by Audrey Tedjasaputra (s3816986)
MediaFactory Link: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/audreytedjasaputra/2022/05/25/d-m-m-a4-critical-essay/
(attached above is the embedded link to the full version of the critical essay uploaded on my blog)
Summary of Work
In today’s fast-paced world, and following the movement of the global pandemic, the more traditional practices of advertising and brand endorsements are branching out into something intangible, interweaved in a web of networks. Known to man as the world wide web, social media plays a huge role in this digital space. With Instagram being a photo and video sharing social networking site that launched in 2010, it has become—in my opinion—the ultimate online platform for the sharing of content that are both “real time” yet also carefully calculated. By monetizing one’s daily life for a living through digital activities, it is here that influencers perform a new type of labour in a neo-liberal economy (Abidin & Cover 2019). They engage with their followers in physical and digital spaces—with the latter being especially prominent during the pandemic—monetizing their following by integrating advertorials into their Instagram posts.
This critical essay focuses on the question: how could influencers author their Instagram brand deals in different ways?, which could lead to another question: what would be the audiences’ perceptions as a result of this? I think that the first question was relatively easy to answer, given the fact that the case study refers to 2 lifestyle influencers whom I personally follow; Molita Lin, an Indonesian influencer, and Alisha Marie, an American influencer, seen in the images on the left and right respectively. Since they cover pretty similar contents on Instagram, it definitely helps in visualising the theoretical concepts being used by comparing and contrasting their posts to find out the significant differences, if any, in terms of how they author their Instagram brand deals in 2 differing cultural contexts. It is here that the examples mentioned thus far have been the object of a great deal of varying analyses. For instance, one of the practices being adopted by influencers to achieve differing aesthetics is through the various processes being implemented, ranging all the way from designed photos, to casual photos, as well as all the grey areas in between. Another tactic being deployed would be the various types of hashtags, exploring both their positive and negative aspects, as well as the reasons behind it.
However, on the other hand, the other question—what would be the audiences’ perceptions as a result of this?—is not that easy to answer. It is here that influencers as ‘providers of inspiration and advice’ (Maares, Banjac & Hanusch 2021, p. 8) have ‘to overcome some of the tension between having to brand themselves and their promotional work to sustain their business, and the need to portray themselves as genuine in order to connect with audiences’ (Long and Wilhoit 2018, cited in Maares, Banjac & Hanusch 2021), since their work ‘contributes to sociocultural capital in the form of audiences’ trust and engagement which can later be transformed into economic capital’ (McRae 2017, cited in Maares, Banjac & Hanusch 2021). As such, it is here that transparency needs to be strategically employed into brand deals, since ‘audiences rarely view social media posts as independent objects but rather evaluate it along with the actors’ behaviour, i.e. with the producer in mind’ (Maares, Banjac & Hanusch 2021, p. 9). Therefore, what matters at the end of the day is ‘dependent on the relationship that the audience imagines having with the producer’ (Maares, Banjac & Hanusch 2021, p. 9), regardless of how influencers author their Instagram brand deals.
The Process
Being the only person in this class doing a critical essay for the assignments, I’m pretty sure that what led me to go down that road in the first place was being inspired by Crystal Abidin’s 2016 article that talks about ‘visibility labour’. I remember the idea of Instagram’s “normalized aesthetic” being discussed during the first few weeks of class, which was why I decided to focus on that topic for Assignment #1, using only Molita as an example, examining the practices being implemented to achieve said aesthetic, keeping in mind the negative impacts that affect both her and her audience.
It was when I read parts of Manovich’s 2017 book titled Instagram and the Contemporary Image that I decided to incorporate Alisha as part of the essay’s case study for Assignment #2, being able to immediately distinguish 2 differing aesthetics just by thinking off the top of my head.
After further consultation and receiving feedback following Assignment #2, it is during Assignment #3 that I decided to push the analysis dimension further by talking about how different types of hashtags could be deployed by both the aforementioned influencers—and how this could reflect upon the cultural differences between the U.S. and Indonesia—in the hopes of curating an affective public, without neglecting to discuss the descriptive aspects as well.
What I Got Out Of It
Having done mobile media projects in my previous studios, it is here that I was given the option to do a critical essay for this course specifically; relating mobile media practices that go behind authoring brand deals on Instagram with theoretical concepts being presented not only during classes, but also those that surfaced as a result of further research. It is here that this essay opened my eyes to the fact that being an influencer isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I definitely have learned a lot, piquing my interest when certain ideas actually tie in very nicely with the case study. Despite now seeming to look at other people’s posts through a more analytic lens, I think that mobile media in particular could still be a great source of entertainment as well.
