Internet celebrity
understanding fame online

The face of internet celebrity is rapidly diversifying and evolving. Online and mainstream celebrity culture are now weaving together, such that breakout stars from one-hit viral videos are able to turn their transient fame into a full-time career. This book presents a framework for thinking about the different forms of internet celebrity that have emerged over the last decade, taking examples from the Global North and South, to consolidate key ideas about cultures of online fame. It discusses the overall landscape, developments and trends in the internet celebrity economy, and cross-cultural lessons.

Intro -- Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- 1: What is an Internet Celebrity Anyway? -- A Brief History of Internet Celebrity -- Traditional Celebrities -- Ordinary People as Celebrities -- Reality TV Celebrities -- Celebrity-Audience Relations -- DIY Celebrity -- Microcelebrity -- Internet celebrity -- What about traditional celebrities on the internet? -- Conclusion -- 2: Qualities of Internet Celebrity -- Exclusivity -- Exoticism -- Exceptionalism -- Everydayness -- Conclusion -- 3: Internet Celebrity and Traditional Media -- Eyewitness Viral Stars -- Cashing in on Catchphrases -- Is it Wrong to Laugh? -- Who Profits? -- Meme Personalities -- Faces of Memes -- Meme Personae -- Meme Celebrities -- Unwilling Memes -- Spotted and Groomed Investments -- The Ellen Factory -- Commodified Childhoods -- Crowd-puller cameos -- Lending Fame -- When Borrowing Backfires -- Censorship Across Platforms -- Weaponized Microcelebrity -- Context and Control -- YouTubers Talk Back -- Conclusion -- 4: From Internet Celebrities to Influencers -- Architecture of the Influencer Industry -- Blogshops, Commercial Blogging, and Influencers -- Influencer Agencies and Managers -- Generating Income -- Shadow Economies of the Influencer Industry -- Bot Followers & Account Purges -- Hashtag Spam & Shadow Ban -- Instagram Pods & Twitter Decks -- Global Implications of the Influencer industry -- Economics -- Legality -- Culture -- Social Issues -- Recent Shifts in the Influencer Industry -- Archive Culture → Streaming Culture -- Tasteful Consumption → Amateur Aesthetic -- Platformed Fame → Cross-Platform Influence -- Attention Economy → Affection Economy -- Quantitative Metrics → Qualitative Impact -- Conclusion -- Postface -- Endnotes -- Further Reading

Milestone Works Toward Internet Celebrity -- Digital Platforms + Content Creation -- Digital Tools + Self-Branding -- Blogging + Fashion -- Internet-Native Formats + User Norms -- Internet Celebrity + Culture -- Index