Online Influencers

Resumen:

En el marco de nuestra economía globalizada, la utilización de la reputación o influencia de alguien se ha convertido en una profesión: la que consiste en influir en las redes sociales. El autor expone varios argumentos sobre la regulación de los 'influencers', refiriéndose a diversos aspectos legales, económicos y éticos a fin de analizar las implicaciones del “marketing de los influencers”. También se cuestiona a qué nivel deberían regularse sus actividades cuando estén patrocinadas.

[ Available at: http://works.bepress.com/luis_gonzalez_vaque/313/  or https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349243948_Es_preciso_legislar_a_nivel_comunitario_UE_de_forma_armonizada_sobre_el_marketingpublicidad_encubierta_de_los_'influencers'_en_los_medios_sociales ]

Throughout time, the concept of celebrity has evolved to include new forms of fame created with each new technology. In today's increasingly digital world, we are witnessing the explosive growth of this generation's new idols who owe their fame to social media and are better known as social media influencers. A number of terms are used to refer to all forms of fame on social media and even certain terms are often used interchangeably (micro-celebrity, instafamous, internet famous or influencer are some of these terms). A lack of consensus on terminology and the characteristics that define a social media celebrity or even who should be considered a social media influencer or a digital celebrity of any sort is widespread amongst both scholars and practitioners. This study reviews landmark scholarship on celebrities that will help get a better understanding of the dynamics behind the creation of fame, how attention is captured and sustained, as well as the practices that make monetization possible for social media content creators. A comprehensive hierarchical classification of the different types of social media influencers is provided with updated definitions and characteristics to give a better understanding of the growing range of digital content creators and their status. Furthermore, this study discusses the practices carried out by successful social media influencers and what sets them apart from ordinary fame-seekers in the context of scholar studies.

Chiara Ferragni rappresenta molto di più di un progetto di marketing vincente. Chiara Ferragni incarna un romanzo di formazione per nuove generazioni, immerso fino al collo nella cultura di massa e nel sistema dei consumi. Dove la crescita personale va di pari passo con la crescita del fatturato e, viceversa, il successo economico si sposa con la felice realizzazione di sé.
Una storia confortante che risponde al desiderio disperato, sopito dentro ciascuno di noi, di essere unici e riconoscibili, di lasciare un segno del mondo, di scoprire un talento in cui eccellere e per il quale avere successo ed essere, finalmente, felici.

การศึกษาวิจัยนี้เป็นการวิจัยเชิงปริมาณ มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษา 1. ลักษณะทางประชากรที่ต่างกันจะมีการเปิดรับข้อมูลจากผู้นำความคิดด้านสุขภาพจิตในเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์แตกต่างกัน 2. ลักษณะทางประชากรที่ต่างกันจะมีการรับรู้บริการสุขภาพจิตจากผู้นำความคิดด้านสุขภาพจิตในเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์แตกต่างกัน 3. ลักษณะทางประชากรที่ต่างกันจะมีทัศนคติต่อผู้นำความคิดด้านสุขภาพจิตในเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์แตกต่างกัน 4. ลักษณะทางประชากรที่ต่างกันจะมีการตัดสินใจใช้บริการสุขภาพจิตแตกต่างกัน และ 5. ศึกษาอิทธิพลของการเปิดรับ การรับรู้ ทัศนคติ และการตัดสินใจใช้บริการสุขภาพจิต โดยใช้วิธีวิจัยเชิงสำรวจจากกลุ่มตัวอย่างที่เป็นผู้ติดตามผู้นำความคิดด้านสุขภาพจิตในเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์ ในบริเวณขอบเขตที่ศึกษา จำนวน 400 คน
ผลการวิจัยพบว่า 1. เพศหญิงมีการเปิดรับ การรับรู้ ทัศนคติ และแนะนำบริการสุขภาพจิต มากกว่าเพศชาย 2. ผู้ที่อายุน้อยแนะนำบริการสุขภาพจิตให้ผู้อื่นทราบ มากกว่าผู้ที่อายุมากกว่า 3. ผู้มีการศึกษาต่ำกว่าระดับปริญญาตรีเปิดรับข้อมูลข่าวสารจากผู้นำความคิดด้านสุขภาพจิตในเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์มากกว่าผู้มีการศึกษาสูงกว่าปริญญาตรี 4. คนที่มีสถานภาพหม้าย/หย่ามีพฤติกรรมการเปิดรับข้อมูลจากผู้นำความคิดมากกว่าคนที่มีสถานภาพสมรส 5. คนที่มีรายได้น้อยมีทัศนคติต่อการบริการด้านสุขภาพจิตในเชิงบวกมากกว่าคนที่มีรายได้สูงกว่า 6. การรับรู้ข้อมูลข่าวสารสุขภาพจิตจากผู้นำความคิดในเครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์มีอิทธิพลต่อการตัดสินใจเข้าใช้บริการด้านสุขภาพจิต

Digital platforms offer an important means for improving the reach, scale and accessibility of community-based support for those dealing with mental health issues. They enable new forms of health participation. A research gap remains in understanding the role of peer mentors in building effective digital environments for mental health support. This paper presents part of a larger study centred on the digital interventions of prominent mental health organisation beyondblue. It combines qualitative content analysis and interviews with prominent peer mentors. The analysis presents insights into how some peer mentors are able to act as mental health influencers and examines their impact and role in activating supportive mental health publics. Effective mental health influencers build demonstrable non-professional expertise and authority, and through affective practices play an active role in framing and re-framing mental health and recovery, stimulating cohesion generating cycles of impact-feedback among forum participants.

Los estudios sobre el liderazgo de opinión comenzaron con las aportaciones de Paul Lazarsfeld y sus compañeros de la Escuela de Columbia (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955), cuando Lazarsfeld desarrolló su teoría de “the-two-step-flow of communication” que incidía en los efectos limitados de los medios. Además, Lazarsfeld indicó que la moda, por su dinamismo, era un campo propicio para el análisis del papel de la comunicación personal y del liderazgo de opinión. El presente artículo analiza los estudios en este campo entre los años 1950 y 2000; una evolución en la que se establecen las bases sobre las características de los líderes de opinión en moda como medidores de la cultura y valores sociales, fuentes de información, fuentes de consejo, modelos de comportamiento en moda, fuentes de seguridad para la aceptación social. La revisión cronológica de los estudios permite un análisis en profundidad en el que aparecen las claves sobre el papel de la comunicación personal, cuestión relevante en la difusión de las tendencias de moda.

This research focuses on an emerging influencer category called CGI influencers. CGI influencers are fictional characters created with computer modeling techniques that have profiles on social networks and sociomaterial trajectories built with the aid of digital marketing, business intelligence and media companies. As an empirical object, we chose Lil Miquela - "the robot influencer", one of the most successful examples of this genre of micro celebrity on Instagram. Our main goal was to map the ways in which Miquela acts on Instagram and to find traces that allow us to explore better the interrelationship between the strategies adopted by Miquela's creators team and her appropriations of Instagram affordances that shapes the ways in which she acts both as a fictional character and as a digital influencer. We extracted 1089 posts available in Miquela’s feed up to June 2021and used content analysis and mixed digital methods techniques to explore the data. We observed thr...

El marketing de influencia es un fenómeno en auge. Cada vez más
organizaciones recurren a influencers para comunicar su mensaje a través de las redes sociales, sobre todo en Instagram y YouTube. En este trabajo analizamos el uso que hacen de los influencers las diez empresas turísticas españolas con mayor inversión publicitaria durante 2019 en esas dos redes sociales. Se emplea una metodología de modelo mixto para analizar la utilización de este tipo de figuras en la comunicación
de las entidades, detectar los tipos de perfiles profesionales a los que se recurre y determinar si su empleo aumenta el valor de las cuentas organizacionales. Los resultados evidencian preferencia por Instagram frente a YouTube, un aumento del Earned Media Value, y que 60% de las empresas analizadas recurren a influencers en su comunicación habitual, aunque apuestan por especialistas y no necesariamente a perfiles con un número mayor de seguidores.

Marketing as a field has increased exponentially over the past few years. With social media growth, various businesses and organizations have started looking out for new ways to promote their product or services. Influencer marketing seems to be the latest trend in advertising. Influencers are ordinary individuals who have amassed large followings by demonstrating expertise in various niches on social media sites. This research paper aims to examine the attitude and awareness of young Indian adults between the ages of 18 to 25 regarding influencer marketing. Through that, to find out the influence influencers have on the purchasing decisions among the target group.
We used a quantitative research method in this study and researched it with the help of an internet questionnaire. We aim to find out 1) How aware is the target group about influencer marketing 2) How does the target group perceive influencer marketing on social media and how it affects their buying decision 3) What are the various buying factors involved when taking suggestions from an influencer. The study's findings reveal that the target group is aware of influencer marketing, and they find it useful while making a product buying decision. It also increases the awareness of a product among the consumers. Trust and credibility are important factors while making the purchase based on the recommendation of the Influencer. It can be reasoned that influencer marketing plays an essential role among the target audience. Successful influencer marketing involves identifying the correct type of Influencer who has built a good reputation in a particular niche, and has excellent engagements with the audience.
Keywords: influencer marketing, social media, young Indian adults

Raúl Álvarez Genes (Auronplay). Raúl Álvarez Genes, más conocido como Auronplay, nació el cinco de noviembre de mil novecientos ochenta y ocho (1988), en Badalona, ciudad en la que sigue viviendo hasta ahora. Raúl empezó a participar en Youtube desde muy jovencito. Es uno de los primeros Youtubers españoles. Antes incluso de que el término Youtuber fuera conocido. Empezó subiendo algún vídeo por eso de si ellos pueden yo también, que tenían ya bastante señas de lo que sería Auronplay hoy en día. Trabajó en una empresa de artes gráficas durante nueve años. En este tiempo, pasaría a dejar su relación con Youtube en standby, hasta que se dio cuenta de que algo estaba cambiando y se avecinaba el término Youtuber en España. En el año dos mil doce (2012) se subió al carro de nuevo y retomó su canal con más ganas que nunca, tanto, que llegó un momento en el que tuvo que decidir si continuar con su empleo o dedicarse ya de lleno al mundo de Internet y optó por lo segundo. Bingo. Los números y los éxitos no tardaron en llegar, y él a su estilo… Si, porque los Youtubers también tienen un estilo propio que los identifica y por sus propias palabras, no porque lo diga yo; el de Auron es el estilo cutre. Según aumentaba su alcance mediático tuvo que ir variando ligeramente el contenido de sus vídeos, pasando de vídeo críticas, en las que atacaba más directamente al autor, a analizar detenidamente las maravillas que nos aporta el mundo de Internet. Aunque el Festival de Tomordorland es ya todo un clásico, Aurum tiene vídeos incluso más visitados, llegando a los quince millones de visualizaciones en algunos, incluso lanzando al estrellato indirectamente a alguna que otra persona. Guiño guiño. Su retranca tan característica que ha servido para subirse a los escenarios con su amigo Wish Michu en los shows de Youplanet e incluso ha publicado un libro hace poco. Tiene muy claro que quiere dedicarse al mundo del espectáculo y se está labrando un gran camino, trabajando duro. Nos vemos sobre las tablas Aurum. Tus casi veintisiete millones de seguidores te están esperando. manuelverdugo.com

Wer politische Influencer:innen mit jenen Konzepten zu erklären versucht, die Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft bisher bereitstellen, muss scheitern, weil diese Disziplinen ihre Theorien in Abhängigkeit zu den Massenmedien formulierten. Denn wo vormals private Akteur:innen über Soziale Medien an öffentliche Sprecherrollen gelangen, offenbaren jene Theoriestränge Lücken, die sich bis dato unabhängig voneinander mit Einflusspersonen beider Sphären auseinandersetzen. Diesem Defizit nähert sich Mar- cel Schlegel an. Sein Vorschlag: Erst wenn man Meinungsführer- und Öffentlichkeitstheorien miteinander der verbindet, lässt sich die kommunikative Rolle der neuartigen Online-Einflusspersonen beschreiben.

Zitation: Schlegel, Marcel (2021): Aufenthaltsstatus: ungeklärt. Was Polit-Influencer:innen für Meinungsführer-und Öffentlichkeitskonzepte bedeuten. In: Magazin des DFG-Graduiertenkollegs 1681/2 "Privatheit und Digitalisierung", Nr. 16, 36-47.

Mehr: https://www.privatheit.uni-passau.de/magazine/

This chapter reviews key themes that have emerged across scholarship on social media and political activism, focusing on Twitter in particular. This body of work looks at Twitter as a platform in terms of how it works and whether it offers much for the needs of activists. It looks at its potential to give voice to those formerly excluded by traditional top-down monolithic media and the extent to which this can increase citizen engagement, civic debate and democratic processes. The chapter also highlights concerns as to how social media can foster more restricted levels of debate, which may be rather insular and driven by influencers. And finally, it raises the need to question what it means when we give such platforms and the logics and forms of communication such a central role in how we run our societies.

Despite extensive literature on content creators’ identities, strategies, and activities, there remains a gap in understanding how the constantly changing platform environment impacts their brand subjectivities. Against this backdrop, our article explores how evolutions in platforms—including constant updates to their affordances—shape the activities and interpretive processes of content creators. Drawing on interviews with 35 Chilean content creators in the field of fashion and lifestyle, along with an analysis of their Instagram images (N = 165) and stories (N = 150), we show how creators feel compelled to enact different versions of their brand subjectivities. Our findings show how creators experience platform changes based on three interrelated levels: in the form of communicative styles, as a sense of temporal acceleration, and as a constant negotiation with other actors in the social network through which commercial activities are configured. Thus, when platforms tend to make changes to improve their commercial viability, content creators have to adapt their brand subjectivities and practices across platforms and affordances. In addition to shedding light on the new routines and intensified economic pressures demanded of today’s digital workers, we also reveal how the ideal of creation has been supplanted with intensified competition amid constantly changing technological, social, and commercial ecologies.

Esattamente 10 anni fa Chiara Ferragni pubblicava il primo post del suo blog *The Blonde Salad*. Inizia così la parabola della digital influencer da oltre 17 milioni di follower su Instagram.

Parafrasando (e capovolgendo) la celebre *Fenomenologia di Mike Bongiorno* di Umberto Eco, Ferragni, intesa come personaggio e non come persona, è la ragazza della porta accanto innalzata a superstar.

In lei si avverte la palese costruzione e finzione scenica del personaggio, confezionato da un'abile macchina del marketing, a dispetto della retorica del blog come diario privato.

La cosa, invece di creare repulsione nei follower, ne determina la devozione, poiché Ferragni è esattamente ciò che loro vorrebbero essere: icona di stile, oggetto di attenzione del circo della moda pur essendovi arrivata dall’esterno.

La «rivoluzione» digitale dei fashion influencer è più retorica che sostanziale. Non ha creato dei media alternativi, capaci di alimentare un immaginario che faccia concorrenza a quello veicolato dai tradizionali mezzi di informazione del settore.

Se non una rivoluzione fallita, certo un'occasione mancata. È questo il limite dell'insalata: anche se venduta in milioni di confezioni, rimane pur sempre un contorno.

[Trovate la full story su Homo Academicus]

https://medium.com/homoacademicus/fenomenologia-di-chiara-ferragni-9a5c15e16e79

The 21st century opened the door for the videogame industry to become a 100-billion-dollar industry according to Super Data’s 2017 . A lot of scholars have been studying why video games generates so much monetary and social interactions between populations around the world. Among the reasons why this industry boomed, some regard the evolution of digital technologies as a major source of democratization, others help to discuss the various qualities of gaming experiences whether online or offline and many always put forward the people who helped the industry, community and culture to progress.
Our focus will not be aimed at the people responsible for the creation of games but rather at the ones who entertain people by playing video games. Although we will still discuss about how both have been stimulating interactions between game studios and their communities. We will mainly be describing the role of influencers as driving forces of content within the videogame community.
We will try to give an overall picture of what is a gaming influencer and the various digital or physical platforms that they interact with, to hopefully become famous and live from their activity. We will build our analysis upon a quick historical summary, my personal experience, the recent stories of current major influencers and writings about influencer social, cultural and marketing practices. Keep in mind that we will also try to interpret the reasons behind the influencers’ decision-making as well as why his or her community reacted in such ways. Finally, we will conclude our arguments by regarding how online communities thrive through social media practices allowed by a sharing system of user and influencer generated contents.

This article presents a study of Twitter-based communication in order to identify key influencers and to assess the role of their communication in shaping country images. The analysis is based on a 2-month dataset comprised of all tweets including hashtags of the three countries selected for this study: Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Following a two-step flow model of communication, we initially identified the influential Twitter users in all three countries based on their centrality measures. Subsequently, we carried out a qualitative content analysis of tweets posted by these influential users. Finally, we assessed the similarities and differences across the three country cases. This article offers new insights into public diplomacy 2.0 activities by discussing influence within the context of country images and demonstrating how opinion leaders can play a more dominant role than states or other political actors in creating and disseminating content related to country image. The findings also provide practical insights in the production of a country’s image and its representation on new media platforms.

; más conocido en los mundos de Internet como Luisito Comunica, es un Youtuber mexicano. Nació el veinte de marzo de mil novecientos noventa y uno (1991) y es originario de la Ciudad de Puebla. Desde pequeño supo que lo suyo sería el mundo de la imagen y desde que tuvo su primera cámara con unos doce años, no dejó nunca de grabar. Luis comenzó a hacer contenidos para Internet para presentar una materia de la Licenciatura de Comunicación que cursaba. Así podría mostrar lo aprendido durante su paso por la Universidad, BUAP (Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla). Durante un tiempo trabajó como profesor en una preparatoria en Puebla. Aprovechaba sus ratos libres para hacer contenido y subirlo a Youtube, pero sin demasiado éxito. Luis tocaba el piano desde niño y tenía un canal llamado Piano para gente cool, donde hacía tutoriales. Un día un amigo le ofreció trabajo en una productora editando vídeos. Luisito decidió aceptar la oferta y se mudó a Ciudad de México (antes México D. F.). Una vez en la capital, entró más en contacto con la comunidad Youtuber mexicana (Youtubers como; Yayo Gutiérrez, Pepe problemas, DeBrayanShow, AlexxxStrecci, Jux, entre otros), y al ver que la gente vivía gracias a Youtube, pensó que eso también podría ser su futuro. Decidió enfocarse y esforzarse en crear cada vez más contenido de la mejor calidad posible. Así; en abril de dos mil doce (2012), abrió su canal Luisito Comunica. Publicó su primer vídeo en mayo del mismo año. Un vídeo de entrevistas sobre los talentos ocultos que tienen los viandantes. El nombre del canal, viene de que su familia y amigos le llaman Luisito cariñosamente y lo de Comunica viene de la lección de la Universidad de que todo comunica y como lo suyo es comunicar… En sus vídeos encontramos todo tipo de contenido aleatorio, sin una temática fija y con un estilo cambiante. Luis intenta subir lo que a él le gustaría ver en Youtube; vídeos de humor, entrevistas de calles, situaciones del día a día, vídeos de comparaciones de modos de vida, sus eventos, sus viajes… y todo contado desde una forma muy amena. Con mucho ritmo y buena edición. En su canal cuenta al momento de este artículo con novecientos noventa y dos (992) vídeos subidos y con casi treinta y seis millones de suscriptores. Durante un tiempo compatibilizó Youtube con su trabajo de editor, pero como le pasó a la mayoría de Youtubers, con el aumento de suscriptores decidió dejarlo. manuelverdugo.com

Su presencia tiene historia, no son una novedad, las Fake News forman parte de la comunicación informativa de las sociedades, integran círculos de comunicación presentes en las diferentes plataformas, con un solo objetivo: la expansión y la desinformación. Son noticias falsas insertas en la propaganda de actores sociales, empresariales y políticos, que buscan a través del desinterés ciudadano, alcances mediáticos y posicionamiento discursivo.
El presente proyecto de investigación tiene como base el análisis de las Fake News desde el ámbito político, considerando el cercano proceso electoral 2018, en el caso específico de Puebla, México, lugar donde se centra la revisión metodológica y estadística de este proyecto. La selección de la temporalidad electoral, parte del alcance que, en los recientes procesos electorales, han tenido las Fake News.

Asumiendo su papel de líderes periodísticos, más allá del medio tradicional, este ensayo analiza la trasmedialidad de los llamados líderes de opinión en Puebla, el cómo han estructurado el mensaje informativo al entorno comunicacional de las redes sociales, en específico, en una red líder del ámbito informativo: Twitter.

Throughout time, the concept of celebrity has evolved to include new forms of fame created with each new technology. In today's increasingly digital world, we are witnessing the explosive growth of this generation's new idols who owe their fame to social media and are better known as social media influencers. A number of terms are used to refer to all forms of fame on social media and even certain terms are often used interchangeably (micro-celebrity, instafamous, internet famous or influencer are some of these terms). A lack of consensus on terminology and the characteristics that define a social media celebrity or even who should be considered a social media influencer or a digital celebrity of any sort is widespread amongst both scholars and practitioners. This study reviews landmark scholarship on celebrities that will help get a better understanding of the dynamics behind the creation of fame, how attention is captured and sustained, as well as the practices that make monetization possible for social media content creators. A comprehensive hierarchical classification of the different types of social media influencers is provided with updated definitions and characteristics to give a better understanding of the growing range of digital content creators and their status. Furthermore, this study discusses the practices carried out by successful social media influencers and what sets them apart from ordinary fame-seekers in the context of scholar studies.

Este capítulo discute a noção de influenciador digital: formadores
de opinião, blogueiras de moda, youtubers, influenciadores do
Instagram e do Snapchat que têm redefinido as práticas e dinâmicas
dos mercados contemporâneos ao se consolidarem como figuras
de destaque no ambiente digital. Este artigo explica 1) como o
influenciador conquista esse status; como constrói reputação e
fideliza seus públicos e 2) como os regimes de visibilidade da
sociedade contemporânea sustentam esse influenciador que não
apenas produz conteúdo, mas também transforma a sua própria
imagem em mercadoria. Além disso, o capítulo mostra alguns
exemplos e expõe como esse influenciador está inserido na cadeia
comercial de produtos e na comunicação de marcas contemporâneas.

The essay focuses on the phenomenon of fashion blogging and influencing, and analyses how the work of digital influencers affects the production and circulation of fashion imaginary. The aim of the contribution is twofold. Firstly, to show the institutionalisation of fashion blogging and influencing through a "fight and rule" strategy: trying to maintain, at least rhetorically, the appeal of the outsider voice born from below, bloggers and influencers are now a structural component of the communicative processes that link brands and consumers. Secondly, to identify the contribution of fashion blogging and influencing to the construction/deconstruction of the contemporary fashion imaginary. The article develops a case study, that of the most successful Italian digital influencer: Chiara Ferragni, author of The Blonde Salad, who counts more than 24 million followers on Instagram (September 2021). The initial phase of Ferragni's "career" (2009-2016) is reconstructed. The categories of "fashion imaginary" and "alternative media" are used to understand to what extent the dominant fraction of bloggers, represented by the influencer Ferragni, was (and is) able to feed the contemporary fashion imaginary with alternative narratives.

The aim of this paper is to identify influencers and the way they affect the behavior of millennial buyers in the process of consuming fashion goods. The paper examines the literature on opinion leaders, ranging from the origins of the concept to its developments within the context of the Internet. The shift from influential to influencer and the different types of influencer are examined and certain hypotheses regarding the role of influencers (including all the influential players) regarding fashion-buying millennials are presented. The paper presents the results of qualitative and quantitative empirical research based on focus groups and in-depth interviews with 22 university students. Findings from this research and their implications regarding the different stages of the millennial buying process are discussed.

Los objetivos de la investigación se centran, por una parte, en estudiar el vínculo existente tomando como referencia el público destinatario, la marca y los influencers seleccionados como prescriptores del producto, y por otra, en analizar una estrategia publicitaria que desde un enfoque transmedia-y con las celebrities siempre como protagonistas-, complementa la presencia en medios tradicionales con otras acciones comunicativas basadas en el marketing experiencial (eventos), los contenidos de marca (branded content) y la viralidad en redes sociales.

This study examines how video blogs (vlogs) influence consumer perceptions of luxury brands. Using social comparison theory, this study proposes a model that assesses the influence of physical attractiveness, social attractiveness on luxury brand perceptions (i.e., brand luxury, luxury brand value, and brand-user-imagery fit) and luxury brand purchase intentions. Using comparing pre-and post-luxury perceptions, finds luxury brand perceptions were significantly increased after watching vlog and increases were moderated by viewers with the vlogger. investigated vlog effects on luxury brand perceptions and purchase intentions using between-subject design. Results show that luxury brand perceptions and purchase intentions for the experimental groups, who watched vlogs reviewing luxury products, were higher than the control group, who did not watch the vlog. Overall, the findings generally support the viewer as a brand management tool and the use of YouTube for positive perceptions of luxury brands.

Este artigo tem o objetivo de registrar a evolução do termo “influenciador digital”. A análise é baseada no discurso da mídia em relação a esse sujeito contemporâneo. Ao longo do artigo também são apresentados alguns conceitos da Comunicação que permitem compreender a dinâmica de influência presente na relação influenciador-público. As perguntas que guiam o trabalho e a discussão teórica são: de onde vem a prática de um influenciador digital? A que esse termo se refere?

This study aimed to present the conceptual framework of the effects of social media influencers on the consumer perception on brand image and also investigate how influencers' image transfer to the brands. The research framework is developed with consumer learning process and network associative theory. The propositions are developed and presented in the paper.

Existe una estrecha relación entre el impacto de los influenciadores en las redes sociales y el grado de autoestima que tienen los usuarios. El estudio que se realizó pretende deducir por qué los influenciadores en las redes sociales afectan el autoestima de sus seguidores. Se contó con la participación de 137 individuos de 10 a 65 años; y por medio de una investigación cuantitativa, no experimental y de alcance correlacional, se evaluó las diferencias entre género, edades, profesión y carreras universitarias. La hipótesis del análisis, la cual indicaba que los influenciadores en las redes sociales impactan en la autoestima de las mujeres entre 15 a 25 años fue descartada, debido a que los resultados demostraron que los hombres son más propensos a ser influenciados, asimismo, un rango más amplio de edades están expuestos a la influencia de estos portadores de voz. Otros hallazgos importantes fueron que tanto los adolescentes como los jóvenes adultos son los más influenciados debido al acceso y al tiempo invertido en las redes sociales. Por otro lado, las personas con cualquier tipo de trabajo comercial, los abogados, los arquitectos, los diseñadores y los médicos tienen más predisposición de acertar esta teoría debido a la importancia relativa del estatus y nivel socioeconómico, la imagen pública, las relaciones interpersonales y los vínculos sociales.

Palabras Clave: influenciadores, autoestima, redes sociales.

Internet transforma el modo en que nos comunicamos, relacionamos y compramos. Gracias a la revolución tecnológica, los individuos pueden acceder a todo tipo de información, comunicarse de forma directa con cientos de usuarios, compartir experiencias y opiniones. Como consecuencia, el entorno online propicia un incremento exponencial de líderes de opinión en las redes sociales: son los denominados influencers. Los influencers muestran en las redes vidas que todo joven millennial pueden envidiar y desear: productos gratuitos, eventos, viajes, colaboraciones con marcas, etc. Esta realidad aumenta en volumen estrategias de influencer marketing en la red, colaboraciones entre marcas y líderes de opinión digitales, dando lugar al desarrollo de una nueva profesión. Hoy en día la mayoría de los influencer son jóvenes nativos digitales, que sueñan con ganarse la vida trabajando en campos que les motiven y diviertan. El presente capítulo aborda los cambios de la revolución digital, la evolución de los influencer, la admiración que estos líderes de opinión despiertan entre sus iguales y las consecuencias que puede tener una profesión altamente asociada a la imagen y expuesta a la opinión de todos los internautas. Además, se exponen los casos de cinco influencers que han conseguido, o están en camino de hacer de su pasión su profesión.

This research aims to identify the antecedents and consequents of trust in the product review blogs in an emerging market, which possess different characteristics than developed markets. We adopt the definition of product review blogs (PRB) as those blogs, websites, or social networking pages that disseminate experiences and/ or information about products and services. We propose a model that incorporates individual characteristics and beliefs as antecedents of trust in the PRB and behavioral intentions as its consequence. Next, we conduct a questionnaire with 407 Brazilians who follow any PRB. We analyzed the data using structural equation modeling with partial least squares estimation (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate the influence of trust in the PRB on users’ purchase intention, intention to follow blog recommendations, and intention to continue participating in the blog in an expressive emerging market. The trust in the PRB tends to have the PRB credibility as an antecedent. The findings suggest that subjective knowledge directly affects trust in the PRB and indirectly affects trust through PRB credibility, a mediating variable in the relationship between these variables. Our results reveal a direct and negative effect on PRB trust regarding susceptibility to informational influence. However, we also identify an indirect positive impact on trust in the PRB through PRB credibility. The results allow us to conclude that PRB credibility plays a central role in the antecedents of trust in the PRB in emerging markets.

Feminist content is a well-established genre on YouTube, in which creators post political and social commentary on topics such as intersectionality, politics, gender and sexual identity alongside comedic, lifestyle, and personality-driven fare. This chapter examines the work of feminist YouTube content creators within the context of popular feminist economies of visibility and an interrelated theoretical analytic of productive ambivalence. YouTube has been celebrated by many as a platform that has enabled far more diverse screen representations of race, gender and sexuality than television and film media, as is undoubtedly the case. However, feminist YouTube creators have to navigate what are often contradictory pressures in order to gain visibility and earn a living, such as appealing to commercial brands whilst maintaining their political integrity and cultivating authenticity with their audiences. The work of feminist content creators on YouTube is complex and so a reductive explanatory frame is resisted here. With the analytic of productive ambivalence, this chapter aims to complicate the dominance of popular feminism online by asking: to what extent are professional YouTube content creators able to present more radical versions of feminism, or else pushed to fit into neoliberal brand culture in order to gain visibility and income?

This study explores the relationship between social media influencers and the online identity of Egyptian youth. The context of this study is Egypt, a developing country in the Arab World which underwent a nation-changing revolution in 2011. Its youth, who represent around 60 per cent of the population, were one of the most impacted groups in the society. They are the heaviest users of social media and represent the biggest number of fans for influencers. The research question focuses on the relationship between social media influencers and the construction of the online identity of their youth fans. The research question is addressed through semi-structured in-depth interviews with nine social media influencers and eighteen of their fans. The analysis revealed that influencers play an indirect role in their fans online identity negotiation and construction.

Tesi di Laurea di Iacopo Melio (Scienze Politiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze).
Dalla prefazione:
«Pensare ad una nuova realtà è diventato un compito difficile dato che l’ecosistema digitale si nutre proprio di quegli scambi che ha modificato nelle modalità e nei contenuti trasmessi. E così cambia la comunicazione e l'informazione ma cambiano anche i rapporti interpersonali, le relazioni, e di conseguenza il processo dell'affermazione identitaria.
Non solo il mondo della comunicazione (incluso quella politica), ma anche l'economia o il marketing sono stati toccati dalla rivoluzione digitale, vedendo proliferare nuove figure, non necessariamente professionali, diventate icone sociali di una realtà densa, iper connessa e stratificata, con nuove identità più o meno forti che si promuovono, o vengono proposte da altri attori, come rappresentanti del cambiamento.
Premesso questo, cercherò di analizzare la figura affermata e sempre più diffusa (anche in ambiti distanti tra loro) di "influencer", descrivendone le caratteristiche peculiari e delineandone l’importanza sociale, ma anche economica e politica, per poi trattare il fenomeno del "personal branding", con il quale l'identità personale diventa un prodotto accattivante ed efficace da promuovere, socialmente riconosciuto, seguendo quasi le logiche del marketing per ottenere effetti di varia natura.
Cosa spinge un influencer a costruire e sviluppare il proprio "brand"? E perché si sente il bisogno di mettere a disposizione ciò che si è, incluse esperienze e capacità, la propria storia e la propria vita, e quindi la propria identità (che ricordiamo essere in continuo mutamento in quanto risultato di più fattori) al servizio degli altri e della collettività anche quando sconosciuta, nonostante sia parte attiva della stessa affermazione identitaria?
Infine, accennando all’evoluzione del concetto di "dono" come "ricompensa", ampiamente discusso nelle scienze sociali e non solo, nell’ultima parte di questo lavoro verranno tradotte le premesse teoriche in esempi di realtà concrete che, nonostante il loro agire attraverso la rete, si sono affermate come connessioni umane dove il protagonista è un guadagno personale, di tipo emotivo, ma soprattutto un beneficio comune e collettivo. La sfera delle relazioni e dei sentimenti, infatti, sembra essere coinvolta in modo determinante nei processi che formano l’identità personale, costituita da elementi reali, concreti e quotidiani (solidarietà, collaborazione, senso di appartenenza...), sebbene il mezzo sia un canale virtuale come quello del web.»

Influencers are highly visible tastemakers who professionally publish content on social media platforms. In their work, influencers are tasked with reconciling their contradictory positioning they are both promoters of consumption, and marshals of 'authentic' sociality and community. Influencers thus organize their social world in ways that enable them to justify moving between two contradictory poles of commerciality and authenticity. In this paper, we argue that these navigations necessitate "influencer imaginaries". This concept was drawn from, first, in-depth interviews with 35 Chilean social media influencers, and second, from participant observation with advertising agencies who hire them. The influencer "imaginary" sheds light on how individuals experience and justify the commodification of the self and forms of knowledge as subject to valuation in markets when they communicate their brands. Thus, the imaginary was shown to emerge from three intertwined narratives: to resolve information asymmetries in markets; differentiate influencers from celebrities and advertisers as average people; and negotiate self definition with regard to agencies, audiences, and themselves.

The expanding gaming industry now includes a large group of consumers who watch others play games. On Twitch.tv – the leading platform for gameplay streaming – influencers livestream themselves playing games while viewers watch and interact with them. Previous research suggests that social interaction may be critical for a successful stream but has not studied gameplay streams as Interaction Rituals, a model describing how interaction lead to social motivation. Analysis of four gameplay streams shows how the streamer, through inclusion strategies and active viewer participation, promote viewer engagement in a way that resembles the mechanisms of offline Interaction Rituals. The model, therefore, appears to be useful for understanding how successful gameplay streams draw a returning audience through producing positive social emotions and parasocial attachment to the group.

El presente artículo analiza desde un punto de vista jurídico tres manifestaciones publicitarias encubiertas en las plataformas digitales
de Internet. En primer lugar, se estudian las evaluaciones fraudulentas en las plataformas, que no responden a opiniones de verdaderos
usuarios, sino a los esfuerzos publicitarios de un agente del mercado. En segundo lugar, se aborda la publicidad a través del testimonio o
la opinión de prescriptores o líderes de opinión, conocidos coloquialmente como influencers. Finalmente, se analiza la presentación sesgada de contenido editorial con el fin de influir en las
decisiones de consumo de los usuarios de una plataforma. El análisis de estas nuevas formas de publicidad de dudosa legitimidad es precedido
de una breve aproximación a los conceptos de autenticidad publicitaria y publicidad encubierta.

Diese Arbeit erforscht anhand des größten deutschen christlichen Kanals auf YouTube, was die Zuschauer des Kanals genau an diesem anspricht, wo die Zuschauer derzeit in Bezug auf das Christentum stehen, inwieweit und wodurch die christliche Botschaft diese auch tatsächlich erreicht und welche Auswirkungen diese Botschaft auf sie hat. Grundlage dafür bildet eine Erhebung mittels Online-Fragebogen an der 2757 Zuschauer teilgenommen haben.