Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#1

Post by kawera » Thu, May 03, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram
theguardian.com

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#2

Post by eksemplar » Thu, May 03, 2018, 3:55 PM UTC

Maybe it’s time the EU took a look at advertising. I mean, we’re building things like the GDPR and a lot of legislation to protect minors from the dangers that come from social media. We see loot boxes, underage gambling, traders selling you recommendations for their own products, scammers, young people prostitute them selves to get photo shoots at exotic locations or for luxurary stuff for likes. Probably worse than that too, and at the heart of it is advertising and how it makes money on popularity, lies and knowing every about everyone.

Popularity will always be worth money to someone, but the current business practices surrounding it just don’t seem healthy.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#3

Post by philfrasty » Thu, May 03, 2018, 3:56 PM UTC

Guy they chose seems like a bad example.

- 30k on insta (since 2014): instagram.com/elijah_oezz

- 3k on YouTube youtube.com/channel/UCk4fZzhD8fStRHITL4sP_LA

- 0 comments on any of his pics

Forex trading is certainly big on SM but this guy does not convert a single visitor.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#4

Post by neaden » Thu, May 03, 2018, 3:57 PM UTC

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said that he has had people come up to him and tell him that Gordon Gekko inspired them to get into finance, so it's not surprising that Belfort is now inspiring a new generation.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#5

Post by gowld » Thu, May 03, 2018, 4:04 PM UTC

neaden wrote: post #4

One thing I've been struck by with movies and films like the Wolf of Wall Street, the film Wall Street, Fight Club, or even the Great Gatsby is how many people end up coming away with the exact opposite message of the movie. They end up idolizing the vapid, shallow lifestyle that the movie is critiquing, because even though the film is critiquing that it can't help but also make it glamorous. Michael Douglas has said…

Fight Club gets a lot of retroactive flak now that people know how they were "supposed" to read it. The book was a dramatization of the way young men feel about life. If the author and book had any valid insight, then of course young men would identify with the "bad" lifestyle in the movie, and not suddenly turn into old men while watching the movie. The movie is entirely showing the fantasy from the "vapid" perspective. It does nothing in itself to destroy the fantasy except at the very end where it shows "maybe it's possible to take this too far?"

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#6

Post by TaylorGood » Thu, May 03, 2018, 4:05 PM UTC

I know of a guy who “pivoted” from exotic car rental operator in Florida to Forex and Drop Shipping coach via Instagram. His Lamborghini, chartered jets and 30k followers really shine but I also know he still buys fake shoes. Wouldn’t trust him with $1.

Gary Vaynerchuk is spot on in that there are too many experts and not enough practicioners. Showing others how to make it is how these guys are trying to make it.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#7

Post by gowld » Thu, May 03, 2018, 4:08 PM UTC

TaylorGood wrote: post #6

I know of a guy who “pivoted” from exotic car rental operator in Florida to Forex and Drop Shipping coach via Instagram. His Lamborghini, chartered jets and 30k followers really shine but I also know he still buys fake shoes. Wouldn’t trust him with $1. Gary Vaynerchuk is spot on in that there are too many experts and not enough practicioners. Showing others how to make it is how these guys are trying to make it.

I don't think we need more "practitioners" of Forex day-trading and Drop-Shipping arbitrage.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#8

Post by gowld » Thu, May 03, 2018, 4:09 PM UTC

eksemplar wrote: post #2

Maybe it’s time the EU took a look at advertising. I mean, we’re building things like the GDPR and a lot of legislation to protect minors from the dangers that come from social media. We see loot boxes, underage gambling, traders selling you recommendations for their own products, scammers, young people prostitute them selves to get photo shoots at exotic locations or for luxurary stuff for likes. Probably worse than…

Or it's not time, because we don't want sex workers' livelihoods destroyed by Puritanical nanny states.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#9

Post by TaylorGood » Thu, May 03, 2018, 4:10 PM UTC

gowld wrote: post #7

TaylorGood wrote: post #6

I know of a guy who “pivoted” from exotic car rental operator in Florida to Forex and Drop Shipping coach via Instagram. His Lamborghini, chartered jets and 30k followers really shine but I also know he still buys fake shoes. Wouldn’t trust him with $1. Gary Vaynerchuk is spot on in that there are too many experts and not enough practicioners. Showing others how to make it is how these guys are trying to make it.

I don't think we need more "practitioners" of Forex day-trading and Drop-Shipping arbitrage.

Agreed. Just generally focus attached to substance.

Re: Fake it till you make it: the wolves of Instagram

#10

Post by fwn » Thu, May 03, 2018, 4:10 PM UTC

This article describes essentially rough influencers that use their social media marketing capabilities to fuel pyramid schemes with cheap high-risk financial products as their fig-leaf.

While selling those products is regulated in many markets they apparently seem to get around that through obscurity.