#13 - Influencers Part 3: THE “I AM YOU THEORY” (Charlie Rocket)

The Influencer Brand has been under attack for its disconnection from reality. 

• Now, there are influencers and trends within the space that are responding with fresh new takes….in a wide variety of ways

1. “Travel” & “Lifestyle” Influencers leading with pulling back the curtains

• Geraldine West

  • Shows funny instagram vs. Reality pics

    • The real “aesthetics”

      • Commuting, Getting dressed, working out, doing wash, sleeping

• Rianna Meijer

  • Lifestyle Fashion & Travel Blogger/Vlogger

    • The real “body image”

  • Interesting to see what she said about all this.

    • From Darcy Schild writing for Insider.com:

1. Other influencers are flat out distancing themselves from the word “influencer” itself

• Taylor Lorenz writing in the Atlantic last year:

  • Youtube “Creators” like Natasha Hynes are running the other way from the term

3. Certain clusters of Gen-Z’ers are slowly but surely starting a “split” from their millennial counterparts in content preferences.

Taylor Lorenz - The Atlantic (once again)

• Instagram Walls, Bullshit Photo ops, IG Museums, and popup shops “going away”

• IG vs Reality Feeds increasing in popularity

EX: Emma Chamberlain, Jazzy Anne, Joanna Ceddia

• “It’s not cool to be manufactured anymore”

  • Anything that’s staged is OUT

• Unfiltered

• No such thing as “on brand”

• Varying feeds

  • No “I will mess up how my feed looks”

• No lighting preferences, etc.

• Wide use of HUJI CAM 

  • Makes photos look grainy, old and 90’s

• Photo Presets are going away

  • Used to be huge industry

• Every Action has a reaction

  • Gen Z grew up with these expectations plastered in their  faces from almost day 1

    • They don’t have a memory from before social media

      • Maybe comparison culture can actually take a small step back in some areas?

1. And there are other influencers fighting back too--they just don’t realize they are:

• Shudu - 2017 - CGI - Cameron James Wilson, British Photographer

  • Her Instagram

• Lil Miquela

  • Over 2 million followers

  • Created by an artificial intelligence & robotics company called Brud

    • Makes her own songs

      • Latest Single “Hard Feelings”--over a millions of views

    • Pictured with celebrities

    • Sponsors Brands

    • Is big on social causes like Black Lives Matter, Black Girls Code

    • Another article on this

The Societal Effects Are already happening on this

• Human influencers are already blurring the lines between reality and the digital world with their flawless looks, aesthetics, clothes, and perfectly curated lives

  • Everything’s becoming homogenized….

    • ….i.e. They’re all starting to look the same

I Am You Theory - Charlie Rocket Jabaley on The Ed Mylett Show in January 2019

….2Chainz & Travis Porter former manager

Paradigm: 

1. “I’m so perfect--and all of you are not. That’s why you should follow me--because I’m at the top.

1. “The biggest names in the world are not trying to be as different as they can from us. They’re literally just like us.  Yet, in social media today, it’s ‘I’m not like you, I’m not like you, I’m not like you--that’s why you should follow me.’ But the biggest things in the world flip the paradigm and say “I’m just like you, I’m just like you, I’m just like you--follow me. So why aren’t we marketing that way?”

The Theory was centered on the following figures across pop culture:

Superhero

• Spiderman

Religion

• Christianity biggest by following

Corporation

• Apple - Founded by Steve Jobs

Sports

• Michael Jordan

Expanding upon it with my own examples:

Hollywood

• Robert downey jr

• Samuel L Jackson

Sports

• Conor Mcgregor

• Serena Williams

Music

• Adele

• Travis Scott

• Post Malone

Business

• Warren Buffett

Media

• Oprah

• Joe Rogan

Royalty

• Princess Diana