The End of Influencers

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the rise of influencers and micro-influencers on social media platforms, and how this has led to a focus on engagement farming and gaming the algorithm rather than on quality content. It highlights the issues of social media becoming a popularity contest, with users more concerned about increasing their follower count and reach than actually connecting with their audience.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The rise of influencers and micro-influencers

1. What are the key issues discussed regarding the rise of influencers and micro-influencers?

• The article suggests that social media platforms are becoming dominated by influencers, who are followed by smaller influencers and micro-influencers, creating a hierarchy of influence
• The goal of influencers is often to push a narrative, opinion or product onto a large group of people, rather than to genuinely connect with their audience
• Many followers of influencers are more interested in gaining some of the influencer's reach for themselves, rather than engaging with the content
• There is a focus on "engagement farming" and "gaming the algorithm" rather than creating quality content

2. What example does the article provide of an early social media platform that exhibited these issues?

• The article describes a startup the author created in 2006 that was similar to Twitter, where users could post short "sticky notes" on each other's "walls"
• This platform unintentionally created a popularity contest, with users often just posting messages begging for engagement rather than having real conversations

3. How does the article characterize the current state of social media?

• The article suggests that the average human attention span is now less than 8 seconds, and that everyone is desperately trying to gain attention and followers
• It states that "being good at what you do is not enough" and that personal branding and being well-known has become more important than quality content
• The article describes a "hamster wheel of fighting for attention" where users hope for viral success, rather than focusing on meaningful engagement

[02] The impact on content quality and authenticity

1. What concerns does the article raise about the impact of this focus on engagement and follower counts?

• The article suggests that the "race for the numbers is currently ahead of the race for quality", with users more concerned about gaming the algorithm than creating quality content
• It notes that many "popular" social media accounts have bought their first 100,000 followers, but get very little genuine engagement on their posts
• The article implies that this focus on numbers over quality has led to a decline in authentic, meaningful content and connections on social media platforms

2. How does the article characterize the motivations of social media users in this environment?

• The article states that the "main goal of everyone on social media is to have more followers than you" and to increase their "reach"
• It suggests that users will often "slide into the DMs" of other influencers in an attempt to game the algorithm and gain more exposure, rather than forming genuine connections

3. What examples does the article provide of the tactics used to game the algorithm?

• The article mentions the use of "unpopular opinion" disclaimers, even when the opinion is actually quite common, as a tactic to generate controversy and engagement
• It also notes the prevalence of "begging for engagement" type comments, where users simply ask others to interact with their content

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