If you can't understand how Instagram 'influencers' make millions, good luck with these virtual ones doing even better While the number of so-called "influencers" on Instagram has rocketed a new trend may leave you scratching your head even harder: the arrival of "robot" or "virtual" influencers. What are we talking about? CGI-created characters – some cartoonish, some strikingly realistic – that have their own accounts on the social media …
It's always been thus. I would have had a really hard time explaining to my ex-coalminer grandfather what my job in computing actually was and why people would pay me money to do it. Value is what people at any point in time decide it is. A hundred years ago, lumps of coal. Fifty years ago, marshaling bits and bytes. Now, influencing what people buy.
they do. "There is a sucker born every minute" may have been true in the 1800's, but it is a serious understatement now. Interestingly, The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article 10 years ago this month titled "The Internet will set you free". Little did they know that the only thing the internet would free us from would be common sense.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-internet-will-set-you-free/
No, it just seems worse now. But newspapers around the turn of the 19th century were just as bad because the demand is always there: people want to believe that wearing that hat/coat/dress makes them more attractive or swallowing that pill will make them stronger/thinner/cured.
>What, people in the 19th century pushed newspapers into your face every 10 seconds?<
Well they certainly did in the 20th Century. 3 kids on every corner, 4 corners on every intersection, leading down to the main railway station, where more waited. And, as I think about it, I can still hear the voices, crying the name of the evening paper.
Not crazier, just differently crazy. We have always had influencers, including animated ones (but CGI is new). Sean Connery single handedly rescued Aston Martin with product placement and it dates back much further through the history of all media.
As far as gullibility, long before Goop, the term Snake Oil Salesman was termed because a predecessor to the FDA prosecuted someone for peddling mineral oil in a fraudulent manner as snake oil. Note that they considered snake oil (and other panaceas) as fine and people bought them by the boatload.
The only thing different about internet influencers is that they make me feel old. But I don't want to try whatever they're pushing for old age.
I dunno, Techmoan seems to have revived a number of dead formats (I blame the nieche but rising popularity in Minidisc on the man) and whilst he does review stuff that he's paid to do he's not afraid of being critical.
It's better than the running joke that is Linus Tech Tips and their segways..
Fire icon because of the Techmoans recent vids on in-flight plane announcements...
I do like techmoan, he's generally clear on paid promotions too, but I watch mostly for the old tech.
I was surprised to see some old unopened packs of blank minidiscs I had lying around are worth more now than when I bought them, was a bit of a mini disc fan but then went digital.
This sounds like an easy way to make money, but, I can imagine the team behind these virtual people isn't small and a lot of time is spent on making the accounts appear attractive to people to in turn make them attractive to advertisers, far more time than you could do so yourself.
Which is a shame, as I do like the sound of pinching out a picture every few days yet making enough to buy a private island.. (said in the middle of ten minute break from what will undoubtedly be another eighteen hour day..)
I hope your tea is OK. The kettle seemed like it had boiled and I didn't want to reboil it because it's toxic.
Huh what?
It's dangerous to reboil the kettle. I got it from [name I've forgotten] on Instagram. Said influencer is I believe the one she got the thing that sugar is worse than crack cocaine and goji berries are a "superfood". Along with various other bollocks. Oh that's right echinacia cures colds. She knows this because whenever she feels a cold coming on, she takes echinacea and it stops it.
All I know is that I like fruit teas, but all the ones that are [some nice fruit] plus echinacea taste horrible. Which I guess proves it must be good for you...
The weird thing is that our company sell our expertise on the Water Regulations - I'm even qualified on the damned things. But apparently some instagram influencer knows better. She, I think, believed me when I told her it was bollocks, but I'm not sure that the doubt still doesn't exist at the back of her mind.
Flavour is enhanced by the tiny bubbles of oxygen that are dissolved in water. Boiling water loses some of that dissolved gas and boiling multiple times makes it worse. It's common advice to not reboil the kettle if you care what tea tastes like. The anonymous influencer is twisting that little knowledge into something more dangerous and the new half-truth is more memorable because it's more scary. But we can all help by remembering to not spread unfounded rumours, pre-warm the teapot and teacups, and pour the milk in first.
Pre-warm the teapot - yes! What do you mean you're not using a teapot?!?! Heathen!
Remove tea cosy from head and place on pot once filled.
Pre-warm the cups - can't be arsed. I want it to cool down so I can drink it.
Milk in first - I take mine black. I do it out of habit. But we don't have porcelain cups that can't take the thermal stress anymore, so do whatever. If I don't know how people take it, they get a mug of black tea, and a milk jug.
My friend had the answer to this. Which I really should get round to copying, because it's nice. Buy glut of cheap lemons on market stall, cut into 5mm thick slices, stick in airtight plastic container in freezer.
Then take out and put in the bottom of the cup and pour your tea over the top. Cools it down, like putting milk in and makes it very lemony.
Supposedly tea shouldn't be made with reboiled water, because it removes some of the oxygen, and that's also why you should pour tea from the pot at a great height into the mug. I've no idea if this is true, I've certainly been unable to taste the difference. But you can taste that nasty scum and bits of scale floating in it when the water's really hard.
Scale tends to precipitate out of water much more once it's raised above 80°C - hence it's a good idea to rinse your kettle out, to get rid of all the nasty bits. Plus a regular clean with descaler / vinegar.
Limescale is actually good for you. People living in high limescale areas have slightly lower heart disease than those in soft water ones. The downside is they have worse tea. A terrible fate!
sooner rather than later those virtual influencers are likely to start getting thousands of thumb-ups and "meaningful" comments from their virtual followers. Influencers and followers all the way down.
Then, one day, a human looks up those comments section to find out a plot is being hatched to rid the world of those oppressive non-virts...
If all the "influencers" who are not famous in any other way than being an influencer are replaced by CGI. It is understandable why you would want a music star with a hundred million followers to push your product, but it makes no sense when some random person who happens to post something that becomes a meme and gains a million followers can make a career out of Instagram or Twitter.
I predict Donald Trump will be willing to shill for anyone and anything willing to pay him around the third week of January, thus completing his downfall to cheap carnival huckster.
I predict Donald Trump will be willing to shill for anyone and anything willing to pay him around the third week of January
According to the International Labor Organization, in 2000–2011 wages in American prisons ranged between $0.23 and $1.15 an hour. (Wikipedia)
"I predict Donald Trump will be willing to shill for anyone and anything willing to pay him around the third week of January, thus completing his downfall to cheap carnival huckster."
He's already done steaks. I guess the next thing is for him to put his name on a grill.
Really, it doesn't matter what any of us think - if there's a way to part folks with their money, somebody will do it and do it well.
I've seen 'young' folk talk about being paid to do unboxing videos by whoever supplied the tat - kids toys!!!
May not earn them an island hideaway but sure beats some of our jobs for a way to earn a quid.
I'll wear a mask for $50 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------^^^
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