We are facing an evolution of social media.
Teenagers spend more and more time on technology which they do not know exactly what it is. Lately we are questioning it, however we might be asking ourselves the wrong questions. We shouldn't be asking ourselves what is the problem with technology but what companies are doing to us through it.
Back in 2001, companies were going out hunting for things that teens liked, to be able to exploit that and sell it. Now however teens are putting everything they like out there for everyone to see. They tell the world what they think is cool, starting with their own online profiles. Kids now may seem more sophisticated compared to ones in 2001, however they have a weakness-> likes. Likes, follows, retweets, views, they are the social currency of todays generation. The more likes you have, the better you feel. You get them and you give them but the number is always there for everyone to see. When a kid likes something online, whether it be a product or a celebrity, it becomes a part of who they are, a part of there identity, which they broadcast to the world. Kids today are what they like.
For example, Ceili Linn likes the hunger games a lot. Her tumblr blog and twitter feed are full of links to the billion dollar franchise. She found a website which hosted contests for all the hunger games fans, which she took part in. This is the movies official website which allows teens to win virtual prizes by posting its content on twitter. Ceili has therefore earned the title as one of the biggest fans in the world. For her this is an accomplishment as for it proves that she is in fact one of the few people that like the hunger games the most. Today's teens,more than any generation before them, can speak directly to the celebrities and artists which they like. They are likely to get a reply and this is what motivates them to share further. Mostly because once a kid likes something and that thing likes her back, other kids notice, so they like her too. Once teens have created an online identity they have an array of tools which they can use to express themselves to anyone interested enough to listen. Another good example of this is Tyler Oakly, who posts regular videos on youtube talking about the things he likes. Like Ceili and her hunger games, Tyler Oakly is obsessed with pop culture. He's much like Ceili on steroids, and social media lets him share his obsessions with the world. Getting people to listen to you and be 'all about' something which you like is big business.
Major corporations have spent millions trying to get kids to engage with their brands, however now that the way kids consume media has changed companies that want to reach them recognise that they have to change too. The like button, retweet button, the subscribe button, all of these are the biggest transformation which we have had in terms of communicating with consumers in our lifetime. Therefore to not learn how to participate in those channels, is outrageous. Standing on the sideline is not an option. The owner of Oreo, for example, recognises that when kids like something it becomes art of who they are and if they want to do so by liking his companies products, he is happy to oblige. Take the issue of same sex marriage, if you are in favour of it and want the world to know oreo is there to help. (oreo posted a picture of their cookie with a multicoloured filling representing same sex marriage and got a million likes). The Facebook Oreo website enabled a simple things such as a cookie to have a perspective on life, and one which people could agree with. A million people liked just that one post in order to say that they agree with that and that it speaks to them. That is profound, those are some big numbers, numbers which a re extremely valuable. Currently there is a huge corporate push to collect as much data as possible. When you hit like or when you create an expression online you are creating data, you are creating a demographic profile of yourself. When friends like someones profile picture, Facebook sees who he interacts with the most. This is data that would be valuable for advertisers. Same goes for when you like a brand, that brand can learn more a bout a potential customer and all her friends as well. When Ceili and her friends retweet things from the film, the movie studio was able to track the response in real time. When Tyler goes on youtube to search for everything he likes, youtube(owned by google) can track his every move. This is where the currency of like turn into actually currency.
Companies know how to take that data and turn it into money. The people who are handing over the data because they're clicking the like button, they have no idea what the value of that is. So all those selfies you take so that people will like them on instagram they helped that company sell for a billion dollars. Send a tweet and you are automatically helping to raise the value of twitter to around 30 billion. Facebook is valued at around 140 billion dollars. All those numbers aren't based on profits, not yet anyway, they're based on the volume of likes they can generate , and likes don't generate themselves. Which is why companies need kids to stay online. But how do they do that? By giving kids a chance to be a part of the game. Fame by association. You may not be as famous as Taylor Swift, but your photo can be part in her commercial for diet coke. Reach out to any celebrity on social media and it is likely that they might reach back. Tyler Oakly is proof that this works, at least for the skilled liker. is success in this game of likes is reflected in his numbers, he has around 3 million subscribers to the youtube channel which he has created. He has covered Mtv's music awards on twitter, is a frequent guest on a pool culture show on youtube and he now even has quite a few fans of his own. Tyler claims that he is just like one of his fans, but he is not really. Beyond his massive following on youtube, Tyler has over 800,000 follower on Facebook, 1.3 million on instagram and 2 million on twitter. The numbers are rising every day. Tyler is a millionaire in the currency of likes.
However social media is all about sharing. When kids with large audiences work together everyone benefits. Here's how it works, Tyler does a video with Oli White introducing his large audience to Oli's smaller one. Old then goes and does more collars with other you tubers which also have more subscribers than him, that person then goes and does a collar with someone else which has even fewer subscribers. Eg Oli to louise, Louise to Hannah, Hannah to Shane. Shane (with 5 million subscribers) then shows up in a video with liam Horne. Liam isn't trying to be a youtube though, He is a relatively well known musician who is trying to make it big. To do so, he has turned to a new kind of company called The Audience. A talent agency, publisher, promotor and network rolled into 1. What the audience does is that they run the social media on behalf of entertainers and artists and musicians and actors, etc. In order to help them express themselves(the actors and musicians) inside this medium. It used to be that if a kid didn't have good connection they had to rely solely on talent and hard work in order to get to fame, and even that was no guarantee. Today there is another route, to build and leverage a social network. Liam has genuine talent, however that is almost beside the point. Therefore he has to attach himself to other which have mastered the game of likes. From the outside this does sound empowering, a bunch of kids working together to get ahead without having to rely on the usual corporate suspects. However that might not be true though as brands often use these youtube videos to their advantage too, to advertise their products in them and tie them to a person. Everybody seems to be getting what they want, however it is becoming harder and harder to stand out. All those little likes can turn into youtube gold for all these you tubers, also known as corporate sponsorship. However these companies might be giving these kids their products and even money however this means that they are literally making these you tubers into walking billboards. However to get more money and sponsorship these kids are trying to stand out more, (e.g. baby scumbag) as his videos get racier the more likes he gets. Young people want attention and validation, which is not new its just that the possible stage which you can operate on is much bigger. However at the same time the ability to get attention in a place where there is tonnes of information and tonnes of people competing for attention is also harder. When your business depends on the number f page views and add impressions what you really need from people is their attention, because its a way of actual capturing money as well.
Why on earth would someone spend all those hours on a youtube video of them doing something absolutely stupid and insane?
They would get a let of money from doing so, but money isn't the only currency anymore. However when someone recognises you as that kid who did something outrageous suddenly all else doesn't matter, because you know you're famous. Bu how much fame is enough? Does the quest for likes ever end? What happens if you finally go all the way? Not some sensation on the internet but a huge hollywood star? The kind of heights reached by Ian Somerhalder. Ian may be living every kids dreams, though he is still vulnerable to the numbers of likes. But his numbers are a little different to yours. However the content may be Ians but his company is running the show. Now there are companies which chart, follow and group the likes in real time and sell the access to this information to other companies so that they can follow the trends as well. Tracking the interactions between two companies or a company and a person could mean prized endorsements for the companys which sells the access to tis information's clients. So what people do now is (1) they get social media and (2) use it to promote their career so that they can (3) get to the point where they have a social media network which they sell. You become your own media company. Many companies now get other social media users to promote the company for them by making it seem like they're not doing it at all. However achieving that transparency takes a lot of work. It is all about openness because that openness creates what most brands want, which is trust.
