much the influencer industry says about perceived marketability, the value of authenticity in advertising, target audiences, etc. This is probably a good start, but there's so many avenues to delve into (again- there was a brief aside about Taking Cara Babies' political donations and Myka Stauffer's "rehoming" of her internationally adopted child with special needs and SO MUCH can and has been written on those). So often, female-dominated online spaces are dismissed as silly (anyone recall the hate for [b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1700522826l/41865._SY75_.jpg|3212258]? I'll admit to being in the snarkfan category at the time), but the amount of clicks and money here is SO interesting. Like, why do Bachelor franchise alums end up shilling hair gummies and teeth whiteners? (do they even still do the hair gummies or is that a dated #sponcon?) So many questions that could be answered in future work.
Another minor gripe: chapter titles were simply "Chapter #". I did pick up on the theme after reading a few paragraphs, but I would've appreciated having titles or headers to pick up themes at a glance in the table of contents.
informative
medium-paced
slow-paced
informative
informative
medium-paced
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
fast-paced
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
I was hoping for a gritty story about the truth behind the lives of influencers because it showed up as a recommendation connected to "Hey, Hun." Nope. It glorifies the people the author envies. She's supposed to be a journalist, but she was far from objective. She GUSHES over these people that she idolizes.
Something that bugs me is that the author says that many people discount influencers as not having real jobs and not mattering, but then she goes on to discount the skinny, "perfect" influencers as being vapid, etc. Biased much?
Let me tell you the REAL problem that people have with so-called influencers. The ones that come across my laptop are the ones who are entitled and expect things because they think they are important. The ones who set up cameras at the entrance of a busy building so they can film their family walking in, never mind all the people behind them who may not want to be in the shots. And how damaging influencers have been to our culture. How many "challenges" have to kill kids before enough is enough?
Anywhoo. I read the book. It is a light read.
Something that bugs me is that the author says that many people discount influencers as not having real jobs and not mattering, but then she goes on to discount the skinny, "perfect" influencers as being vapid, etc. Biased much?
Let me tell you the REAL problem that people have with so-called influencers. The ones that come across my laptop are the ones who are entitled and expect things because they think they are important. The ones who set up cameras at the entrance of a busy building so they can film their family walking in, never mind all the people behind them who may not want to be in the shots. And how damaging influencers have been to our culture. How many "challenges" have to kill kids before enough is enough?
Anywhoo. I read the book. It is a light read.
I didn’t find that this text offered me any insight or information that I hadn’t gleaned from podcasts or articles. It was often repetitive, circling back to the same idea over and over. I can see how this would be a good introduction to the world of influencing to someone outside the social media ecosystem, but that’s not the bucket I fall into.