BBC Article: How Social Media Is Transforming The Fashion Industry
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35483480
WHY are people so sensitive to the number of followers they have on Instagram or Twitter?
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35483480
WHY are people so sensitive to the number of followers they have on Instagram or Twitter?
WHY are people so sensitive to the number of "friends" they have on Facebook?
Is it because they want popularity?
Is it because they want attention?
Since WHEN did social media become such big part of our society?
And WHY did it become so important and vital in the first place?
Try answering these questions and see what comes up to your mind..Were YOU ever the victim of the Internet? In the modern world, popularity is often times determined by how active one is on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, or even worse, ALL THREE!!!!!!
While researching about how teenagers are often times stressed out about how they lack Facebook friends or Instagram followers, I came across this ☆CLEVER☆ quote:
"The number of followers you have doesn't make you better than anyone else.
Hitler had millions and Jesus had 12."
- Unknown Author -
Even though I am able to agree 100% with the quotation above, many skillful and powerful individuals and companies around the globe do not think that this is true; they use the social media followers to their advantage, which is to make $$$!!
Active users of social media almost always use IMAGES! Photographs attract people's eyes, and you know what all photographers say ➜ "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words"!! And when talking about photographs, FASHION can't be missed!
Ever since advertisement was used by companies, clothing sponsorship to celebrities were one of the most effective ways to popularize their brands. As we moved into the 21st century, social media became the new TREND. And today, TRENDY brands favour TRENDY techniques to advertise their products; through social media.
This BBC article by Katie Hope states that recently, one of the most high-level clothing brands, Burberry, notified its fans that Brooklyn Beckham would be photographing Burberry's fragrance advertisement campaign. Despite all the insults Burberry got after this announcement, the main reason behind this act was Brooklyn Beckham's 5.9 million Instagram followers.
Brooklyn Beckham is a son of David and Victoria Beckham. Although very young (16 years old), he has nearly 6 million followers on Instagram. In the eyes of Burberry's marketing team, this great number of followers meant more power and more attention.
However, in the eyes of professional photographers, the decision to hire inexperienced 16-year-old teenager mocks their skills and past training... I agree...and I wonder whether Burberry had any respect for their previous Burberry photographers..
As stated in the article, these professional photographers reacted to this announcement by saying things like "insulting to every artist out there"; "completely disrespectful to the artist community"; and "so tired of these celebrities buying their kids into everything..."
I understand that the great number of followers of Brooklyn Beckham was tempting and I know that it might to powerful today more than ever, however, this only proves to the rest of the world that THE NUMBER OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS IS WHAT MATTERS THE MOST! But this is not true!!!
These are the exact words of Katie Hope:
"...this is the new reality: the choice of Brooklyn as photographer was less about how well-connected famous people can get their kids into competitive profession than a reflection of just how much social media has shaken up the fashion industry.
It's now the number of followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter, rather than your experience necessarily, that can secure you a top job."
Often times, REALITY is not JUSTIFIABLE. Do I believe that social media should determine where we stand? Of course, not. Such medium COULD be used in the right form, but if it isn't, then definitely NOT.
Social Media has taken us to a place that we all should never have reached. Nowadays, the Internet determines where we stand in the society, the Internet determines how much money we earn, and the Internet determines WHO WE ARE!!
I am not saying that Brooklyn Beckham is not capable of shooting a successful advertisement campaign, because according to Christopher Bailey, the CEO of Burberry, "Brooklyn has a really great eye for image." But what I am saying is, while teachers and parents are teaching their children that social media is not the answer for their lives, the WORLD is teaching them the exact opposite: GET MORE FOLLOWERS, WE WILL HIRE YOU.
Not to a surprise, Brooklyn's campaign was successful. This way of advertising worked for Burberry. While Brooklyn was working on this campaign in February and March, over 15 million reactions were evident both on Brooklyn's Instagram and Snapchat...URGGGGGG (......SIGH...)
Although we cannot change how our society functions, we CAN change our viewpoint and how we define the RIGHT ads from WRONG ads. We should always understand and keep in mind of the fact that social media is in fact powerful. But should it define popularity and one's income?
I DO NOT BELIEVE SO.
Ever since advertisement was used by companies, clothing sponsorship to celebrities were one of the most effective ways to popularize their brands. As we moved into the 21st century, social media became the new TREND. And today, TRENDY brands favour TRENDY techniques to advertise their products; through social media.
This BBC article by Katie Hope states that recently, one of the most high-level clothing brands, Burberry, notified its fans that Brooklyn Beckham would be photographing Burberry's fragrance advertisement campaign. Despite all the insults Burberry got after this announcement, the main reason behind this act was Brooklyn Beckham's 5.9 million Instagram followers.
Brooklyn Beckham is a son of David and Victoria Beckham. Although very young (16 years old), he has nearly 6 million followers on Instagram. In the eyes of Burberry's marketing team, this great number of followers meant more power and more attention.
However, in the eyes of professional photographers, the decision to hire inexperienced 16-year-old teenager mocks their skills and past training... I agree...and I wonder whether Burberry had any respect for their previous Burberry photographers..
As stated in the article, these professional photographers reacted to this announcement by saying things like "insulting to every artist out there"; "completely disrespectful to the artist community"; and "so tired of these celebrities buying their kids into everything..."
I understand that the great number of followers of Brooklyn Beckham was tempting and I know that it might to powerful today more than ever, however, this only proves to the rest of the world that THE NUMBER OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS IS WHAT MATTERS THE MOST! But this is not true!!!
These are the exact words of Katie Hope:
"...this is the new reality: the choice of Brooklyn as photographer was less about how well-connected famous people can get their kids into competitive profession than a reflection of just how much social media has shaken up the fashion industry.
It's now the number of followers on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter, rather than your experience necessarily, that can secure you a top job."
Often times, REALITY is not JUSTIFIABLE. Do I believe that social media should determine where we stand? Of course, not. Such medium COULD be used in the right form, but if it isn't, then definitely NOT.
Social Media has taken us to a place that we all should never have reached. Nowadays, the Internet determines where we stand in the society, the Internet determines how much money we earn, and the Internet determines WHO WE ARE!!
I am not saying that Brooklyn Beckham is not capable of shooting a successful advertisement campaign, because according to Christopher Bailey, the CEO of Burberry, "Brooklyn has a really great eye for image." But what I am saying is, while teachers and parents are teaching their children that social media is not the answer for their lives, the WORLD is teaching them the exact opposite: GET MORE FOLLOWERS, WE WILL HIRE YOU.
Not to a surprise, Brooklyn's campaign was successful. This way of advertising worked for Burberry. While Brooklyn was working on this campaign in February and March, over 15 million reactions were evident both on Brooklyn's Instagram and Snapchat...URGGGGGG (......SIGH...)
Although we cannot change how our society functions, we CAN change our viewpoint and how we define the RIGHT ads from WRONG ads. We should always understand and keep in mind of the fact that social media is in fact powerful. But should it define popularity and one's income?
I DO NOT BELIEVE SO.
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