Break the Internet: in pursuit of influence
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-03 07:51:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Olivia Yallop
- ISBN：1913348334
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Traditional media is over。 The internet reigns。 And in the attention economy， influencers are royalty。 But who are they … and how do you become one？
Break the Internet takes a deep dive into the influencer industry， tracing its evolution from blogging and legacy social media such as Tumblr to today’s world in which YouTube， Instagram， and TikTok dominate。 Surveying the new media landscape that the rise of online celebrity has created， it is an insider account of a trend which is set to dominate our future — the economy of influence will be valued at $15bn globally by 2022。
Olivia Yallop enrols in an influencer bootcamp， goes undercover at fan meetups， and shadows online celebrities to understand how digital personas are built， uncovering what it is really like to live a branded life and trade in a ‘social stock market’。 From mumfluencers and activists to governments and investors， everyone wants to build their online influence。 But how do you stay authentic in a system designed to commodify identity？ Break the Internet examines both the dangers and the transformative potential of digital culture。
Break the Internet takes a deep dive into the influencer industry， tracing its evolution from blogging and legacy social media such as Tumblr to today’s world in which YouTube， Instagram， and TikTok dominate。 Surveying the new media landscape that the rise of online celebrity has created， it is an insider account of a trend which is set to dominate our future — the economy of influence will be valued at $15bn globally by 2022。
Olivia Yallop enrols in an influencer bootcamp， goes undercover at fan meetups， and shadows online celebrities to understand how digital personas are built， uncovering what it is really like to live a branded life and trade in a ‘social stock market’。 From mumfluencers and activists to governments and investors， everyone wants to build their online influence。 But how do you stay authentic in a system designed to commodify identity？ Break the Internet examines both the dangers and the transformative potential of digital culture。
Reviews
Alexandra
，
I finally found enough brain-space to read this properly - lots of people were interested when I posted it in stories。 So here are some thoughts。 （And it’s out from @scribe_uk on 11 November so you can read it yourselves then） There was lots in it that I didn’t know and am glad I have been educated in: the madness of TikTok hype houses， the economics of JunkLord YouTubers， the mechanics of Telegram Engagement Pods and the compromise required to be a Breadtube star who also makes money。 I know ri I finally found enough brain-space to read this properly - lots of people were interested when I posted it in stories。 So here are some thoughts。 （And it’s out from @scribe_uk on 11 November so you can read it yourselves then） There was lots in it that I didn’t know and am glad I have been educated in: the madness of TikTok hype houses， the economics of JunkLord YouTubers， the mechanics of Telegram Engagement Pods and the compromise required to be a Breadtube star who also makes money。 I know right - they went ahead and invented a whole new language while I was still bitching about twitter！ The author works at a digital agency， but if you’re looking for a gossipy tell-all on influencers， it’s not that。 And if you’re looking for political analysis， it’s much more focussed on influencers than the Cambridge Analytica end of things。 It’s more interested in how we spend than how we vote。 The chapter on the author trying to be an influencer is quite dull， and I feel like I’d heard all that before。 The Under The Influence podcast （which I found better on feminism/motherhood than this） tried a similar gimmick with the same lack of impact: it just seems contrived from someone already doing well in the media。 The author did go to Oxford with Caroline Calloway though， and is quite fun about that。 The analysis I really enjoyed was about how we can’t hold back technology， and everything from printing presses to moving trains has freaked the hell out of people， but how fragile and open to misuse the whole follower count/influencer dynamic value is。 She is also good on how permeable language is， and how quickly the line fades between what makes eg ‘a good YouTube video’ and what makes ‘a video that YouTube thinks is good’。And there is an interesting section on the whole world of ‘snark’ or ‘tea’ sites。 I had no idea there was such a universe of podcasts， sites etc， and the analysis of how many of them are doing the work of underfunded mainstream journalism is sharp。 She also makes an interesting clarification between ‘classic trolls’ and the way that many of those snark threads prompt ‘nuanced discussions of the intersection between influencers & political polarisation， cultural appropriation， online activism and wokewashing。’ She seemed to think that midwife firebombed her career by slagging off her husband online though， rather than the racism situation， which seemed 。。 off。The line that *really* stuck with me was about what Yallop calls “influencing’s central tension: it is a profit driven activity engaged in the continuous obfuscation of its own identity and intentions。” I wrote “THIS！！！” in the margin and put my phone down for a while。Above all， I came away thinking most influencers either want to ‘graduate’ to something ‘better’ （a book deal， tv show， fashion line etc） or to deny that they are influencers at all。 As with Ozark or Breaking Bad， I just ended up thinking ‘You are smart creative people！ Just do the thing that makes you happy！ Because this looks like no less work！！” Then again， I still did’t understand how to launder money after watching either of those shows， so what do I know。 。。。more
Clare
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Do you ever wonder about the social media platforms we spend so much of our time on， and how we relate to them as users？In ‘Break the Internet’ Olivia Yallop， who works as a digital strategist， explores the role that social media plays in our lives and in our society as a whole in a critical way。 Yallop dives into the history of social media， offers an insight into the lives of some of the biggest influencers of this time and finds out what it takes to become an influencer herself。It took me a w Do you ever wonder about the social media platforms we spend so much of our time on， and how we relate to them as users？In ‘Break the Internet’ Olivia Yallop， who works as a digital strategist， explores the role that social media plays in our lives and in our society as a whole in a critical way。 Yallop dives into the history of social media， offers an insight into the lives of some of the biggest influencers of this time and finds out what it takes to become an influencer herself。It took me a while to get into this book， as it starts off quite dry with a lot of quotes and numbers on social media and influencer marketing。 This really changes in the chapters where the author shows more of her own personal journey and gives a deeper insight into the lives of the influencers she speaks to and made me really enjoy the book as a whole。 This is an very interesting read for anyone who spends their time on social media like ourselves！ Thank you to Scribe UK for this gifted copy！ 。。。more
LC
，
Wow this was really interesting。 Yallop deep dives into the world of online influencers， the resulting product a blend of cultural analysis， interviews with top-tiered and and at times somewhat notorious internet stars， and gonzo journalism。 Highly recommended for anyone engaged in the online world so… just about everyone？
H Paige
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RTCThis was a very informative and well researched book that I thoroughly enjoyed。 The author examines social media and how one becomes and thrives as an influencer。 From hype houses to TikTok and YouTube， the book highlights how the world of advertising and connecting to others has changed。 It was eye opening and definitely a book I would suggest others read for insight into the rapidly changing world of social media。
This Feral Housewife
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This one took me a moment to get into but I’m glad I did。 It really picks up after the second chapter。 Definitely has some good points and definitely a different voice。
Patrick Pilz
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It took me a while to get into the book， but once I got over the hump， I was fully engulfed in influencers。Olivia Yallops investigative journalism takes us into the world of influencers， a new industry which arose out of the growing media platforms and their content providers。 Some of these content providers rival major TV shows with their audience sizes。 Some very few of these make a fortune and are in all fairness media empires on their own。 The book illustrates all aspects of influencing， fro It took me a while to get into the book， but once I got over the hump， I was fully engulfed in influencers。Olivia Yallops investigative journalism takes us into the world of influencers， a new industry which arose out of the growing media platforms and their content providers。 Some of these content providers rival major TV shows with their audience sizes。 Some very few of these make a fortune and are in all fairness media empires on their own。 The book illustrates all aspects of influencing， from creating content， creating brands and creating a following。 It looks at the industry along with the major conventions and associations。 One clear take away after reading this book is， that influencing is a serious business， a sizable industry and your chances to succeed in this line of work are about the same as getting a star on the Hollywood walk of fame。Fascinating！ 。。。more
Darya
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