This absorbing anthology uses in-depth interdisciplinary case studies from across the globe to examine the practice and concept of microcelebrity.
Expanding on the existing theoretical framing of the online celebrity experience, the editors re-theorize microcelebrity to accommodate developments in global internet governance, the evolution of platform politics, the emergence of hybrid forms of celebrity, and the collapsing networks between old and new media. Chapters analyse experiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America and Australia, and consider microcelebrities at all stages of their careers, from everyday users and beginners to veteran influencers.
Arguing for new perspectives and theories of microcelebrity that take into account colonial geographies, cross-media networks between influencers and legacy media, and gendered aggression and political discourses in a social media-saturated age, this volume will be of huge value to students and scholars of microcelebrity, social media, digital labour, creative industries and internet culture.
Foreword; Theresa Senft
Introduction; Crystal Abidin & Megan Lindsay Brown
PART I: NORMS
Chapter 1. Vlogging Parlance: Strategic talking in beauty vlogs; Sophie Bishop
Chapter 2. Facebook and Unintentional Celebrification; Angela M. Cirucci
Chapter 3. Musical.ly and Microcelebrity Among Girls; Burcu Simsek, Crystal Abidin & Megan Lindsay Brow
Chapter 4. Being Red Online: The craft of popularity on Chinese social media platforms; Ge Zhang & Gabriele de Seta
PART II: LABOUR
Chapter 5. Origin Stories: An ethnographic account of researching microcelebrity; Crystal Abidin
Chapter 6. Fame Labour: A critical autoethnography of Australian digital influencers; Jonathan Mavroudi
Chapter 7. Net Idols and Beauty Bloggers' Negotiations of Race, Commerce, and Cultural Customs: Emergent microcelebrity genres in Thailand; Vimviriya Limkangvanmongkol & Crystal Abidin
Chapter 8. Catarina, a Virgin for Auction: Microcelebrity in Brazilian media; Lígia Lana
PART III: ACTIVISM
Chapter 9. The Rise of Belle from Tumblr; Megan Lindsay Brown & Hanna Phifer
Chapter 10. Transparency & Authenticity Through Transgressive Microcelebrity Performance: The Qandeel Baloch case; Fatima Aziz
Chapter 11. It's Just a Joke! The Payoffs and Perils of Microcelebrity in India; Rukmini Pande
Epilogue: The Algorithmic Celebrity: The Future of Internet Fame and Microcelebrity Studies;
Alice E. Marwick
