The Influencer Industry - by Emily Hund

Book Synopsis

A critical history of the social media influencer's rise to global prominence

Before there were Instagram likes, Twitter hashtags, or TikTok trends, there were bloggers who seemed to have the passion and authenticity that traditional media lacked. The Influencer Industry tells the story of how early digital creators scrambling for work amid the Great Recession gave rise to the multibillion-dollar industry that has fundamentally reshaped culture, the flow of information, and how we relate to ourselves and each other.

Drawing on dozens of in-depth interviews with leading social media influencers, brand executives, marketers, talent managers, trend forecasters, and others, Emily Hund shows how early industry participants focused on creating and monetizing digital personal brands as a means of exerting control over their professional destinies in a time of acute economic uncertainty. Over time, their activities coalesced into an industry whose impact has reached far beyond the dreams of its progenitors--and beyond their control. Hund illustrates how the methods they developed for creating, monetizing, and marketing social media content have permeated our lives and untangles the unforeseen cultural and economic costs.

The Influencer Industry reveals how, in an increasingly fractured and profit-driven communications environment, the people we think of as "real" are merely those who have learned to exploit the industry's ever-shifting constructions of authenticity.

Review Quotes

"Over the past 15 years, an entire industry has been built around influencers and content creators. This book by Hund . . . provides a much-needed history and analysis of this cultural and economic shift."-- "Choice"

"A penetrating, well-considered look behind the polished scenes of the influencer industry."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"This book should be read by anyone who desires a greater knowledge of the influencer industry."---Mariah L. Wellman, Media Industries

"Emily Hund's remarkable book is a timely contribution. . . . Hund's book arrives at a point when the influencer industry has penetrated the mainstream ​​to an unprecedented degree. It is a fascinating moment to reflect on a role which finds itself at the interface between a number of societal transformations."---Mark Carrigan, LSE Review of Books

About the Author

Emily Hund is a research affiliate at the Center on Digital Culture and Society at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication and a consultant to industry, academic, and government groups. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the Guardian.