1 Kaliatza Ioulia
Konior Bogna 16/12/2019
Unreal avatars in real-time platforms: A study on the case of virtual influencers on Instagram and the shaping of new conditions in online monetization
Media and Information: New Media and Digital Cultures Department of Humanities
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ... 4
2. Digital Platform Economy ... 7
2.1 Platformization ... 7
2.2 Platform Economy and Platform Specificity ... 8
3. Employment in Platform Economy ... 11
4. Instagram ... 14
4.1 Motives for its use ... 14
4.2 Instagram as a Marketing Tool ... 15
5. Influencers ... 18
5.1 From Human to Virtual ... 21
6. Discussion... 22
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Abstract
Are virtual influencers on Instagram a new form of labor and monetization? The following study examines the implementation of virtual influencers on Instagram aiming to unveil the economic aspects and consequences behind them. It zooms in on avatars’ relationship with users and their social consequences rather than, their impact on companies’ economic growth and profit maximization. The case study on the avatars of Lil Miquela and Noonoouri by Molin and Nordgren (2019) operates as the foundation for introducing the issue of human-like personas and consequently of virtual reality on Instagram. Our essay proves that since the platform specificity of Instagram necessitates the sharing of visual content, this platform can be a useful tool for companies that aim to promote products through images. It might be reasonable to assume that virtual influencers serve as "cheap" objects of visualization that satisfy the economic benefits of well-known brands. In that way, CGI avatars begin to form a new kind of labor on digital platforms, a fact that has a direct impact on users. Besides the negative possibility that avatars could potentially replace human influencers on the platform, they could also introduce a significant growth into the economy. However, it is of higher importance the effects of virtual influencers on processes of communicating and advertising as well as on users’ perspective of social media platforms, nowadays.
Keywords: virtual influencers, Instagram, platform economy, platform specificity, visualization, CGI, platformization
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Social media platforms are present in users’ life since the end of the previous century aiming to offer improved forms of communication and attempting to eliminate the issue of distance. As Driscoll argues, in the early 1980s users on the Web in the US started seeking new ways to interact with other people within their region or even with people in other cities (p.5). That people’s tendency introduced the bulletin board systems (BBS) which were systems based on local telephone networks and therefore expensive (ibid.). However, they enabled users to communicate with people who lived in the same location and participate in social events. The BBS encouraged users to create new identities by using pseudonyms and giving them the freedom to shape their online image as they wished (ibid.). Another interesting point made by Driscoll regarding the link between BBS and the current digital platforms is that in the 1980s different platforms represented specific sectors. For instance, certain dial-up BBS referred to games and others to politics. Although today social media platforms acquire multiple roles and motives for use, some remain specific to their initial reason for creation. For example, as van Dijck mentions, Linkedin was made to satisfy the need for professional self-promotion targeting users that are keen on promoting their business or creating connections with other professionals (p.199). Additionally, Facebook may have a more abstract role for allowing personal self-promotion and communication which does not necessarily link to just professional interest (ibid. p.200). Another example describing the specific role of platforms on certain sectors is Duolingo that provides users with the basic knowledge of languages easily and flexibly with no charge.
Social media platforms’ role has shifted throughout the years. The initial goal was to use platforms for advanced communication whereas they gradually became a tool for self-branding and advertising. Namely, companies integrate digital platforms in their marketing campaigns aiming at optimizing their profit. In principle, marketing focuses on creating strong relationships with consumers by identifying their needs and offering products and services that will benefit both them and the organizations (Gundlach and Wilkie 259). Thus, marketing relates to processes that promote a lasting bond with customers, and therefore it is directly related to public relations (Bergstrom and Backman 13-14). As Bergstrom and Backman argue in their thesis, social media networks represent an effective way that facilitates the goal of marketing and eventually benefits companies (p.13). More in specific social media platforms might have the power to blend in people’s life and interfere with the way users behave and interact. Hence, corporations take advantage of this characteristic of social media platforms and translate it into targeting customers and economic growth. To better comprehend this power of social media networks it is important to familiarize ourselves with the theory of platformization. As mentioned by Helmond, platformization refers to the ability of platforms to transform social aspects into economic models
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(p.5). The term platform is being used by the author to describe a system that can be reconfigured by developers and therefore implemented in various sectors such as communication, accommodation, transportation and more. Ultimately the programming and implementation of platforms in niches have a large social impact which turns these systems into powerful tools for profit maximization. A suitable example would be Uber, a platform that was initially inspired by people´s need for transportation which was later transformed into a commodity. Now people need to download the required app and own a credit card to be able to use the Uber platform. Since the phenomenon of platformization allows platforms to become the foundation for economic changes, emphasis should be given on the forms of online labor. In the following chapters, I will examine the aspects of employment and the notion of labor on digital platforms to further investigate how monetization through influencers occurs. Furthermore, the study of digital labor also helps us interpret the role of influencers, human and non-human, as a new type of online workforce.
Instagram, which was initially made for sharing images in real-time, was gradually transformed into a marketing tool due to the social consequences it produces meaning its high level of influence on people. Specifically, Instagram was first launched in 2010 as a mobile application that promoted the sharing of pictures and videos on the same or different platforms (Lichtenstein 2). Hence Instagram mainly consisted of visual items such as images in contradiction to other platforms like Facebook and Twitter which included written posts. This visualization seemed like an advantageous aspect to large corporations that successfully attempted to integrate their products and services onto the platform. As users choose images and videos as a form of communication companies make efforts to remain relevant and known on Instagram. More in specific, users may take a picture of their favorite product with the intention to share their positive experience whereas the opposite is also possible- unsatisfied consumers will probably use Instagram to complain about a service. Hence communication on platforms could be translated into images that symbolize users’ emotions and expressions. For that reason, brands aimed at ensuring their positive presence on Instagram by implementing it into marketing campaigns (Bergström and Bäckman 12). As mentioned earlier the basic motive for using social media platforms is self-promotion, meaning people’s tendency to use social media for promoting their image (Trammel and Keshelashvili 5) which drove companies to use Instagram as a marketing tool. Instagram influencers, in particular, collaborate with big brands to advertise products and meanwhile, they presumably satisfy their tendency of personal self-promotion. Young people with a considerable number of followers promote designer clothes and a lifestyle that seems appealing to ordinary users who just scroll through their newsfeed. Nevertheless, developers went the extra mile by creating computer-generated imageries (CGI) that perform similarly as human influencers on social media. The case
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study by Molin and Nordgren introduces the topic of two virtual influencers, Lil Miquela and Noonoouri that are considered regular Instagram users. The study examines users' responses to these two virtual influencers as well as factors that facilitate the interaction between consumers and avatars. For most of the users, might be difficult to understand whether they are dealing with a CGI character or with a real human whereas others interact with those avatars in the same way they do with humans online. A factor that might confuse users is that although we refer to avatars with no physical aspects these virtual influencers intersect with reality such as collaborating with human celebrities. Thus, users are probably highly involved in some kind of a simulation process caused by virtual influencers on the platform. The new feature of virtual reality on Instagram has an impact on companies' economic growth and the role of human influencers, and raises the question of how do virtual influencers on Instagram constitute a new form of labor and monetization? This thesis examines the impact of virtual influencers on the platform economy and attempts to offer an explanation of how CGI avatars pose new challenges in users’ social environment. In Chapter 2, I will examine the digital platform economy by referring to theories of platformization and platform specificity. In Chapter 3, I will attempt to explain the qualities of traditional labor and then apply those to digital labor. Next, I will introduce the role of Instagram and motive for its use in Chapter 4 whereas, in Chapter 5, I will elaborate on the distinction between human and virtual influencers. Finally, in Chapters 6 and 7 I will present the discussion and conclusion respectively. First, I will consider all gathered information to help develop my argument and then I will offer a final conclusion regarding the shaping of new forms of labor and monetization by virtual influencers.
7 2.1 Platformization
Before attempting to develop a theory about virtual influencers on social media networks, it would be rational to examine the dynamic of the broader environment of digital platforms first. As introduced earlier the phenomenon of platformization is described by Helmond as the power of platforms to transmute social elements such as communication into economic models (p.5). In a similar way, Nieborg and Poell link the notion of platformization to economic aspects as well as they identify platforms with “governmental and infrastructural extensions” (p. 4276) and therefore, the role of digital platforms extends beyond communication and entertainment affecting the structure of society and mainly the government. Hence, the phenomenon of platformization helps in the understanding of digital platforms as online environments that encompass multiple features like connectivity and turn them into economic functions. These features determine the function of the platform, a topic that I will examine extensively in the following chapters. In earlier years the most common term used to describe social media networks was “site”. With this word people referred to online systems that allowed users to create a digital identity and connect with other users, creating in that way their personal network (Boyd and Ellison 211). However, the rapid development of technology introduced new technical elements that were applied on the network sites aiming at optimizing the user experience (UX). In their research Law et al. attempted to define user experience as the outcome of the interaction between users and platforms. That outcome translates into emotional and experiential aspects that are created by the aesthetic of platforms (Law et al. 719). The need for higher UX led to a large number of innovative features that upgraded sites into platforms. These platforms enabled users to perform multiple actions such as online shopping besides merely communicating and connecting with other people. Nevertheless, from a technical point of view, the larger number of new features arguably allowed developers to interfere more in the platform’s design. Drawing on Andreessen’s claim, “if you can program it, then it's a platform. If you can't, then it's not” it becomes clear that platforms are online spaces that permit procedures of programming which most of the time are performed by developers (Andreessen “The three kinds of platforms you meet on the Internet”). Similarly, Helmond describes platforms as systems that can be reprogrammed and personalized by developers (Helmond 3). This modification of platforms aims at companies’ economic growth that mostly derives from selling users’ data to advertisers which helps corporations predict user online behavior and plan effective targeting. For example, Google presumably tracks and targets users with the intention of offering efficient search outcomes which subsequently have an impact on the
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production of meaning since the company determines the visibility of the search results. Additionally, an example of cultural commodification is online games that offer audio and visual content to users either based on a subscription or free of charge (Nieborg and Poell 4284). Thus, we can link Helmond's argument about platforms’ power to monetize cultural and social behavior to Nieborg’s and Poell’s theory of platforms as governmental extensions in order to put emphasis on the impact of platforms on the social and economic sector. Additionally, platforms have a large influence on people by providing them with the "false" feeling of freedom. In this case, the term "false" refers to people's false impression that online platforms offer limitless capabilities when in reality they provide them with specific features that constrain human activities.
2.2 Platform Economy and Platform Specificity
Digital platforms within their numerous features such as the production of meaning and the cultural commodification arguably form a predominant online environment that brings certain social consequences. Within this environment, multiple changes take place that have a large impact on user behavior and the corporate world. As Kenney and Zysman argue a new economy has emerged known as the digital platform economy that enables human online activities and interaction (p.61). The platform economy describes the number of platforms that facilitate online communication or other online activities such as promoting, selling or buying and more. According to Marx, the concept of the economy includes procedures of production, distribution, and consumption (Fuchs and Sevignani 239). In the same manner, platform economy consists of processes of production such as the production of user-generated content, distribution meaning the sharing of digital content on various platforms, and consumption presumably when users pay to obtain digital content. As the authors describe, before platforms, companies would send materials to their consumers to create the finished product on their own whereas nowadays digital platforms and mobile applications allow companies to present and sell the finish products in a more appealing way similar to the one of artists (ibid. p.62). More in specific products and services are being advertised on social media with the use of beautiful images and meaningful videos in the same way pieces of art are exhibited in museums. Thus, digital technologies have introduced new innovative ways of production, distribution, and consumption that they expand from traditional ways of physical labor and face-to-face selling to consumers. A significant aspect of the platform economy is its determining role in people's decision-making processes. Technological apparatuses require
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basic knowledge for their use; however, it is up to users to decide how they choose to use these tools (bKenney and Zysman 2).
The particular features of each platform are based on its selected function. Their function, or in other words their specificity, constitutes a critical factor that determines platforms’ influence on users. Platform specificity describes digital platforms as online spaces that allow specific activities and limitations (Bucher and Helmond 19). As mentioned in the introduction part certain platforms represent particular purposes. The specificity of platforms lies in their interfaces and the affordances they produce. Interfaces can be perceived as the buttons included in the design of a platform that allow users to connect to other platforms or perform certain online activities (ibid. p.2). Drawing on Bucher’s and Helmond’s argument the term “affordances” is used to describe the actions enabled by interfaces (p.2). A good example would be the “like” button on Instagram which is depicted by a heart icon. That button functions as an interface that affords to people the act of expressing their preferences. Users then become familiar with the notion of a heart icon indicating the "like" action and they use it in the same manner on other platforms such as Twitter. Hence, we can assume that interfaces are intermediaries that bridge users with multiple capabilities and determine platforms’ specificity.
Drawing on the theories of Bucher and Helmond regarding medium specificity, and Kenney and Zysman on the notion of platformization, we can conclude that the digital platform economy is a dynamic environment where different sectors such as politics, business and education come together through platforms to enable specific online activities. Platform economy has a large impact on the target group of each platform and therefore, we can argue that it intersects with the platform’s specificity that links to their purpose and capabilities. Subsequently, medium specificity might be considered as the foundation for constructing a platform economy.
Taking the existing literature into consideration it is interesting to apply the theory of medium specificity on Instagram and understand how the platform operates in terms of platformization and platform economy. As explained earlier, Instagram was launched in 2010 as a mobile application that allowed the sharing of audio and visual material in real-time (Sheldon and Bryant 89). Hence, one can assume that the specificity of the platform relied on communication through the sharing of digital items. In addition to the part of communication, people use Instagram to satisfy other needs such as run away from their problems, retain the false feeling of fellowship, re-configure their personal identity and more. We could argue that the initial role of mobile applications was to entertain and distract people from their personal issues. Additionally, people’s tendency to move to new countries due to either financial reasons or studying abroad has probably made Instagram one of the most popular networks so far. Based on the results by Statista, Instagram has approximately
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one billion active accounts every month, a fact that proves the app’s high consumption by the public. Another interesting motive for the platform’s use is the illusion of freedom it provides to users. Namely, people are able to create an online identity by shaping their visual content. In this case, the role of influencers accurately describes the topic of identity because it concerns users that rely on their Instagram profiles to create an online image of their personality. An important factor for using Instagram is self-presentation which is directly connected to the notion of influencers that I will examine in depth later in my paper. As Goffman argues, self-presentation reflects the untrue belief of acting that users feel when exposing themselves on social media (p.1). Furthermore, he highlights the fact that people aim at directing others’ impression by selecting the way they plan to present themselves (ibid. p.8). In a similar manner users, and in particular, influencers who use platforms entirely for advertising purposes, choose carefully the techniques for promoting their digital content in order to create the desired impression to followers. Thus, we can conclude that users spend most of their time on Instagram finding new ways to improve and maintain their online image.
3. Employment in Platform Economy
Deriving from the previous chapter the phenomenon of platformization and the notion of the platform economy, as a dominant online space that consists of various digital platforms, have a strong influence on government by influencing and directing people’s political beliefs and on society by modifying users’ behavior. Apart from sectors such as education, business and more the technological explosion caused by platforms has an impact on labor, forming in that way a new kind of workforce which I will further examine in this chapter.
Online platforms that constitute this new kind of economy and function as tools allow corporations and users to explore new ways of working. As mentioned earlier Instagram nowadays is considered an effective marketing medium for advertising whilst people use the platform to promote personal content and satisfy the need for self-promotion (Trammel and Keshelashvili 5). Since most of the users take advantage of Instagram and translate its operation into money it would be rational to assume that a new kind of labor gradually emerges. One distinct characteristic of the labor in years before the Internet was materiality meaning the hardware as the basis for performing activities at work. For instance, at the time of the Industrial Revolution chimney sweepers were needed in every household and their job required special equipment and mainly physical work. Nevertheless, in the
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1960s people started using gas and electricity for cooking and heating and as a result chimney sweepers’ role had gradually faded away. Nowadays, people have automated systems for heating which they can control by using their smartphones whereas these systems do not require maintenance on a regular basis comparing to chimneys. Technology has changed more professions, such as teaching. Before the 2000s teachers used blackboards and white chalks, and the examination was in written form for which students used pencils or pens. In current years all pupils have a personal laptop or a tablet whereas teachers make use of particular software systems in order to grade exam papers and evaluate students’ performance. The integration of technology in education may affect the relationship between teachers and students but it does offer an efficient method of teaching. Apart from the opportunities posed by innovative technologies a disadvantage could be the diminishing of the role of a specific workforce group. Digital gadgets and automated payments by using a mobile device replaced in a sense, the role of previous employees. At the beginning of the 2000s, customers would go to a fast-food restaurant and they would wait in the queue to give their order to the employee standing behind the cash register. Now, people place their orders through tablets, pay by using their cards or even their smartphones and they go to the desk only to receive their orders. Hence, fewer employees are needed now comparing to previous years which is positive for companies but unfavorable for people who lost their job due to technology. However, digital innovations have created new fields in education and business which gave the new generations the opportunity to broaden their horizons in learning. Developers, web designers, digital marketers and many more of such examples, as van Doorn mentions they constitute the platform labor meaning a form of labor where technology is the main medium for performing tasks (p.900). Teachers, doctors, and professionals in other sectors make use of software products on a daily basis, that are created by developers. These experts have probably studied in the field of computer science in order to understand new technologies and contribute to their development. Thus, as van Doorn argues technological innovations bring changes and risks (p.900). At this point, emphasis should be given on the fact that we cannot evaluate technology as good or bad but as users, we can examine the role of these systems and determine the methods in which we plan to use those.
The paper by Fuchs and Sevignani offers a better understanding of the platform labor. Namely, the authors refer to the concept of labor in digital technologies rather than focusing merely on platforms. To begin with, the notion of digital labor becomes more accessible when studying Marx's theory of labor and work. According to Marx, we can distinguish three stages for conceiving the meaning of labor and work (Fuchs and Sevignani 239). The first stage concerns work in society meaning people’s tendency to influence and rearrange the environment around
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them in order to be able to find new methods for satisfying their needs and that procedure is driven mainly by consciousness (ibid). However, the first level is also linked to labor in a society where people perform activities to find additional ways of taking advantage of the environment that surrounds them to satisfy needs that are not essential (ibid). Hence, work is an essential element for human survival and stable economic status in society. In the second stage, Marx places labor and work into the broader context of capitalism and social structure. More in detail, the philosopher argues that labor expands into the level where certain forms of labor are not needed but they do exist to satisfy the secondary needs of people in higher social classes (ibid. p.244). Such examples of secondary necessities were the role of slaves during the 1600s or butlers in the 1920s. Both roles were not crucial for human survival like food or water but they were created to satisfy the needs of those in society’s higher ranks. That fact enabled people with a better financial status to obtain a dominant position over the lower classes. Finally, Marx situates work-which helps people cover their primary necessities- and labor-which allows individuals to cover secondary needs- in the political sphere by mentioning the notion of communism as a solution that diminishes labor and promotes work as a method to cover people’s primary necessities (ibid. p.250). The important detail that is also highlighted by Fuchs and Sevignani is that according to Marx, technology is a significant factor that can result in high productivity and subsequently decrease the division of labor and social structure (ibid.). The three levels of understanding labor and work in society by Marx can be adjusted to recent years looking at the platform of Instagram as an example. First, most people use Instagram to cover needs that are not fundamental such as the need for self-promotion. However, some users such as influencers base their financial situation on the notion of self-promotion. Next, depending on the way that people use the platform, there might be a division between different groups of users. For instance, Instagram users with a large number of followers get offers for collaboration from big brands and consequently receive more benefits than regular users. Lastly, Instagram, as well as social media in general, are being used by activists or people in authority to convey social or political messages to the public. For example, the official Instagram account of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) consists of posts that inform people about plastic pollution and more. Additionally, the first lady of the US, Melania Trump uses her account to promote political actions against opioid abuse and online safety. Finally, an important characteristic of digital labor nowadays is that social media transform work activities into labor meaning the using of platforms to satisfy people's needs for socializing is being manipulated by corporations to translate this need into money (ibid. p.288).
The new phenomenon of organizations getting involved in users’ online social activities describes a new form of commodification of content. As argued by Nieborg and Poell, the work of developers
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includes the surveilling and profiling of users’ online activities which allows them to identify new trends and program platforms accordingly. In that way, developers, and consequently platforms, have the authority to influence the production of meaning or in other words the cultural production within audio and visual content (Nieborg and Poell 4276). From one side cultural production of content concerns platforms’ ability to alter and determine the production of meaning and interpretation whereas cultural commodification of content regards the fact that online content becomes a commodity for users. As Nieborg and Poell mention in their article, digital content is being commercialized and “sold” to users as a commodity whereas this commodification of content leads to an immaterial kind of labor (p. 4279). To better comprehend the notion of labor they borrow Marx’s theory regarding the stages of labor and work which was explained in the previous paragraph. More in specific large companies employ users’ digital content to maximize their profit whereas users rely on the benefits offered to them and do not directly realize the seriousness of the situation. In return for promoting products and services, users receive a certain amount of money or free gifts. If we compare this to the amount of money that companies make at the expense of users’ content, we might be able to distinguish the qualities of immaterial labor. In that case, we can assume that Instagram users belong to a lower rank that is dominated by a higher class consisting of organizations. Furthermore, the role of digital platforms as a space of labor becomes more distinct when comparing the qualities of traditional labor to those of digital labor. The main characteristic of traditional labor is control and employers' dependency on employees (Rogers 482). Similarly, companies that wish to be advertised by users on Instagram apply control to them by determining the terms of promoting such as the concept of the picture, the caption of the images and even users’ potential collaboration with competitors. Nevertheless, they do depend on influencers’ role because after all, the procedure of targeting and advertising would be limited if they would not be interested in collaborating with organizations. Namely, companies collaborate mainly with users that represent the target group they wish to reach. Hence it is easy to identify the notion of traditional labor in the current environment of digital labor.
14 4.1 Motives for its use
Having examined the notion of the platform economy and the qualities of digital labor as well as its relation to forms of traditional labor, in this chapter I will aim my focus on the specific digital platform of Instagram. As explained in the introduction, that platform was created to capture and share pictures from users' everyday life in real-time (Hu et al. 595). However, its innovative features later transformed Instagram into a tool of monetization. Social network platforms, in general, acquire new plug-ins that allow companies to observe and measure consumer behavior. For instance, the addition of emotions to Facebook’s Like button which functions as an interface and facilitates the expression of emotions on the platform (Bazarova et al. 154). Another factor that takes platforms into the stage of monetization is that they are presented as free. Users nowadays create and maintain an Instagram account with no charge, a fact that explains the reason why social media platforms are widely famous and excessively used. Nevertheless, individuals neglect the fact that they pay by providing companies behind platforms with their data such as preferences for products and services. As mentioned by Zuboff large organizations like Facebook and Google base revenues on their data assets (p.81). Namely, as users spend hours of capturing and sharing images for free on social media platforms, they offer valuable data -most of the time without their consent- that drives companies’ economic growth. Hence, social network platforms have introduced numerous opportunities for both companies and users by consisting primarily of digital visual items.
As mentioned earlier, users are granted the opportunity for increasing self-promotion whilst corporations explore new effective ways of targeting and advertising on social media. However, to further investigate the reason why people are so keen on social media platforms and especially on Instagram, experts and scholars on the field of digital media examine factors such as age, nationality, sex, religion and more. As Sheldon and Bryant argue, looking at the demographics of users is not enough, what academics need to draw attention upon is the contextual age meaning deeper elements like interpersonal interaction, life satisfaction and more (p.89). These elements refer more to psychological factors that drive people’s interest in social media. Users tend to share content when they face physical issues like being in the hospital, or when they gain satisfaction from the quality of their lives. Both cases are linked to the narcissism that flourishes due to the nature of social media that constitute an online space that allows users to shape their image (ibid.). As Sheldon and Bryant mention, this implicit power given to users by social media platforms promotes a certain behavior of gratification (ibid. p.90). Finally, the authors conclude that the main
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motives of use for Instagram are associated with surveillance, maintaining social connections, determining self-presentation and constituting a medium of documentation (ibid. p.95).
4.2 Instagram as a Marketing Tool
The aforementioned motives for Instagram use concern mainly individuals who use the platform with probably no economic benefits except the advantage of the gratification of self-presentation. However, a different group of users who base their economic growth on Instagram’s popularity are large corporations. These might take advantage of the emerging economic model of Web 2.0 which places users in the position of adverts. The argument made by Zuboff can help us grasp the reason why companies use social media platforms for optimizing their marketing strategies. As argued earlier, marketing is a process where companies attempt to identify and satisfy consumers’ needs by creating strong relationships with them (Gundlach & Wilkie 259). In order to develop a strong bond with customers, corporations first aim for observing their behavior. The phenomenon of surveillance capitalism describes the procedure of predicting and altering human behavior aiming for economic growth and control (Zuboff 75). An example made by Zuboff is the surveillance cameras on the streets which constrain human activities and prevent negative behavior (p.78). Furthermore, gadgets like smartphones and other digital innovations comprise essential tools of surveillance as well. Apart from the explicit meaning of the term, surveillance also refers to the process of monitoring people’s online activities and extracting data that are useful to companies (ibid. p.79). Google is one of the largest corporations that follow rapid growth due to the user data acquisition which has helped Google to observe, analyze and predict users’ online behavior (ibid.). By obtaining such valuable data the company then proceeded to the development of an algorithm that categorizes users' preference based on their online searches and therefore, offers marketers the opportunity for advanced targeting. Thus, Google, an online search platform, has contributed to advertisers’ success by providing them with users’ valuable data. Similarly, social media platforms like Instagram offer new opportunities to companies for extracting data and targeting their audience. As argued by Helmond and Gerlitz, Like is a social button meaning a button that allows users’ interaction with digital objects (p.4) and reflects their preference for particular digital shared items or webpages (p.7). On Instagram, a Like button is also a tool for identifying users' interest in posts and providing them with a personalized newsfeed. Hence, that social button has the power to filter online content based on users' preferences and allow companies to use this information for targeting their audience more effectively. Nowadays, users who are keen on traveling and like
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posts related to that topic will see more visual items depicting exotic destinations or advertisements promoting hotel resorts. In a like manner, users who are interested in a healthy lifestyle will presumably receive posts mainly about healthy recipes, fitness programs and such. Thus, companies predict and modify consumer behavior through surveillance aiming at promoting their products more effectively. Social media platforms facilitate this objective of companies by allowing them to surveil and measure consumer behavior through social buttons. Hence, considering the notion of surveillance capitalism presented by Zuboff and then applying this phenomenon onto the environment of social media platforms as argued by Helmond and Gerlitz, we begin to develop an idea of how social media platforms have entered the business industry and contributed to the field of advertising in particular.
In order to create a strong bond, as mentioned earlier by Gundlach and Wilkie, corporations arguably need to engage with customers and remain relevant to them. This need of companies for larger engagement and relevance could explain the involvement of Instagram in marketing. As explained by Bergström and Bäckman the main goal of companies nowadays should be to remain relevant on social media since, through those, brands manage to approach and target their audience (p.2). Corporations use Instagram as a tool for creating strong relations with customers and promote products or services more effectively through the platform. Thus, we could distinguish two types of social media platform users. The first type includes individuals who use Instagram for their own satisfaction whereas the second group consists of companies that use the platform as a marketing tool for profit maximization. Drawing on Sajid’s assertion regarding social media as mediators for developing online engagement with customers, social network services allow users to discuss publicly their experiences and preferences (p.1). Hence, companies benefit from the open interaction of online communities and adjust their advertising strategies based on the reaction they receive from users through social media platforms. Apart from the process of surveillance and the extracting of data argued by Zuboff, in order to develop engagement with consumers online, it is important for organizations to remain relevant to users. For that reason, companies aim at creating a strong presence on social media by first sharing content that appeals to users and second maintaining constant communication with them. As regards to the online content, the posted images and the style of the profile should present consistency and a specific concept that seems interesting to the target audience. After attracting users' attention, brands establish open communication, for example on Instagram potential customers can send direct messages to the company for making a question or offer their suggestion whereas an additional way of interacting is also commenting on shared images. This type of interaction between users and companies constitutes the fourth model of public relations as explained by Bergström and Bäckman. Since
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marketing concerns the process of persuasion, communication and strong relationships with customers, it, therefore, includes the notion of public relations (PR) as well. There are four models of PR that are used in marketing (Bergström & Bäckman 13). First is the publicity model which describes companies’ persuasion techniques to alter consumer behavior, the second model is the public information where the sharing of information does not aim at modifying consumer intentions. Next is the two-way asymmetric PR which involves two-way communication between companies and users and focuses mainly on changing the behavior of the audience. The last model is the two-way symmetric PR which also concerns the communication between corporations and users, but it also includes their collaboration. The fourth model presents the direct communication between brands and consumers that is enabled by platforms and therefore, it might describe more accurately the reason why social media networks are being used as tools for developing engagement with users online.
Although there is much discussion around the topic of motives for social media use, it should be highlighted that the reasons for using media networks are always determined by users. Different strategies are implemented in the way individuals use social media platforms to satisfy specific benefits. For instance, the dominant element of visualization on Instagram has helped fashion bloggers to promote brands (Duffy and Hund 9). In that case, bloggers use the sharing of appealing images for the sake of advertising fashion brands. Additionally, social media platforms constitute important tools for education as well. According to Rodriguez social media platforms encourage students' creativity and ensure engagement even out of the class. Thus, social networks transform into efficient tools depending on the reason and manner in which individuals intend to use them.
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As I mentioned in the previous chapter, there is a particular group of users that attempt self-presentation by promoting brands and having economic benefits form it. In this chapter, I will examine the emerged phenomenon of influencers that has gained ground in the last few years. The notion of influencers arguably describes a group of users who have a certain level of influence on regular users. However, the most important factor in determining whether a user is an influencer or not is the total number of their followers. As Darner and Arvidsson argue, the higher the number of followers the more influence they have, a fact that is important from a marketing perspective (p.5). Since marketing concerns the developing of a strong relationship with consumers we can assume that it is important for companies to reach a higher number of potential customers as possible. When considering influencers as a part of a broader marketing strategy it is rational to assume that they are supposed to have a large number of followers so they can promote brands more effectively. Nevertheless, in an effort to offer a definition for influencers it would be more helpful to look first at their progress so far. In the early 2000s Huang, Chun-Yao, et al., argued about the evolution of blogs meaning websites that people used to promote mass communication and advertising (p.472). However, according to the authors, the most interesting element of these websites was the individuals who managed those. The so-called “bloggers” were the users responsible for the managing of the blogs and therefore, they had the power to determine the role of their websites as well as the blog activities. Since blogs operated as a medium for mass communication and advertising, they also constituted a potential tool for efficient marketing communication. Hence, the integration of blogs into the broader business industry had a significant impact on the behavior of bloggers. Initially, users created blogs as a form of a journal to express their feelings or promote their image (ibid. p.473). Nowadays, after the rapid growth of blogs and their incorporation into the field of marketing, we could argue that bloggers choose to adjust their online activities to the requirements of advertising. For instance, in current times influencers might express false feelings regarding a product they used based on their collaboration with the respective company whereas in the ‘90s and the 2000s bloggers used their websites to truly express their opinion about topics. Similarly, Trammel and Keshelashvili support that the Internet is an online space that allowed blogs to flourish because they satisfy users’ gratification of self-promotion (p.3). Although the concept of self-promotion remains the main characteristic of influencing throughout the years, the general behavior of bloggers has changed. The bloggers that Huang, Chun-Yao, et al., describe in their paper as rational and independent agents (p.474) have now been transformed into a form of online labor that is being manipulated by companies for advertising and economic purposes. Hence, we can conclude that influencers’ motives and behavior have shifted in the last twenty years due to the development of social media platforms and their contribution to marketing.
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Apart from the economic benefits they gain, influencers also contribute to the psychological factor of purchasing a product. More in detail, individuals tend to buy items with the purpose of satisfying their needs, either primary or secondary. As mentioned earlier, on one hand, products for people’s primary necessities are mainly vital for their survival like water, food and more. On the other hand, items for satisfying secondary needs are most likely linked to customers’ psychological situation. For example, one individual may decide to buy an expensive luxurious car to fulfill his or her need for self-presentation. In this case, the car symbolizes a product that will have a positive impact on the customer since it shapes the buyer’s image to society and presumably creates a false impression regarding their financial status. Thus, one could assume that companies design such marketing strategies aiming at the consumers’ psychological factor in order to persuade them and affect their purchase intention. The research conducted by Langner, Hennigs, and Wiedmann is a suitable example for explaining the psychological impact of influencers. In their paper, they examine the use of influencers by advertisers for targeting specific audiences easier and more effectively. According to the authors, one of the many characteristics of influencers is the “persuasive power”, meaning the ability to direct and modify consumers’ purchase intention applying their personality and their skills of leadership (Langner et al. 35). Taking the concept of persuasive power presented by Langner et al. into consideration, one could break the process of influencing in four steps to better comprehend the way influencers obtain a significant role in advertising. First, as mentioned in previous sections, influencers are users with a large number of followers and a more established presence on social media comparing to regular users. Hence, influencers are most likely individuals with a strong personality determined to expose themselves online. Consequently, the next step might be leadership which is influencers’ power of affecting the behavior of users and inviting them to follow trends that they promote through their digital content. For instance, regular users adopt elements advertised by influencers on social media platforms such as fashion trends, lifestyle, eating habits and more. The third step arguably combines the characteristics of strong personality and leadership and results in the power of persuasion. Influencers' ability to expose themselves on social media and convey trends and habits to regular users might be considered as a process of persuasion. For example, users on Instagram tend to buy fashion brands based on the style of their favorite fashion influencer. The final stage includes the directing of the purchase intention. Specifically, consumers' decision to purchase an item from a particular fashion brand advertised by an influencer possibly replaces their initial choice. In that case, individuals would think about buying a product of their preference when a picture depicting an influencer using a similar product of a different brand made consumers change their mind and their purchase
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intention. Thus, the process of influencing might consist of the above-mentioned four steps that seem to be determinant factors of the level of influence on consumers.
Apart from the excessive pressure that is put upon users by influencers and companies to persuade them and modify their behavior, a similar feeling of obligation is forced on influencers as well. As I argued earlier, the role of influencers is to obtain and maintain a big number of followers and promote products and services within appealing images whose role often requires exposing themselves too. The obligation for achieving a high level of influencing and effectively representing companies in many cases has an impact on the mental health of influencers. A suitable example is the case of Essena O’Neill, a nineteen-year-old model from Australia. Essena started working as a model when she understood the power of social media and decided to be an influencer and collaborate with brands. After a long period of being active on social media, Essena faced serious mental issues. In one of her statements, she mentioned that social media are a hoax that reflects a false version of real-life (Baz 13). The model realized that she was being used to bring money to companies whereas each of her online activities was directed by corporations based on their advertising strategies. At that time, she based her life on shaping a celebrity-like image on her social media accounts aiming at attracting more followers and increasing the number of likes on her posts (ibid. p.14). Hence, one could assume that financial benefits and self-recognition that derive from collaborations with companies online, come with a price which sadly puts influencers’ mental health at stake.
5.1 From Human to Virtual
The downside of influencing and self-promotion on social media which is linked to psychological exhaustion constitutes a possible constraint to corporations' advertising plans. That means that advertisers might be obliged to discontinue their collaboration with influencers and search for alternative solutions. One such solution that becomes more famous over time is the use of virtual influencers for advertising. These avatars present the same capabilities as the human influencers meaning persuasive power to influence potential buyers and therefore successfully promote products and services to niches. However, the only difference is that they are CGIs that do not have physical aspects (Darner and Arvidsson 6). In contradiction to humans, these online personas do
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not have the psychological element, a fact that allows them to perform any online activity instructed by companies without dealing with mental issues. In this paper, the main focus is on two particular virtual influencers, Lil Miquela and Noonoouri. According to Darner and Arvidsson, Lil Miquela is an avatar that represents a nineteen-year-old influencer and model (p.6). She has a realistic design and as a result, users often comment on her Instagram posts asking her if she is real or not. The total number of her followers is one million seven hundred whilst she also has her own Youtube channel including video clips depicting Lil Miquela dancing and singing as a regular artist. Her realistic design and the fact that she is active on social media in a similar way as human influencers have created confusion for regular users. Especially in cases where she is shown in images together with real people due to her similarity to them, it becomes complicated to notice that it is about a CGI persona. Furthermore, Lil Miquela has constant interaction with users by replying to their messages and comments as well as reposting their digital items. Looking at her Instagram profile another impressing fact is that when users ask in comments whether she is a human or not she kindly responds that she is not whereas she also claims that determining someone’s nature by putting them labels is not that important. Hence, not only she reflects a realistic image similar to human, but she seems to have an opinion about social issues which she expresses when interacting with other users. In that way, the avatar of Lil Miquela reflects the human appearance and imitates the human behavior at the same time.
The characteristics that determine the level of influence of virtual avatars online might expand beyond their similarity to humans. A good example to support that assumption is Noonoouri. She is another virtual influencer that presents a human-like lifestyle on her Instagram account despite her eminent facial characteristics such as distinct big eyes that do not look realistic. The Instagram account of Noonoouri is dedicated to promoting couture whereas she has done collaborations with famous designer brands like Dior, Versace and more (Darner and Arvidsson 6). However, the phenomenon of virtual influencers is not limited to these two avatars; other famous CGI personas on social media are Bermuda, Blawko, Shudu and more.
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6. Discussion
In the previous chapters, I discussed the general phenomenon of social media platforms, the new economy that emerges from those, their specificity and their contribution to advertising. Furthermore, I examined the qualities of human influencers with focusing mainly on the platform of Instagram and then I applied these qualities to virtual influencers that have been introduced to the online public in the last few years. In this section, I will connect all theories mentioned in this paper to help me develop an argument regarding virtual influencers as a new form of monetization and labor, and finally answer my research question.
When arguing about virtual users on platforms and their incorporation into human-like activities, we can distinguish the link to Baudrillard's book regarding simulations that attempt to replace reality. In his book, Simulacra and Simulation Baudrillard talks about how representations of the real create a new form of reality known as hyperreality. To simply explain the meaning of simulacra and simulation I borrowed the definitions as found on Google dictionary. The former describes representations or imitations of a person or thing whereas the latter imitates the operation of a process or a system. Drawing on Baudrillard's argument, simulacra and simulations dissemble the lack of something and for that reason, he offers the example of God mentioning that "[…] there is no longer a God to recognize his own, no longer a Last Judgment to separate the false from the true, the real from its artificial resurrection[…]" (p.6). Applying his words to the recent years and the blending of virtual and augmented reality with social media platforms it is remarkable how one can connect Baudrillard's theory to virtual influencers. Namely, CGI avatars presumably represent simulacra that imitate humans while their role as promoters, singers or personas, in general, reflects the meaning of simulation. Virtual influencers sharing pictures of them "wearing" famous brands or "eating" a slice of pizza describes processes designed by developers that do not happen in reality, but it successfully imitates them. The idea of simulacra and simulations becomes more salient when looking at people's reactions to avatars on Instagram. Deriving from a brief investigation on comments under Lil Miquela’s posts, for most of the users, it is difficult to understand whether they are dealing with a CGI character or with a real human whereas others interact with those avatars in the same way they do with humans online (lilmiquela). At this point, I will refer back to Baudrillard's words saying that it becomes difficult “to separate the false from the true, the real from its artificial resurrection” (p.6). As he argues in his book representations of the real produce hyperreality. His words apply to the current topic of virtual influencers if we consider the virtual nature of those personas. CGI influencers mimic human actions and behavior and they interfere with people’s reality in a way that they confuse users. Individuals try to find out whether these
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characters are real or not, they comment on their posts and they even send direct messages to interact with virtual avatars. Despite the lack of physical aspects, we can argue that virtual influencers intersect users’ real-life and create new conditions to online environments that reflect reality. Thus, we can relate it to Baudrillard’s notion of hyperreality. Ultimately, the fact that virtual influencers might gradually replace human influencers links to Baudrillard’s suggestion that simulations of the real might replace the real processes. However, platform qualities apply to virtual influencers if we assume that as CGI avatars they also belong to the broader digital environment similarly to platforms. As Helmond argued platforms have the power to turn social elements into economic aspects (p.5). Similar to human influencers, avatars use in a sense, communication through visualization to bring higher profits to companies. In contradiction to regular users, virtual influencers are designed to use social aspects with the purpose of translating those into economic models. Hence, they hold a significant role in businesses’ marketing strategies since they help in maximizing profits, but they also bring changes to the social sector as well by starting new trends and promoting various lifestyles.
Furthermore, avatars on social media contribute to the development of the platform economy because they facilitate procedures of selling, buying, and advertising. For instance, Lil Miquela shares images of her and celebrity Millie Bobby Brown taking selfie-pictures with the new mobile device by Galaxy as a collaboration with Samsung (lilmiquela). In that way, she promotes the new device and encourages potential consumers online to purchase the product. As in the previous example, most of the CGI personas are designed exclusively for advertising brands and services. Thus, besides digital platforms, virtual influencers have their own specificity as well. Another way in which avatars contribute to the platform economy is through communication. As explained earlier, the platform economy enables human interaction and communication through digital platforms (Kenney and Zysman 61). In that case, Instagram constitutes a platform in which design allows communication in real-time. Additionally, virtual influencers are now integrated into social media platforms to accomplish communication with users; namely, companies use virtual influencers to reach more customers online through promotion and interaction. For instance, users have developed friendly relationships with avatars within commenting on posts, directing messaging and more whereas CGI personas often reply to all messages starting conversations as they were real influencers. Thus, within this false communication between humans and avatars, a new relationship begins to develop.
Nevertheless, the only quality of real influencers that we cannot apply to CGI avatars is the one of self-promotion. Contrary to human users, virtual influencers do not care about shaping their image because simply they are programmed to create a desirable impression and hence, they do not have
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to make any effort for image-promotion. The fact that these avatars are programmed and designed to follow specific instructions in order to bring money to corporations, places them into the category of a new workgroup that is entirely manipulated by developers. Additionally, as Nieborg and Poell argue, the commodification of content leads to immaterial labor (p.4279). Similarly, virtual influencers' content on platforms is being commodified by users. For example, users pay for creating an account on Spotify and listen to Lil Miquela’s songs. In this case, the CGI Lil Miquela is being part of immaterial labor. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier the main characteristics of traditional labor -that also apply to digital labor- are control and employer's dependency on employees (Rogers 482). First, developers control virtual influencers and their human-like activities on social media. For instance, Lil Miquela was developed by a Los Angeles based company Brud (Luitse 1). The developers of that corporation design Lil Miquela’s activities such as with who she is presented in pictures, the celebrities she will collaborate with or the brands she will partner up with and more. Secondly, if we consider Brud as the employer and Lil Miquela as the employee we can distinguish the way that Brud depends on the virtual influencer. Namely, Brud is in charge of Lil Miquela’s collaborations with big brands like Prada or Samsung and these organizations do the financial arrangements with Brud since the CGI persona is not real (ibid. p.3). Hence, if we assume that for some reason Lil Miquela ceases to function on social media or they discontinue her avatar automatically Brud loses any economic benefits deriving from collaborations.
To further explain the intersection of virtual influencers and online advertising we should adopt a marketing point of view. As mentioned earlier in this paper, the definition of marketing includes companies’ attempts to develop stronger relationships with consumers (Gundlach and Wilkie 259). Virtual influencers arguably satisfy this goal since they are designed to develop a strong bond with individuals online. In their case study, Molin and Nordgren argue that avatars present perceived human elements that attract regular users and create a feeling of trust (p.32). As someone could conclude after observing avatars social media accounts, they are always calm and convey social messages such as Noonoouri’s post on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17th of October 2019) when she was indicated half-naked writing "end poverty" on her shoulder. We can assume that CGI personas are never emotionally exhausted, always “willing” to convey social messages and engage with users. Additionally, in order to stay relevant on social media organizations started gradually using virtual influencers for targeting and advertising since they can be programmed to follow specific instructions and reprogrammed based on the latest trends. The fact that avatars lack the emotional factor and do not hesitate or feel tired allows them to adjust to
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situations such as constant posting and collaborating. In that way, companies manage to remain pertinent to topics that concern various target groups on social media.
Although virtual influencers bring numerous opportunities to advertisers, they might have negative effects on users’ behavior. As Molin and Nordgren argue, the human-like nature of avatars attracts users by inspiring the feeling of trust (p.33-34). Thus, a relationship emerges between non-human CGI and human users that we could consider as friendship. Nevertheless, that kind of relationship is also known as “parasocial”, meaning a relationship between users and non-human personas on social media platforms where emotions develop only from one party (ibid. p.4). For example, a male user commented on Lil Miquela’s picture saying that he has a crush on her, a fact that shows the user’s emotions towards a robot that has no feelings or other real human elements (lilmiquela). Additionally, the contribution of avatars on brands’ advertising on social media might have a huge impact on human influencers. Namely, the increased number of emotionless and programmed robots on social media platforms is gradually replacing the existing number of human influencers. That fact presumably affects the financial situation of influencers since it is possible that some individuals use promoting as their profession. Additionally, avatars could also affect human influencers’ mental health, since they might face feelings of rejection or failure. Hence, the parasocial interaction in combination with avatars’ impact on the financial and mental situation of influencers constitutes two possible consequences of the use of CGI personas on human users. As examined so far, virtual influencers constitute a new form of online labor and monetization that creates new conditions and reshapes the platform economy. Robots rapidly change the way users communicate online and they introduce new ways of advertising and selling on platforms. As a result, traditional ways of promoting are being replaced by new innovative methods represented mainly by avatars.
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7. Conclusion
Virtual influencers have become an integrant part of users’ life and of the broader platform environment as well. As I have argued so far they contribute to the development of platformization and platform economy by facilitating procedures of promoting, buying, selling, enabling communication and translating it into profit. Additionally, in order to prove that CGI avatars on social media form a new kind of monetization, I attempted to apply the basic qualities of traditional labor to avatars and include those in a new workforce group of immaterial labor that exists on digital platforms. Hence, I discovered that the qualities of control and dependency on employees indeed exist in the relationship between virtual influencers and corporations behind those since the latter has a great degree of control over the former and it depends on it for succeeding. Finally, I elaborated on the use of virtual influencers for serving the main goal of marketing which is consumers’ higher engagement with brands. The employment of human-like avatars whose behavior can be entirely modified and designed by corporations helps in creating a warm and friendly environment that attracts an increasing number of users. Their human nature does not rely merely on their characteristics such as the design of their faces but also on their online activities. For instance, virtual influencers participate in online protests regarding social issues such as Noonoouri’s post about poverty.
Although robots like Lil Miquela and Noonoouri are not real they do operate as regular influencers and eventually contribute to companies' profit maximization. Hence, avatars acquire qualities similar to human influencers, imitate their role and consequently suggest new challenges to their mental and financial situation. In this paper, I attempted to explain the way the emerging phenomenon of virtual influencers has introduced a new kind of labor and monetization to the platform economy. However, further research from academics in the medicine or the business faculty could examine the impact of robots on the psychological health of users as well as their contribution to marketing strategies and the economic growth of companies.
In an earlier chapter, I linked the phenomenon of virtual influencers to Baudrillard’s notion of the simulacrum and simulation. Although his book was written in 1994, Baudrillard’s ideas apply in the current situation of social media platforms. Virtual influencers are now the simulacra that imitate humans and their activities whereas the vision of corporations such as Brud to develop a hyperreality constitutes the simulation. Virtual and augmented reality as well as Artificial Intelligence could introduce efficiency in the health sector, education and more. Thus, scholars and experts should rethink Baudrillard's notion of simulacra and simulations as support to human activities rather than a potential threat of extinction. Technology never ceases to evolve and that
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brings new changes and challenges to online environments and to users. It is up to individuals how they plan to make use of such technologies to ensure a convenient way of life.
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