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Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

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Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#101

Post by johndoe4589 »

qznc wrote: post #68
johndoe4589 wrote: post #35

Was just thinking about this recently as I started following a few people. We are increasingly living in a world of fiction. Previously it was mainly fed through television. You'd grow up on television series, and as a young man/woman you'd try to be cool like them, dress like them, talk like them. You build your world view around "influential" portrayals. Nowadays, we haven't freed ourself from media controlled tele…

I don't think that we are increasingly living in a world of fiction. We always have. It is human. Kids believe in Santa Claus, adults believe Saddam has weapons of mass destruction. Some believe in Mohammed, Jesus, Jahwe, or Dharma. Some believe they will become rich in Silicon Valley, others on Wallstreet. Some believe in articles from mainstream media, some don't. Many people have dreams for their future, which is…

Perhaps I should have defined my use of the term. "Fiction" for me was implicitly referring to a narrative which tends to revolve around self or collective identities.

I think there is a distinction that can be made, which happens to be echoed by an intuitive sense that we have. We all dislike self centered people. Why is that? What is it about it that makes us uncomfortable? And why do we not like lies? Why do we resent when people posture? Why do we feel uneasy when someone makes a fake smile? Or when someone tries to convince us and you can feel their motive is self centered?

We all have in us a drive towards authenticity, genuineness, truth, whatever you want to call it.

What's dark or cynical about that?

On the science side, there is recent research looking into the "default mode network" that highlights how it appears to be the source of our self-related ruminating thoughts. In fact it appears that 90% of our thoughts in any given day are about "me", or some made up collectives which we use to extend our identity.

This amazing civilization we have built is not built with the self-referential type of fiction. It was built with our abstract thinking, and language capacities. (which is a practical type of thinking or narrative)

True, humanity is not going to drop their stories in a day. But I wouldn't lump fiction and abstract thinking together as "fiction". One is obvious fiction, which is based on identities, which in turn is based on our sense of survival; The other is of a more practical nature.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#102

Post by johndoe4589 »

qznc wrote: post #68
johndoe4589 wrote: post #35

Was just thinking about this recently as I started following a few people. We are increasingly living in a world of fiction. Previously it was mainly fed through television. You'd grow up on television series, and as a young man/woman you'd try to be cool like them, dress like them, talk like them. You build your world view around "influential" portrayals. Nowadays, we haven't freed ourself from media controlled tele…

I don't think that we are increasingly living in a world of fiction. We always have. It is human. Kids believe in Santa Claus, adults believe Saddam has weapons of mass destruction. Some believe in Mohammed, Jesus, Jahwe, or Dharma. Some believe they will become rich in Silicon Valley, others on Wallstreet. Some believe in articles from mainstream media, some don't. Many people have dreams for their future, which is…

By the way I just realized... kids do not believe in Santa Claus. WE make them believe in it. Big difference. And in fact in some parenting circles, it is suggested that you should never tell such stories to your children.

This is another big debate altogether and I genuinely have no interest in debating that. Just threw it out there because it sounds like you lump together things that are very different from one another.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/logical-take/201512/in-...

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#103

Post by ikeyany »

razakel wrote: post #13

I'm with Bill Hicks when it comes to advertising and marketing. I adblock. I pirate. I don't use Facebook or other social networking sites. I don't want advertising in my life. It's propaganda. It shits in your head. If there's anybody reading this who works in those industries: you thought Generation X was cynical?

Ooh, he's playing the cynicism angle--that's a hot market right now. Very huge potential for profit.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#104

Post by eutropia »

johndoe4589 wrote: post #35

Was just thinking about this recently as I started following a few people. We are increasingly living in a world of fiction. Previously it was mainly fed through television. You'd grow up on television series, and as a young man/woman you'd try to be cool like them, dress like them, talk like them. You build your world view around "influential" portrayals. Nowadays, we haven't freed ourself from media controlled tele…

“In a word, they failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions.”

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#105

Post by brainfire »

brbrodude wrote: post #92
carrot wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironic that you literally threw an ad right in the parent's face through this simple comment.

That's not an ad, that's genuine interaction. The poster is not an actor(or someone trying to act a role), not an algorythm, not a corporation, not a marketer or salesperson. We must learn to discern between stuff if we want to consider ourselves "real-worlders" or whatever. If you get the concepts mixed up in your mind then your discernment gets distorted and you start conflating what's authentic and what's artifici…

Seemingly-genuine comments like that could be a plausible future step for escalation of advertising.

I'd guess there are people who would "rent" access to their active social media accounts to a company operating a bot capable of writing subtle "recommendation"-style comments. Sort of a merger of blog-comment-spam-bots and paid "influencer" posts.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#106

Post by lonewolf_ninja »

equalarrow wrote: post #78
cyberferret wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But when I pay for a movie ticket or rent in on NetFlix/Apple TV/whatever, I am expecting it to be fiction, and I am mentally prepared to lose myself in the experience. Same with books, theme parks, plays etc. However, when I follow people on social media, I am expecting something that is a little more 1 to 1, and a lot more real. I am interested in programming, guitars, aviation etc. and follow people with the same…

Well, honestly, I'm not sure how anyone could expect any of this to be genuine or real.. Sure, there are a lot of normal folks posting normal, routine things on social networks, but Instagram was not purchased for $1b to be a mirror of real life (or is it??). Twitter is a public company, with shareholders and revenue they have to make. While we have all become acclimated to 'free' products and expect them, typically…

Your points resonate with me. In today's social media filled world where technology is probably the only major way for you to keep in touch with friends and family living hundreds of miles away - finding that balance is essential.

Going forward 'technology-life' balance would be the biggest challenge faced by millennials and the future generations.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#107

Post by brbrodude »

brainfire wrote: post #105
brbrodude wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not an ad, that's genuine interaction. The poster is not an actor(or someone trying to act a role), not an algorythm, not a corporation, not a marketer or salesperson. We must learn to discern between stuff if we want to consider ourselves "real-worlders" or whatever. If you get the concepts mixed up in your mind then your discernment gets distorted and you start conflating what's authentic and what's artifici…

Seemingly-genuine comments like that could be a plausible future step for escalation of advertising. I'd guess there are people who would "rent" access to their active social media accounts to a company operating a bot capable of writing subtle "recommendation"-style comments. Sort of a merger of blog-comment-spam-bots and paid "influencer" posts.

It's certainly possible, although repulsive.

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#108

Post by chillwaves »

icebraining wrote: post #80
personlurking wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone not familiar with French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, I recommend reading up on his ideas around 'posed reality', as it were. ____ "Simulacra are copies that depict things that either had no original to begin with, or that no longer have an original. Baudrillard believed that society has become so saturated with these simulacra and our lives so saturated with the constructs of society that all meaning was…

"All that once was directly lived has become mere representation." "Where the real world changes into simple images, the simple images become real beings and effective motivations of hypnotic behavior." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Society_of_the_Spectacle

Can watch a rework here (I liked it).

https://vimeo.com/60328678

Re: Confessions of an Instagram Influencer

#109

Post by mememachine »

razakel wrote: post #13

I'm with Bill Hicks when it comes to advertising and marketing. I adblock. I pirate. I don't use Facebook or other social networking sites. I don't want advertising in my life. It's propaganda. It shits in your head. If there's anybody reading this who works in those industries: you thought Generation X was cynical?

shouldnt be afraid of information friend, cant hurt you. closing yourself off is bad for you
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