Successful bloggers can become unwitting advertisers posing as authentic people

Evidence

Kristy expanded upon these themes in an email she sent to me, which highlighted the vexed nature of “realness.” I wanted to share something honest, a new way of interacting with fashion and product. Instead, I had unwittingly become another sneaky advertiser. And it was almost worse because bloggers pose as “real” people with “honest” perspectives. They let you look into their “reality.” But none of it is reality. Reality is blogging about things you do, wear, care about—not wearing, doing, caring about things so that you have something to blog about. — Brooke Erin Duffy, (Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love, 300

Categorization

• XREF: Flips the hopeful framing of ch1’s passion projects; dovetails with ch3’s unpaid/#sponcon debates on authenticity vs. commerce. — connects to: Perceived fakeness of curated style blogs drove some bloggers to quit — Brooke Erin Duffy, (Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love:…, 298; The imprecision of ‘authenticity’ conceals class hierarchies in aspirational labor — Brooke Erin Duffy, (Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love:…, 357; Amateur-looking content makes influencers seem more relatable and authentic — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 270 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Amateur-looking content makes influencers seem more relatable and authentic #corroborates (0.85) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 270
• Lifestyle blogging monetized into commercial blogging through sponsorships #expands (0.80) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 221
• Instagram converted self-expression into an influencer advertising engine #expands (0.75)
• Young people must curate their identities as authentic brands online. #qualifies (0.72) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 658