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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Jonathan Mavroudis

This chapter reports on findings from a critical autoethnography (Anderson, 2006) about the strategies and experiences of male microcelebrities from Australia. The author Jonathan…

Abstract

This chapter reports on findings from a critical autoethnography (Anderson, 2006) about the strategies and experiences of male microcelebrities from Australia. The author Jonathan Mavroudis, himself identifies as a microcelebrity with a following of over 27,000 on Instagram at the time of writing. This position granted him insider access to this specific cohort and the microcelebrity world in general. The study comprised participant interviews, analyses of the author’s own experiences, and a survey of over 500 of his Instagram followers. The author draws from these data sources to introduce the concept of “fame labor.” Fame labor reconfigures the way visibility labors such as self-branding labor is understood. It offers a macro perspective that relates to nonmicrocelebrities as well as microcelebrities and illuminates potential wider implications of microcelebrity culture.

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Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown

Although the early conversations of microcelebrity centered on Anglo-centric theories and context despite the varied backgrounds and cultural context of microcelebrity, this…

Abstract

Although the early conversations of microcelebrity centered on Anglo-centric theories and context despite the varied backgrounds and cultural context of microcelebrity, this compilation of chapters seeks to assess and reframe the applications and uptake of microcelebrity around the world. Each of the chapters in this anthology contribute to expand the theoretical concept and contextualize the history and cultural affairs of those who are famous online. The case studies provide examples of how a microcelebrity emerges to fame because of their exposure and interaction within a group of niche users, a specific online community, or a specific cultural and geographical context through the social networks that emerge online. Academic scholarship on microcelebrity has crossed methodologies, disciplines and platforms demonstrating the wide appeal as the influence of these figures are on the rise. As preparation for the reader, this chapter offers a brief history of current scholarship, with an emphasis on shifting knowledge production away from an Anglo and Global North perspective. The introduction chapter serves as a road map for the reader breaking down each of the three sections of the book – norms, labors, and activism. Lastly, the co-editors have outlined different ways to read the text group chapters according to reader interest.

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Angela M. Cirucci

In defining microcelebrity, media technologies are often described as integral to the self-branding process. This chapter argues that social network platforms are not social…

Abstract

In defining microcelebrity, media technologies are often described as integral to the self-branding process. This chapter argues that social network platforms are not social utilities, but, in fact, celebrification utilities. That is, they are programmed to necessarily brand users by extracting and filtering identifications to be easily consumed by advertisers, just as microcelebrities promote specific, “authentic” aspects of self that can be easily consumed by fans. Through a discourse analysis of Facebook’s functionalities and in-depth interviews with 45 emerging adults, I present an analysis of microcelebrity culture through the narratives of everyday users who are not actively involved in self-branding but are instead compelled by the site’s inherent design to unintentionally brand – they unknowingly align with corporation-like mission statements; ignore multiple, dynamic selves; and discard their right to anonymity.

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Rukmini Pande

This chapter will consider the workings of microcelebrity in the context of an evolving Indian cyber public. In the contemporary moment, large-scale battles for control over the…

Abstract

This chapter will consider the workings of microcelebrity in the context of an evolving Indian cyber public. In the contemporary moment, large-scale battles for control over the world’s youngest and increasingly digitally active demographic are in full swing – both by corporations like Facebook through efforts like Free Basics, as well as by ideologues who wish to mold the “idea of India” in certain ways. While digital spaces are often framed as liberating, there are also extremely strong conservative forces that are well established. It is within this context that I would like to examine the recent growth of the Indian online comedic scene whose popularity has increased by leaps and bounds. My particular focus will be the comedy collective of AIB (All India Backchod), who are most prominent on Youtube. This collective has garnered significant popularity through their deployment of viral comedic videos riffing off on various aspects of Indian society and have also made socially aware videos around hot button issues like gay rights and women’s rights. I would like to examine their treatment of gender and sexuality particularly in the context of it being made up primarily of straight men and how that has affected their engagement both with the content of their videos, as well as their ability to leverage their online visibility. I will be using ideas of postcolonial cyberspace as theorized by Nishant Shah (2015) as well as theorists of microcelebrity and the use of humor such as Theresa Senft (2013).

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-079-6

Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Burcu Şimşek, Crystal Abidin and Megan Lindsay Brown

This chapter investigates the dynamics of teenage girls' musical.ly productions in relation to microcelebrity inspirations and (non)aspirations, and centrally details the mixed…

Abstract

This chapter investigates the dynamics of teenage girls' musical.ly productions in relation to microcelebrity inspirations and (non)aspirations, and centrally details the mixed methodologies involved in the research process. The analysis focuses on the flow of the musical.ly app as evidenced through the walk-through method and young girls' engagements with the platform as solicited through personal observations and two small focus group discussions.

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Crystal Abidin

Depending on whether one premises academic literature, press reports, or vernacular folklore, the origin stories of microcelebrity cultures can differ greatly. As academics, we…

Abstract

Depending on whether one premises academic literature, press reports, or vernacular folklore, the origin stories of microcelebrity cultures can differ greatly. As academics, we are often inclined to deem as canon and factual the descriptions detailed in refereed academic publications, viewing them as scientific truths that take precedence over other forms of written records such as traditional press or popular media reports. But what happens if the origin stories of cultural phenomena are not logged in these traditionally privileged outlets that are often in the English language, and in a vocabulary not usually accessible to the general populace? What happens if the origin stories of cultural happenings remain within the domains of material or oral folklore without ever being logged as transmittable text? How do researchers go about reading theory, applying concepts, and interpreting their data while maintaining the critical lens of cultural relativism? In this chapter I contemplate the origin stories of my research on microcelebrity cultures between 2009 and 2018 both thematically and conceptually, by biographically recounting my methodological and theoretical trajectories in studying internet celebrities. As an act of radical transparency in displaying some of my most intimate fieldnotes – such as how I came upon particular schools of thought and theories – and as a reflexive mode of transcribing from material and oral culture the earliest beginnings of microcelebrity culture in Singapore as a participant observer, I hope this methodological biography will contribute toward rethinking the politics of our knowledge production as researchers.

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Fatima Aziz

Anglo-centric scholarship understands authenticity of online mediated performance for acquiring fame as a context-dependent claim, requiring labor in displaying a vulnerable self…

Abstract

Anglo-centric scholarship understands authenticity of online mediated performance for acquiring fame as a context-dependent claim, requiring labor in displaying a vulnerable self that is evaluated and validated by a relevant audience. This book chapter examines this concept in a non-Western context through a case study of a Pakistani microcelebrity, Qandeel Baloch. By explaining how Pakistani broadcast celebrity performances continue to be evaluated by religious and moral standards, this analysis finds how a transgressive performance shapes an authentic microcelebrity claim on social media.

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

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Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2018

Lígia Lana

Mercado Livre, a site for e-commerce and online auctions, is popular in Brazil. Given the accessibility of user-friendly technology, any person can open an auction on the internet…

Abstract

Mercado Livre, a site for e-commerce and online auctions, is popular in Brazil. Given the accessibility of user-friendly technology, any person can open an auction on the internet to trade items such as cars, mobile phones, and domestic electrical appliances. In 2012, a media mobilization was sparked after the online auction of Brazilian Catarina Migliorini’s virginity. Described by the Brazilian media as one of the events of the year, the auction was promoted by Justin Sisely, an Australian filmmaker who designed the project Virgins Wanted. Tracing media reports, this chapter focuses on Migliorini’s savvy attention literacies, upon which she capitalized upon the situation to obtain her celebrity. Seizing the opportunity given by a watchful internet audience, she established herself as an iconic personality through press coverage and the curation of online profiles, and became a microcelebrity.

Details

Microcelebrity Around the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-749-8

Keywords

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