Internet celebrity: Difference between revisions

{{Section move from|1=Influencer|section=Influencers and marketing networks|discuss=Talk:Internet celebrity#Merging to Influencer history|date=March 2024}}{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}

An '''internet celebrity''', (also referred to as a '''social media influencer''', '''social media personality''', '''internetor personality''', oran '''influencer'''), is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the [[Internet]]. The growing popularity of [[social media]] provides a means for people to reach a large, global audience, and internet celebrities are commonly present on large online platforms such as [[Facebook]], [[YouTubeInstagram]], [[InstagramTikTok]], and [[TikTokYouTube]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Most used social media 2021|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/|access-date=2021-08-23|website=Statista|language=en|archive-date=2019-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917142233/https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/|url-status=live}}</ref> which primarily rely on [[user-generated content]].

By the 2010s, the term "influencer" described digital [[content creatorscreator]]s with a large following, distinctive brand persona, and a patterned relationship with commercial sponsors.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url = https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc219|doi = 10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc219|chapter = Social Media Influencers|title = The International Encyclopedia of Gender, Media, and Communication|year = 2020|last1 = Duffy|first1 = Brooke Erin|pages = 1–4|isbn = 9781119429104|s2cid = 225776342|access-date = 2022-04-02|archive-date = 2022-04-02|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220402130508/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781119429128.iegmc219|url-status = live}}</ref> Consumers often mistakenly view celebrities as reliable, leading to trust and confidence in the products being promoted.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|date=2018-09-01|title=Framing emerging behaviors influenced by internet celebrity|journal=Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences|language=en|volume=39|issue=3|pages=550–555|doi=10.1016/j.kjss.2018.06.014|issn=2452-3151|last1=Juntiwasarakij|first1=Suwan|s2cid=158069963|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2001 study from [[Rutgers University]] discovered that individuals were using "internet forums as influential sources of consumer information." The study proposes that consumers preferred internet forums and social media when making purchasing decisions over conventional advertising and print sources. An influencer's personality strongly impacts their audience's purchasing decision, with those who engage with their audience being more persuasive in encouraging product purchases. Companies today place great importance on feedback and comments received through social media platforms as consumers trust other consumers. Reviews are often relied on to persuade consumers to make a purchase, highlighting the impact of a negative review on a business's revenue.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://vdocuments.mx/embed/v1/internet-forums-as-influential-sources-of-consumer-information.html | title = Internet Forums As Influential Sources Of Consumer Information | first1 = Barbara | last1 = Bickart | first2 = Robert M. | last2 = Schindler | date = 2001 | journal = Journal of Interactive Marketing | volume = 15 | issue = 3 | pages = 31–40 | doi = 10.1002/dir.1014 | s2cid = 168114871 | access-date = 2019-12-06 | archive-date = 2019-12-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191206163122/https://vdocuments.mx/embed/v1/internet-forums-as-influential-sources-of-consumer-information.html | url-status = live }}</ref> A typical method of marketing between the influencer and the audience is "[[B2C|B2C marketing]]". B2C marketing, meaning Business to Consumer marketing, entails the strategies which a business would undertake to promote themselves and their services directly to their target audiences. This is typically through advertising and creating content through the influencer themselves. The intention is that their followers, who relate or look up to certain influencers, will be more inclined to purchase an item because their favorite "Internet celebrity" recommended it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thebalancesmb.com/b2b-vs-b2c-marketing-2295828 |title=Understanding the Differences Between B2B and B2C Marketing |date=2020-12-26 |access-date=2021-04-01 |last=Lake |first=Laura |work=the balance small business |archive-date=2021-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225075652/https://www.thebalancesmb.com/b2b-vs-b2c-marketing-2295828 |url-status=live }}</ref> Internet celebrities typically promote a lifestyle of beauty and luxury fashion and foster consumer–brand relationships, while selling their own lines of merchandise.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Britt|first1=Rebecca K.|last2=Hayes|first2=Jameson L.|last3=Britt|first3=Brian C.|last4=Park|first4=Haseon|date=2020-05-03|title=Too Big to Sell? A Computational Analysis of Network and Content Characteristics among Mega and Micro Beauty and Fashion Social Media Influencers|journal=Journal of Interactive Advertising|language=en|volume=20|issue=2|pages=111–118|doi=10.1080/15252019.2020.1763873|s2cid=219433187|issn=1525-2019|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:PewDiePie_at_PAX_2015_crop.jpg|200pxthumb|linkupright=https://upload0.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/PewDiePie_at_PAX_2015_crop.jpg|thumb72|[[PewDiePie]] is an internet celebrity and the fourth most subscribed individual [[YouTuber]]. Overall, he has the eighth ninth-most subscribed [[YouTube]] channel.]]

YouTube has risen as one of the biggest platforms for launching internet celebrities. YouTube creators (known as [[YouTuber]]s), regardless of the genres or types of videos they make, have created an industry that can generate revenue from video views and online popularity. For example, Swedish internet celebrity [[PewDiePie]] uploads [[Video game|gaming]] and comedy videos on YouTube. {{As of|20192024|910|df=US}}, he has around 110 million subscribers and is the fourth most-subscribed non-corporation YouTuber.

A micro-celebrity, also known as a micro-influencer, is a person famous within a niche group of users on a social media platform. Micro-celebrities often present themselves as public figures.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2018-05-05|title=Instagram micro-celebrities.|url=https://tulsacommunitycollege-library.on.worldcat.org/oclc/7566787792|journal=Marketing Weekly News|pages=149|issn=1944-2424|access-date=2019-03-25|archive-date=2019-03-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325044435/https://tulsacommunitycollege-library.on.worldcat.org/oclc/7566787792|url-status=live}}</ref> The concept of the micro-celebrity was originally developed by Theresa Senft and P. A. Poitier in their 2008 book, ''Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/57745|title=Camgirls|last=Senft|first=Theresa M.|date=2008-07-02|publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-0-8204-5694-2|access-date=2019-09-23|archive-date=2019-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627110359/https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/57745|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Senft and Poitier, the concept of the micro-celebrity "is best understood as a new style of online performance that involves people 'amping up' their popularity over the Web using technologies like video, blogs and social networking sites".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/205283|title=Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks|last=Senft|first=Theresa (Terri)|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-date=2022-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214234906/https://www.academia.edu/205283|url-status=live}}</ref> A number of other researchers have published papers on micro-celebrities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Crystal Abidin|last2=Crystal Abidin|date=November 2015|title=Communicative intimacies: Influencers and Perceived Interconnectedness|url=https://adanewmedia.org/2015/11/issue8-abidin/|journal=Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology|issue=8|doi=10.7264/N3MW2FFG|doi-broken-date=March 6, 2024 |issn=2325-0496|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-date=2019-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611183138/https://adanewmedia.org/2015/11/issue8-abidin/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jerslev|first=Anne|date=2016|title=In the Time of the Microcelebrity: Celebrification and the YouTuber Zoella|url=https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/5078/1822|journal=International Journal of Communication|volume=10|pages=5233–5251|access-date=2019-06-27|archive-date=2018-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927111302/http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/5078/1822|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age|last=Marwick|first=Alice|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2015|isbn=9780300209389|location=New Haven}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Raun|first=Tobias|date=2018-02-01|title=Capitalizing intimacy: New subcultural forms of micro-celebrity strategiesis andalso affectiveknown labour on YouTube|journal=Convergence|volume=24|issue=1|pages=99–113|doi=10.1177/1354856517736983|s2cid=148595992|issn=1354-8565|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to Tobias Raun, a micro-celebrity isas "a form of identity linked almost exclusively to the internet, characterizing a process by which people express, create and share their identities online".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Raun|first=Tobias|date=2018-01-10|title=Capitalizing intimacy|journal=Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies|volume=24|issue=1|pages=99–113|doi=10.1177/1354856517736983|s2cid=148595992|issn=1354-8565|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to Senft and [[Alice Marwick|Marwick]]However, micro-celebrities differ from more traditional forms of celebrities associated with [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] stars because a micro-celebrity's popularity is often directly linked to their audience, and the audience comes to expect a certain degree of authenticity and transparency.<ref name=":1" />

{{Blockquote|The Internet allows the masses to wrest control of fame from traditional media, creating micro-celebrities with the click of a mouse.|David Weinberger of the [[Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society|Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society]]<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/01/roflcon/ "The new fame: Internet celebrity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915030738/http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/05/01/roflcon/ |date=2020-09-15 }} at [[CNN]]</ref>}}

[[File:Chiara Ferragni - Giorgio Armani Show - Milan Fashion Week - 23 Sept. 2013.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|[[Chiara Ferragni]] is a [[fashion influencer]] and blogger known for her sponsored fashion posts.]]