Blog #11: 2nd EOTO Reactions

 

During our 2nd EOTO presentations, I learned a lot. What interested me the most was the topic of online influencers.

Often, we follow people on social media who are popular and sometimes we do not know why these people became popular. It is as if we woke up one day and suddenly people became famous overnight.

For example, I never knew how Kim Kardashian became famous but it seemed as if she became famous overnight. All of the sudden, the Kardashian's were famous for doing nothing. They had a reality TV show that was simply about them living their lives.

People found pleasure in watching other people do nothing, which is mind boggling. Influencers should be known for doing something that makes a positive impact on the world.

I learned that the first online influencers were "mommy bloggers". These were moms that shared their advice and routines with other moms who needed advice on what to do with their child.

In other words, mommy bloggers were moms that became famous for giving advice to others on the internet. Other moms enjoyed being able to communicate with fellow moms and getting advice when they were not sure what to do.

Online influencers have a lot of power since they are famous. This means they can use their power to do positive things like charity work, PSA's (public service announcements), and provide entertainment for the every day citizen.

On the downside, online influencers can sway people's opinions due to the large followings they have (since people think they are credible), and they can promote hate crime. On top of this, people's political opinions can also be swayed by an online influencer because people believe that they have credibility on politics when they are merely sharing their opinion.

Being an online influencer puts a lot of power into the hands of an ordinary person. Having so much power over people can turn out good or bad. It is all decided on how the influencer chooses to use their power.

They can bring attention to important issues that are not talked about enough by the public and it is good to raise awareness on issues that are not being talked about enough. Often, people twist influencers words and then a false idea is spread, which can damage the image of an influencer.