Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks

Chanel 4 debate on regulation: I think that it is not possible to completely and rightfully regulate the media due to people’s experiences varying severely regarding what people think is harmful and not. Regarding the most vulnerable people in our society I do not believe them should be interacting with media at all due to their gullibility. Honestly, I think people should pass a certain test before someone is able to function completely within online media.

Background and audience wider reading:

1.) One example of fandom of celebrities are "fiercely defendant of them" as well as their borderline toxic relationship for fandoms towards their "icons" due to their constant belief that their "icon" could "never do not wrong".

2.) Taylor Swift “ran into trouble with her fan base” due to fans being locked out of Ticketmaster's system whilst purchasing tickets for one of her concerts in which T.S felt as though it was right to apologise for the "excruciating" connivence. 

3.) Stan accounts reflect Clay Shirky’s idea regarding the “end of audiences” due to their ability to interact with producers (music artist) through things like comment sections, meet and greets, live events and more.

Conversation feature on the economics of Taylor swift fandom:

1.) T.S fans spend their money on albums, merchandise and concert tickets. 

2.) T.S builds the connection with her fans through a shared love for consumption and capitalistic ideologies.

3.) Swifties have tried to get T.S’s attention online through their parasocial relationships however T.S sometimes endorses these strange relations by her occasionally mailing her best (highest spending) fans gifts. 

4.) The fandom is described as a “hierarchy” due to the financial dominance one must have in order to depict themselves as a "real" T.S fan. An individual of lower class would not be titled as big as a fan of the artist as someone who can afford to attend all her concerts and purchase all of her merchandise. 

5.) The article suggests that Swift’s “business model” is "largely built on fan desire to meet her" which is proven by fans spending thousands, waiting in rain and queuing before sunrise as well as other great unnecessary lengths they believe beneficial to prove their status as a Taylor Swift fan. 

Taylor swift, audience questions and theories:

1.) T.S’s website and social media is build to appeal towards a female audience due to her fandom consisting mainly of feminine presenting individuals. Even for those who are not female lean into femininity and this is supported through T.S’s stereotypically feminine aesthetic.

2.) There is the restricted and controlled opportunity for fans to interact with T.S through sending Instagram images which her team strictly chooses and regulated to ensure its compatibility with her website and her manufactured character.

3.) Taylor Swift’s online presence reflect Clay Shirky’s “End of Audience” theory through her character being perfected and built for audiences to view her through, audiences are passive and gullible for truest believing her manufactured characteristics she and her team has built for her artist name.

4.) T.S’s online presence is persistent within audiences due to her constant interaction online and new “drama” which generally influences the way her fandom think both socially and politically. For example within a twitter post she endorsed Kamala Harris whilst disregarding Trumps “presidency”.

5.) Applying Hall’s Reception Theory, the preferred reading of T.S’s online social presence would be that she is up to date and fond of her fans due to her constant online interactions. However an oppositional reading would be that she is full of herself due to her constant posting and self promotion of her own artistic façade of a character. 

Industries:

1.) 3.58 million users do the major social media site boasts. 

2.) The main way social media sites make money is through advertising for other major conglomerates both through influencing advertising and generated ads that appear within the customised scrolling based home page.  

3.) ARPU stands for “average revenue per person” and it is important for social media companies due it enabling us to understand numbers of people and how they communicate within media. 

4.) Meta has spend ridiculous amounts of money on acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp due to its growing number of users, to the point where it reached “critical mass” with its important to gain attraction.

5.) One other method social media sites have to generate income is through gaining revenue between hosting family photos and personal musings.

Regulation of social media:

1.) The article suggests that “the report was published by the forum for information and democracy which was established to make non-binding recommendations to 38 countries. They include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India , South Korea and the UK.”

2.) Christopher Wylie is whistle blower for Cambridge Analytica. 

3.) Wylie says that debates between media regulation and free speech is not an entitlement to each but is something that everyone should have.

4.) "Disinformation" is inaccurate or manipulated content that is created to intentionally spread wrong information with the goals to device and cause harm. I think that as a consumer of media it all depends on the external research I must do, else I would be a passive consumer and would be gullible enough to believe anything. 

5.) Wylie compares Facebook to an oil company due to them as well as many other tech conglomerates prioritising their bottom line finance interests over their public good like corporate giants.

6.) It suggests that one consequence of regulating social network conglomerates is there are risks for users to remain completely anonymous with their privacy since platforms could directly ask users to prove themselves through likes like age.

7.) Instagram has been criticised for its promoting of teen insecurity and lack of mental health safety. 

8.) Taylor Swift can also be criticised for promoting capitalistic and consumerist ideals due to her influencing high demands just to witness her or her not stopping her hierarchy within her fanbase. Yes Taylor Swift should make it explicitly clear when she is being paid to promote a company, hidden advertisings are illegal and not allowed on a majority of online platforms like instagram and TikTok.