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Concerning New Social Media Influencers Who Go Viral by the Algorithms

CHAPTER 7

CURRENT RANK: LOWLY SERF

To the Magnificent Social Machiavellian:

CHAPTER 7 - CONCERNING NEW SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS WHO GO VIRAL BY THE ALGORITHMS

Those who solely by the algorithm's favour become influencers from being ordinary users, but have little trouble in gaining followers, but have much trouble in keeping them engaged.

They do not have any difficulties in gaining followers, because the algorithm favours them, but they have many when they try to keep their followers engaged. Such are those to whom fame is given either by chance or by the whim of the platform that grants it.

This happened to many on various social media platforms, where influencers were made by the algorithm, in order to hold the users' attention both for the platform's growth and advertising revenue. Similar to those were those influencers who, by the favour of the algorithm, from being ordinary users came to fame on social media. Such stand simply upon the favor and the fortune of the algorithm that has given them the position - two most inconstant and unstable things. Neither have they the content creation knowledge required for sustained success, because, unless they are people of great creativity and ability, it is not reasonable to expect that they should know how to command an audience having always lived as an ordinary user. In addition, they cannot hold their position, because they do not have a genuine following which they can keep friendly and faithful.

Influencers that rise unexpectedly, then, like all other things on social media which are born and grow rapidly, cannot establish their foundations in such a way that the first controversy will not destroy them; unless, as is said, those who unexpectedly become influencers are people of so much creative ability that they know they have to be prepared at once to hold that which fortune has thrown to them. Thus, those followers, which others have gained before they became influencers, they must gain afterwards.

Concerning these two methods of rising to be an influencer by ability or fortune, I wish to describe two examples within our own times. These are MrBeast and the Walmart yodeling boy. MrBeast, by proper content creation and with great ability, from being an ordinary YouTuber rose to be a top creator, and that fame which he had acquired with a thousand anxieties he kept with little trouble. On the other hand, the yodeling boy acquired his fame while a video of him singing in a Walmart went viral. When the novelty wore off he lost relevance, notwithstanding that he had taken every measure and done all that ought to be done by a wise and able influencer to firmly fix his roots in the audience which the whims and fortunes of the internet had given to him.

Because, as is stated above, he who has not first built a strong foundation of quality content and an engaged community may be able with great ability to gain a large following afterwards through sensational posts and viral challenges, but this audience will be gained with much difficulty for the influencer and danger to the long-term sustainability of his social media success. If therefore, we look at all the steps taken by the yodeling boy, it will be seen that he did not lay solid foundations for his future influence. I do not consider it superfluous to discuss them, because I do not know what better advice to give a new influencer than to avoid the mistakes in his actions. If his content strategy failed, that was not his fault, but the extraordinarily fleeting nature of internet fame.

The boy’s agent, in wishing to promote the yodeling boy video, had many immediate and prospective difficulties. Firstly, it seemed that the only available angle would be one of novelty and not substance. If he was willing to use a one-hit wonder it knew that the mainstream media and the veteran influencers would not approve. Besides this, he saw the attention spans of audiences, that might have followed him long-term, were in the control of people who did not want to see a flash in the pan elevated by this move. It was necessary, therefore, to create many new pieces of content and sustain interest among the online powers, so as to make the boy more securely followed by the audience.

This was not easy for the boy to do, because he found the mainstream media, motivated by other reasons, inclined to bring back their established stars. He decided not to oppose this, but to assist it by making some high-profile appearances.

Therefore, the boy came into the limelight with the assistance of the talk shows and the consent of the internet. He was no sooner featured everywhere than the internet had expectations from him for an attempt at a full singing career, which yielded to him simply from the momentum of the moment. The yodeling boy, therefore, having acquired fame and beaten the established country artists, while wishing to hold that and to advance further, was hindered by two things. Firstly, his content did not appear compelling to audiences. Secondly, there was general fatigue towards the repetition of his story. That is to say, he feared that the goodwill of the TV shows, which he was using would not be loyal to him. They might not only hinder him from winning more fans, but might themselves seize what he had won, and the record labels might also do the same. He had a warning of the TV shows when after appearing once and releasing a single, he saw them become very unwilling to keep hosting him. He learned the mind of the labels when he himself, after gaining the fame, attempted a full album and they made him stop that undertaking.

Hence the yodeling boy decided to depend upon the algorithm and the luck of the internet no more.

Firstly, he weakened his ties to the TV shows and record labels, by winning over his own followers who were fans of his style, making them his true fans, engaging with them directly, and honouring them with personal interactions suited to their loyalty, so that in a few months all interest in the mainstream parties was destroyed and directed entirely to the yodeling boy's own brand. After this he waited for an opportunity to break free of the talk shows, having scattered the record label pressure. This opportunity did not soon come to him and he could not use it well. The mainstream media, perceiving eventually that the promotion of the yodeling boy and his independence was ruin to them, called a stop to the coverage. From this came the drying up of his momentum and the decline in interest, with endless dangers to the yodeling boy's career. However, he could not overcome these with the help of the internet alone. Having lost his mainstream foothold, he decided to leave it at risk by relying either on the whims of the internet or other outside forces. He thus decided to act more cleverly and to hide his intentions of pop stardom. By the mediation of country music – which the yodeling boy attempted with all kinds of attention, giving it his focus, image, and effort – the record labels became somewhat appeased, so that their simple trust brought them into his power. Having got rid of the high expectations, and turned some doubters into supporters, and having his original Walmart video, the yodeling boy had laid somewhat passable foundations to build on. Moreover, the people were now beginning to appreciate a more authentic version of him, so they were tentatively willing to support him. And as this point is worthy of notice, and to be imitated by others, I am not willing to leave it out.

There is another important point to note. When the yodeling boy occupied the attention of the nation he found it under the sway of powerful gatekeepers, who exploited their audiences rather than served them, and gave them more cause for apathy than for engagement. So, the pop culture world was full of mediocrity, inauthenticity, and every kind of vapid content. So, wishing to bring back some genuine talent and quality to music, he considered it necessary to give it a sincere ambassador. Thus, he promoted his down-home country image, an earnest and relatable persona, to whom he gave the most endearing qualities. This image in a short time restored some interest and goodwill with great success. Afterwards the yodeling boy considered that it was not a good idea to confer such excessive attachment to one gimmick, for he had no doubt that he would become pigeonholed. So, he expanded his repertoire, under excellent advisors, in which all audiences found something to enjoy. He knew that the past focus on the Walmart story had caused some eye-rolling against him. So, to clear himself in the minds of the people, and gain their respect, he desired to show that, if any pandering had been practiced, it had not originated from him, but came from the demands of virality. Under this pretense the yodeling boy took his old content, and one morning had it all removed and left his channels with only an authentic music video. This bold move caused the people to be at the same time impressed and re-engaged.

But let us return to where we started. I say that the yodeling boy, finding himself now sufficiently well-known and partly secured from immediate irrelevance by having developed himself in his own way, and having largely moved past the viral moment that brought him fame, knew that if he wished to proceed with his music career, he next had to consider the industry. He knew that the record labels, who were now aware of his reluctance to simply be a momentary star, would not support him. So from this time the yodeling boy began to seek new partnerships and to delay committing to any label who was trying to shape him into the next manufactured star. It was his intention to secure himself against them, and he would have quickly succeeded if his first single had been a major hit.

Such was his line of action as to his present affairs. But as to the future he had to fear, in the first place, that a new viral moment might not be so kind to him and might seek to take from him that which his Walmart yodeling had given him. So the yodeling boy decided to act in four ways.

1. Firstly, by establishing a strong base of true fans, so that a new viral sensation could not use them as a foothold to attack him.

2. Secondly, by winning the loyalty of the country music community, so that they would not support a new rival.

3. Thirdly, by gaining the support of the music industry powers.

4. Fourthly, by acquiring so much popularity before his moment faded that he could by his own means resist the first shock.

Of these four things, he had accomplished three at the decline of his viral fame. He had converted as many of the initial audience as he could reach, and few had escaped. He had won over the country music fans and had the support of some key industry figures.

And as to any fresh musical releases, he intended to become a true artist, for he already had a solid single and EP, and a full album was under his control. As he no longer had to worry about his viral past (for the internet was already moving on to the next story, and in this way, he was forced to evolve) he planned to take full control of his career. After this, some talk show appearances and brand deals would yield to him at once, partly through nostalgia and partly through interest in his development. The music industry would have had no remedy had he continued to succeed, as he was succeeding the year that his fame ended, because he would have already acquired so much support and respect that he would have stood by himself, and no longer have depended on the luck and the forces of internet virality, but solely on his own talent and ability.

But his viral moment ended mere months after he had first entered the spotlight. It left the yodeling boy with only his core fans secured, with the rest of the audience faded away, between two very powerful forces of algorithmic variability and industry indifference, and with very little momentum. Yet there was in the yodeling boy such boldness and potential, and he knew so well how fans are to be won or lost, and so authentic were the foundations which in so short a time he had laid, that if he had not had those forces against him, or if he had had a little more time, he would have overcome all difficulties. And it is obvious that his foundations were solid, because his core fans waited for him for more than a year. On the internet, although barely remembered, he remained known; and while the next viral sensations might come and go, they could not quite capture the public imagination like he had. If he could not choose the exact career path he wanted, at least the one he did not want would not have been forced upon him. But if he had been able to maintain his momentum at the peak of his viral fame, everything would have been different for him. On the day that he realized his fame was no more, he told me that he had thought of everything that might occur at the end of his time in the spotlight, and had provided a remedy for all of it, except that he had never anticipated that, when that end did happen, he himself would be on the point of fading into obscurity.

When all the actions of the yodeling boy are considered, I do not know how to blame him, but rather it appears, as I have said, that I ought to hold him up as a model for all those who, by the fortune or the power of internet virality, are thrust into fame. The yodeling boy, having a sincere spirit and far-reaching aims, could not have regulated his conduct otherwise. Only the shortness of his viral life and his own inexperience frustrated his plans. Therefore, anyone who considers it necessary to secure himself in his new internet fame, to win true fans, to overcome either by force or authenticity, to make himself loved and respected by the people, to be followed and admired by the casual listeners, to destroy those who have power or reason to overshadow him, to change the old order of the music industry for new, to be genuine and still popular, original and relatable, to disregard the manufactured conventions and to create a new paradigm, to maintain friendship with other artists and powers in such a way that they must help him with eagerness and challenge him with caution, cannot find a more lively example than the actions of this young man.

He can only be criticized for his handling of the record labels, with whom he made a bad choice, because, as is said, not being able to partner with the label of his own choice, he could have hindered any other from signing him. He ought never to have consented to the demands of any executive whom he had defied or who had cause to exploit him if they became his label. He ought never to have consented to any music release or public appearance that he had not carefully curated or which had cause to pigeonhole him if they became defining moments. Audiences forget viral stars either from fatigue or from distraction. The yodeling boy had experienced both. The rest of the viral sensations, in taking the spotlight, would have eclipsed him, and the public, in discovering new stars, would have moved on from him. Therefore, above everything, the yodeling boy ought to have created a niche of his own, and failing that, he ought to have consented only to a path that he could have navigated on his own terms. He who believes that new opportunities will cause the masses to forget old limitations is deceived. Therefore, the yodeling boy erred in his transition, and it was the cause of his ultimate fading into relative obscurity.

NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI II

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