https://www.theinformation.com/articles/why-influencer-journalists-should-not-be-the-future-of-journalism

https://therebooting.substack.com/p/the-roaring-20s-of-digital-publishing

A somewhat analytical take on where media and particularly journalism, is with respect to decentralization caused by newsletters and influencer journalists.

Caveat emptor. A lot of these "influencer" methods are leaving 30% or far more of their value with the platforms they're using for distribution. A better path is to build and promote your own platform and have a direct relationship with one's readers (in newsletter spaces, it's about "owning"/having your reader's email address). Some other newsletter options can be found here: https://indieweb.org/newsletter as well as methods for building and owning your own technology stack across its site. If nothing else, consider having a website where you can have a portfolio/archive of your work.

Careful watchers of the newsletter space will notice that almost all of the highlight examples on these services are established big names with pre-existing platforms and audience. Where are the stories of the other 99.9% and how well they're doing? Who is actually making a full time living doing this without a significant leg up to start? As examples, look for major writers leaving the New York Times to set up newsletters, or people like Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg leaving The National Review to set up The Dispatch (as a newsletter platform)—it's a good bet that they're getting a better deal from Substack than the average person. The NiemanLab has some relatively good coverage of some of this space. (Their annual predictions series also has solid forward looking coverage of the journalism/technology space: https://www.niemanlab.org/collection/predictions-2022/.)

(Apologies for lurking... 😅, but happy to chat technology/publishing with anyone interested.)

Kale, S. (2021, November 11). Chakras, crystals and conspiracy theories: How the wellness industry turned its back on Covid science. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/11/injecting-poison-will-never-make-you-healthy-how-the-wellness-industry-turned-its-back-on-covid-science

Wiseman, E. (2021, October 17). The dark side of wellness: The overlap between spiritual thinking and far-right conspiracies. The Observer. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/17/eva-wiseman-conspirituality-the-dark-side-of-wellness-how-it-all-got-so-toxic

Spreading vaccine fears. And cashing in. (n.d.). Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved June 21, 2021, from https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/spreading-fears-cashing-in-anti-vaccine/

The YouTubers who blew the whistle on an anti-vax plot—BBC News. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-57928647?at_custom4=23264FBA-EE08-11EB-9330-21BB96E8478F&at_medium=custom7&at_custom3=%40BBCWorld&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_campaign=64

The Daily Beast on Twitter: “The Russian marketing agency Fazze made a splash with attempts to pay off European influencers to spread fake dirt about Western vaccines in an apparent bid to make Moscow’s COVID-19 jab seem more appealing https://t.co/PEOnx1IggE” / Twitter. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2021, from https://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1420388337421013001

April 30, T. H., & 2021 33. (2021, April 30). Why a Former Anti-Vax Influencer Got Her COVID-19 Shot. Texas Monthly. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/anti-vax-influencer-covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy/

Influencers say Russia-linked PR agency asked them to disparage Pfizer vaccine | Marketing & PR | The Guardian. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/may/25/influencers-say-russia-linked-pr-agency-asked-them-to-disparage-pfizer-vaccine?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Essley Whyte, L. (2021, June 8). Spreading Vaccine Fears, And Cashing In. HuffPost UK. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anti-vaccine-influencers_n_60be36b9e4b0ea8a1920d73f

ReconfigBehSci. (2020, December 8). I’ve been pondering failed predictions today. A spectacular error of mine: In the early media rush to listen to scientists and doctors, I actually thought Western societies might be seeing the end of the “influencer” and a renewed interest in people who did stuff 1/2 [Tweet]. @SciBeh. https://twitter.com/SciBeh/status/1336383952232308736

The term influencer was coined around the 1600s It’s defined as someone who has an impact on people’s opinions and choices Highkey Clout Influencer Agency

Centola, D. (n.d.). Why Social Media Makes Us More Polarized and How to Fix It. Scientific American. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-social-media-makes-us-more-polarized-and-how-to-fix-it/

r/BehSciResearch—Review on combatting the COVID misinformation flood. (n.d.). Reddit. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.reddit.com/r/BehSciResearch/comments/j9mrlp/review_on_combatting_the_covid_misinformation/

Canadian pranksters Nelk have millions of young followers. Their ‘dangerous’ decision to party during the pandemic is good for business. (2020, August 10). Thestar.Com. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/08/10/canadian-pranksters-nelk-have-millions-of-young-followers-their-very-dangerous-decision-to-party-and-travel-during-a-pandemic-is-perhaps-sadly-good-for-business-experts-says.html

Good Vibes: The Complex Work of Social Media Influencers in a Pandemic. (n.d.). American Ethnological Society. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://americanethnologist.org/features/pandemic-diaries/pandemic-diaries-affect-and-crisis/good-vibes-the-complex-work-of-social-media-influencers-in-a-pandemic

I'm curious to know whether teacher educators discuss the phenomenon of the so-called "teacher influencer" with teacher candidates. A related issue is the rise of "educelebrities" using hashtags like #edutwitter to promote technologies or books in which they often have a personal financial stake. Seems to me another aspect of teacher training should include critically reading the posts and other work of the educators-as-brand-ambassadors.