From cultural intermediaries to social media influencers: algorithms and taste in social media platforms
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School of Business |
Bachelor's thesis
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Authors
Date
2021
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Markkinointi
Language
fi
Pages
24+5
Series
Abstract
Social media and digital environments have shaped the consumer consumption habits and the world of marketing for good. This literature review studies how has the phenomena of social media influencers emerged from the origins of cultural intermediaries in the context of fashion. We aim to understand how are these two phenomenon connected and what are the major similarities and differences between the two based on the current academic literature. Additionally, we aim to form an understanding how do the social media influencers relate to algorithms and what new understanding can we gain by studying this type of relationship in terms of taste exercising activities. The review is carried out concentrating on peer-reviewed academic articles that focus on cultural intermediaries in the context of fashion, social media influencers in the context of fashion and their relationship with algorithms. As social media is evolving rapidly, the review will concentrate on as recent academic articles as possible. The findings of this literature review showed that even though the gap between cultural intermediaries and social media influencers in the field of fashion is narrowing, there are still some distinguishing differences between the two. Being considered a cultural intermediary requires certain level of cultural capital to be able to act as taste attributor in the field and mediating events such as fashion shows. Social media influencers have the opportunity, created by the online environment and social media platforms, to act as taste leaders if they manage to gain large audiences and be perceived as having good taste by them even without any prior cultural capital. The review also showed that the algorithms do have an affect on the behavior of social media influencers. To be able to gain the desired level of visibility for their content, the social media influencers need to understand and obey the algorithmic rules of the social media platforms. Algorithms can be seen as gatekeepers of the taste making activities as they filter what content reaches the consumers on social media platforms.Description
Thesis advisor
Blakaj, HedonKeywords
social media, influencers, cultural intermediaries, algorithms