I’m pretty sick of the term ‘influencer’ already. It’s been around for a while, but it’s only been in the past couple of years that people are trying to make it seem to the rest of us that being dubbed an ‘influencer’ is a ‘something.‘ Like, a life achievement worthy of the public’s regard and admiration.
I could give a rat’s patootie.
Unlike, say, a doctorate, a military rank, a position in a company (even one you had the guts to start yourself), ‘influencer’ means nothing to me other than someone got lucky with a camera and capitalized on either good looks, a winning personality, some off-the-wall talent, maybe all three, and has a fan base. Which, in some instances, has caught the eye of corporate sponsors, and the cha-ching begins to roll in.
Good for them – it’s the American way.
It’s also convenient that there are no baseline requirements for being an ‘influencer,’ so anyone can be one, even dub themselves should they choose to do so, with no ill effect other than mockery if people pay attention to follower counts.
And the world is your oyster should you choose the profession…if that’s what it is. You can be a travel influencer, a shade-tree mechanic, or a home makeover ‘expert’ without a design degree. A decorator for cakes or living rooms, a style or fashion guru, or raise gnus – pick your poison, your iPhone, and go take a video for Instagram!
Some influencers have been completely accidental, but most, after seeing the success of the Kim Kardashian/Paris Hilton early model, are female and targeted.
For instance, remember the admissions scandal from years ago, where stars paid to have their not-so-scholastically inclined progeny admitted to top-tier colleges?
One of those daffy little girls was the daughter of TV actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli. Olivia Jade launched ‘her own successful lifestyle and beauty YouTube channel‘ at the age of 14 – FOURTEEN.
By the time she was embroiled in the USC admissions scandal, she had her own little nepo baby ‘influencer’ empire well underway, and was only looking at college as basically more material for that.
…In 2018, according to an indictment by the United States Government, Olivia posed for a photo on an ergometer rowing machine. The photo was later submitted as part of her application to the University of Southern California (USC) with the implication she was a competitive rower, though she was not and had no interest in becoming one.[12] At the same time, it is alleged, her parents paid $500,000 in bribes to a coach at the university to designate her and her older sister Isabella as athletic prospects for the team, enabling them to gain admission to the school.[12][13][14][15] According to the federal criminal complaint against her father, Olivia was confused about how to complete the USC application, and an employee of the alleged conspiracy’s ringleader ultimately had to fill it out on her behalf.[16] Teen Vogue has reported that “it is undetermined if Olivia knew about the alleged scheme.”[17]
Before starting classes at USC, Olivia prompted criticism when she posted a statement to her YouTube channel in which she said, referring to her upcoming attendance at USC, “… I do want the experience of like game days, partying … I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know.”[18] According to Newsweek, Olivia had been actively advising on applying to university to her social-media followers days before federal agents arrested her parents on fraud charges for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy.[19] On March 13, 2019, media sources reported that when news of the scandal broke, Olivia was in the Bahamas on Rick Caruso‘s $100 million yacht.[20] Olivia is friends with Caruso’s daughter Gianna,[21][22][23][24] and Caruso is the chairman of the USC Board of Trustees.[25][26] Olivia is featured in Netflix’s film Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal that retraces Rick Singer’s college admission scheme. The documentary recreates some wiretapped conversations obtained by the FBI between Singer and the many people he worked with and for, including Olivia’s parents, Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli.[27]
What kind of influence was she peddling up to that point? YMMV. And she has apparently not skipped a beat in the intervening years.
But nepo baby or not, it’s always a race for fresh content, content, and more content. This seems to be especially perilous in the travel segment, but exposure has its dangers.
One poor travel influencer fell off a hiking trail near the rim of an Indonesian volcano last year. Another fell 350 feet over a waterfall after slipping while filming in India, and another fell out of a 27th-floor apartment in Dubai.
I haven’t found where tigers ate anyone yet, but a fitness influencer just died in a drowning in Thailand, a German died after a collision with another cyclist on her honeymoon, and, in a horrific story, an Oklahoma ‘influencer’ was murdered reportedly by the soon-to-be-ex she’d just accused of pedophilia in a TikTok video.
A social media influencer was allegedly killed by her estranged husband less than two weeks after she posted on TikTok accusing him of pedophilia, according to police and court records.
Sara Gilson was fatally shot Thursday in Owasso, Oklahoma, by husband Jeremiah Duffey, who went by Shawn Duffey on social media, according to the Owasso Police Department. She was 43.
A little over a month earlier, on June 10, she filed and was granted an emergency protective order against Duffey after police informed her he’d been accused the day prior of molesting a minor.
On July 11, Gilson posted a video on TikTok, where she had more than 30,000 followers, accusing Duffey of pedophilia.
“Preparing for when Netflix drops a documentary about my soon to be ex husband who I just found out is a pedophile,” Gilson wrote.
It doesn’t always turn out like you think it’s going to, and the follower count is not necessarily an indicator of success.
Or the business acumen to guarantee success. That’s pretty much on an individual case-by-case basis, like everything else in this world.
Take this self-described New Jersey influencer. Bingley sent along this story for me, and I was howling.
Beauty Influencer Charged With Shoplifting From Middletown ShopRite
An Instagram beauty influencer was charged with shoplifting from the Middletown ShopRite. This is not her first shoplifting arrest.
I thought, well, daggum – must not be much of an ‘influencer,’ but she’s up over that 30K followers mark.
Doesn’t seem to have helped.
An Instagram beauty influencer who lives in Middletown was arrested and charged with shoplifting from the Middletown ShopRite.
Jeana DiCarlo, 35, of Middletown, was arrested June 5 at the Rt. 35 grocery store and charged with shoplifting, according to Middletown Police.
She was processed and released.
This is not the first time DiCarlo is accused of shoplifting:
According to police body camera footage, ShopRite employees told responding officers on June 5 they caught her trying to shoplift from the grocery store a week earlier, on May 31.
I love that ShopRite has the entire footage on their own YouTube channel. How hilarious! Now, if one could be publicly shamed, this would be the way to do it.
I’m not sure if you could shame ‘influencers.’ They are a rare breed to begin with, however little influence they actually have.
This five-fingered discount influencer had all five of her children with her the first time she walked out of the store with a cartload of their merchandise, according to ShopRite and its surveillance footage.
…The employee said DiCarlo selected a bottle of liquor and paid for it. She then walked out of the store with the cart full of groceries. The employee followed DiCarlo to her car, which she was loading groceries into, and asked her for a receipt.
“She said she forgot to pay,” the ShopRite employee told police.
In total, DiCarlo had $524 worth of groceries in her cart.
The employee said DiCarlo “did the same thing on Sunday” (May 31).
“She said she’s never done this before, so I wanted to see if this was a one-time deal or if this was more,” said the ShopRite employee. “And it turns out she was here Sunday and did the same thing … She’s been doing this.“
During her June 5 arrest, DiCarlo told police another adult was watching her five children, and that she had her son’s Christening on Sunday. Just before she was placed in handcuffs, she asked police if she could call her husband, and the officers responded that she could make the call at headquarters.
And ‘she describes herself.’ Well. There you go. ‘Celebrities.’
I’m a unicorn fart specialist, myself.
…DiCarlo is a beauty and make-up influencer on Instagram, under the account jgloskincaree. She also has this TikTok account: tiktok.com/@jgloskincare
She describes herself as a celebrity medical esthetician, a mother of five children and a “Skinfluencer.” She says she loves to educate people on skincare.
Perhaps ‘influencer’ DiCarlo is a little long in the tooth for such remedial learning. But some self-described novice and struggling influencers (which I imagine is the vast majority) might benefit from a new course Arizona State University is offering in order to keep them from falling into volcanoes or having to lift groceries at a local market.
A note first, though: From my practical point of view, I only make this recommendation as long as aspiring influencers never EVER take out student loans to cover the cost of the class and materials.
Additionally, if they are in such sad shape that they don’t understand any of the coursework, they give up the Walter Mitty pipe dreams and try a real job before they get hurt.
Okay. Here it is, for the shallow set.
Arizona State launches degree on becoming an influencer — exactly the career more than half of Gen Z adults dream of
Arizona State University is betting that the next generation of entrepreneurs won’t necessarily launch startups. They’ll launch personal brands and, if done right, they can make bank.
Now, young adults have the chance to learn exactly how to do it.
The university has introduced a new Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation through its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, giving students the opportunity to earn a four-year degree focused on becoming professional content creators, digital storytellers and influencers.
…According to ASU, students will learn content strategy, personal branding, audience analytics, multimedia production, podcasting, social media marketing and videography while building their own online presences. They’ll learn how to analyze performance across multiple platforms, test different content strategies and improve results using audience data.
One of the program’s most attention-grabbing offerings is a course titled “How to Become an Influencer.” Students can also choose classes in podcasting, on-camera presence, social media foundations, photography, videography, editing, vocal delivery and interpersonal influence.
The curriculum culminates in a capstone project where students are expected to grow a real audience. So instead of simply submitting a paper, students select a platform — such as TikTok or YouTube — develop a content strategy, publish original work throughout the semester and demonstrate measurable audience growth. By graduation, students are expected to have an established platform with followers and engagement metrics they can show potential employers or sponsors.
Now, if you want a ‘degree,’ you’ll still have to take all that college stuff, and I do not see the shallow set sticking around for Lit 101 when they can barely string coherent sentences together to begin with. In fact, there are some pretty hefty salaries that the article quotes for ‘influencers’ vs. fields like nursing. These imply breezy photo shoots versus bedpans for only a few thousand dollars less, and what aspiring star wouldn’t choose that, right?
Coronas in Cancún over coronaries?
In a heartbeat.
Although that’s not actually the case. The most successful and truly influential influencers work their tuchuses off for the success they have, and the pressure is enormous.
Accepting reality is one of the hardest things someone dreaming of stardom has to do.
Getting busted at the ShopRite is one way of derailing dreams.
Volcanoes are another.
I hope I have used my influence for the wise choice.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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