I love to travel - been to some 114 countries and counting.
I even have my own app - a Travel forum, and it's free - which exchanges information including my postings.
I had never heard of such a thing - just as well.
They indeed do come across as modern day beggars.
This is especially true of westerners - and mainly backpackers - in Asia or Africa - collectively a Third World.
Heck, I have noticed some who will come inside an air conditioned restaurant just to cool off and even doze off - after ordering a coke to be split.
Just the opposite happened last November in Punta Arenas where temps were still low. A couple of backpackers came in to warm up, ordered a tea to be split and literally dozed off. Luckily, the waiter shooed them away.
A brazen highway robbery, if you ask me.
Good for these folks to simply cut these beggars off.
165
I have a suggestion for Mr. Casaccia. When an "influencer (what a revolting neologism)" tries to cadge a free stay, ask them to pay, and tell him/her that when the first five (or whatever number he considers appropriate) paying guests mention the influencer's name, he'll send a full refund.
Sounds like a reasonable exchange to me.
268
As a hotel General Manager in NYC, at the helm of multiple boutique hotels, I used to receive these requests regularly. Request to “collaborate”, free room, f&b credit and in some cases, flights from international destinations with their “photographer” aka boyfriend, in exchange for a couple of insta posts. Often it was very obvious that they’d just sent the inquiry to multiple hotels and had forgotten to change the name under the addressee. I would often use these emails as an opportunity to type out a response, pouring all of the vitriol and anger I’d accumulated over the course of a long day commuting, working, wearing multiple hats, answering to various constituencies, solving problems, often shaking my head at the various challenges (read: stupid people) I’d met and dealt with throughout. These influencers were by far the stupidest. I’d sit on the email and, having gotten it all out, and eventually, delete it. Very therapeutic. These children infuriated me. Their profiles all read the same: “I enjoy travel, hanging with friends and good food”. That’s called a vacation. What the real world earns for doing a thing called WORK.
428
And, how many influencers hint at their ability to post negative photos/comments to encourage "collaboration"?
52
Like any advertising, this is about picking the right place to do it. Mr. Casaccia has decided that 500,000 followers is the right place and less than that isn't. It's not that different from picking the Golf channel over ESPN.
29
It's one thing to try and get freebies out of an expensive resort. But a small mom-and-pop business? The loss of money has a much more direct impact on their workers and the community. Can't you guys just pay an independent establishment? $23 dollars for a basic room, c'mon guys. How much did that drone cost?
In the end overexposure will just ruin a place with the same entitled influencers crawling over each other trying to get the same selfie that's long ceased to be unique or original.
120
I am admittedly an oldfart; the first I happily ever heard of this phenom was in the movies about the Frye fest. Then came the college entrance scam and the celebrity child from USC, as an example of someone becoming easily and quickly rich (and lazy) from selling her image for a dollar. Amazing! I guess it makes some sense in terms of everyone chasing advertising and advertising chasing everyone; but, isn't it sad? We traditionally depend on young people to be the new hope, to sacrifice themselves to a greater good, to fight the power, while they are young. This seems like folding to the power of the lowest common denominator of capitalist retail.
105
So influencers "curate" photos of resorts? They don't just post them like everyone else?
78
The "influencer" paradigm is vapid parasitic narcissism. Basically, we are talking about people who don;t want to work and expect their lives to be fueled by other people's projections.
177
I am only a sporadic instagramer and it primarily happens when I travel. I am also a designer and an artist and feel confident that the images I post are on par with what carries weight as “content” these days. I don’t have a lot of followers, but have always thought of my posts as simple, honest expressions of the moment - obviously, that honesty is tempered by the notion that people will see the post.
I’ve never thought of my posts as literal currency. I enjoy bringing attention to a place or experience that deserves it. Some of the few that follow me asked for advice from my posts during my recent trip to Japan. It felt good to have that interest and be able to pass on some knowledge so others can enjoy their trips a bit more than they might have.
Generally speaking though, the camera is almost always pointed away from my face, so my eye can see what I’m taking a picture of.
38
Instagram influencers are big in developing countries like India who tend to copy any phenomenon that they believe is popular in the US. However, the impact on businesses not ceding to their requests is not as benign as here and this is an aspect that Instagram needs to guard against similar to how Facebook needs to guard against the deluge of fake news on it's platform in India.
26
They can call themselves "influencers," but that is an Orwellian neologism for "paid promotors," and the FCC requires them "clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationships to brands" if there is a "material connection."
Next time you look at an enticing Instagram picture remember that the "influencer" probably got something for free and may or may not actually like the product.
92
@Sophocles Right, and the fact that someone identifies as an "influencer" is reason to discount their comments as biased.
63
@Sophocles https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/04/ftc-staff-reminds-influencers-brands-clearly-disclose
A lot of "influencers" on IG seem to forget this...
27
These "influencers" are exactly the people I do not want in my hotel.
196
Make them check their phones at the door and PAY.
Word of mouth instead of mouthy influencers/freeloaders.
40
Wannabe Kardashians.
I forget which episode of Star Trek, though.
45
My husband co-owns a small hotel in Santa Rosa which gets influencer requests for freebies every week. What's funny--or offensive if I'm not in the right mood---is that they all use the word "collaborate"--they'd like to "collaborate" with us---by which they mean exchange a free room for a social media exposure. To use that word---and again, they all seem to do it---is an insult to all of the artists and laborers and artisans and staffers and investors who really did collaborate (and sacrifice and take on significant challenges/risk/anxiety) to design and build and run the place.
253
@Lizzie Simon, they probably picked up that term in some “how be be an influencer” blog post or video. It’s kind of funny if you think about it. Someone who has made it as an influencer gives instructions to the masses about how to do the same, and thereby poisons his or her own well.
74
Reading is article as an avid traveler and Marketing student. I am shocked by the negatively feeling many of the commenters and those quoted in the article have about influencers. The way we consume media is changing, and so are the sources we trust to give us information. Social media influencers become a fixture in the everyday lives of consumer, and often gain the credibility to promote ideas, products etc to their following. It seems a little behind the time to hate on them,as many in this article are. Especially when you see the reach popular influencers have (Look at the brand of social media influencers like the Bucket List Family).
3
@Anika
I am a consumer.
Not a single social media ‘influencer’ exists in things/people that influence me.
I am not alone.
May I suggest that ‘social media influencers’ exist in the ‘social media bubble’, and being so immersed, may not realise that it’s not universal.
264
@Anika your point would be valid if the owners hadn't gone out of their way to emphasize they have no problem with influencers or promoters, they have a problem with freeloaders posing as the former.
70
@Anika Maybe then you can educate and tell us what level influencer deserves how much free stuff. Like, if you have 100 followers on which platform, or 1,000,000, what level of free stuff you're entitled to? Because they do not all carry the same brand opportunity.
I think the point of a lot of the comments is that seems everybody considers themselves an influencer of import and seems to feel entitled something for free.
That attitude shows little respect for fact that proprietors and their staff are in business to make money and pay the rent and if they give it all away for free to every/any body who asks they can't pay the bills. Many are surely clever enough to connect to a chosen influencer they think will boost their brand and don't need to be constantly solicited by strangers looking for handouts.
114
You can always measure a person's character by how cheap they are.
210
It's always hard to take a God's-eye view of a phenomenon when we're in the midst of it, but I think Frye Festival was the beginning of the slow decline of the Instagram influencer fad. Mr. Casaccia's stance is the first of many to come which will totally ban influencers freeloading on goods and services.
78
That's just lack of tact and decency. I would have loved to respond on his behalf with a famous line from Seinfeld, "you want free room and free food?" NO SOUP FOR YOU!!
48
Having recently seen the Netflix Fyre documentary, I'm not sure I'd want to be influenced by influencers.
59
It is possible to buy "Followers", so how do these owners know they are getting "exposure"?
51
@moodbeast, I believe one could program a bot to do so.
18
I figure I should get a free subscription for commenting here.
234
@Technic Ally, it’s the “unique clicks” that count, not repeats. But we should all earn points by sharing articles, right? Oops...there’s that paywall problem to consider. No freebies at the Times.
19
This like, charlatan, narcissistic like, new media generation need to like, go away, like, quick!
48
All of these "influencers" are all just self entitled lazy people pan handling via social media, much like these lazy kids do on the streets of New York City. I mean, honestly, the nerve of this Elle Darby child to say Universal Orlando benefited from her "collaboration" with them as if they need an "influencer" to promote themselves. What a joke! It's about time somebody put their foot down on these lazy good for nothing freeloaders. How about they influence others to do better for themselves and for the world by putting in the same hard work these establishments have done already without the use of these "influencers"?
46
I think the hotels may be courting the wrong clientele with their social media campaigns. Speaking as someone who loves staying at luxury beach resorts and who pays an outrageously large amount of her hard-earned cash to do so...it does not make me feel good to know that the young people (loudly) lounging in the neighboring beach chairs may have had their stay comped simply for blogging and Instagramming about the place. However, this practice might explain some of the odd things I’ve seen at my favorite hotels over the few couple years. I’ve stopped booking stays at a wonderful old hotel that I’d enjoyed for many years. The atmosphere has changed for the worse.
98
I applaud Mr. Casaccia. Essentially, these "influencers" (honestly how absurd!) are promising to lie to their "followers" (Sheesh!) for free goods. How we arrived at this place in time where people capitalize on someone's aspirational wish for wealth and glamour by posting pics of their purported "lifestyle" (very often a pretend one)-I wish I knew. Only so we could reverse course and find some honesty and ethics along the way.
Stop the madness!
89
How can I become an influencer? I have no talent and but surely I fit some profile out there. Should I extort a business by blogging?
29
An "influencer should tell their followers to mention their Instagram posts to a vendor
This way a vendor will have an idea what the influencer is worth
5
all part of the narcissistic dynamic that is social media. good for these inn keepers - real coin is what makes business work - not "influence" by freeloaders.
61
Andy Warhol didn't so much predict the "five minutes of fame" due everyone, as create it. Now everyone wants to grab their supposed share of celebrity for ego gratification and personal advantage. It has to stop. Celebrity is earned by achievements, talents and gifts. Shopping is not one of those. Every minute of public time, space, energy, media that is taken up by such people deprives those who are truly deserving, not to mention good people whose humility and modesty and lack of egocentrism keeps them from gabbing and grabbing. The airways must be cleared. No more "reality" shows. Youtube programming needs to be ignored. The lack of editorial controls is appalling. While classical music and other arts free-fall in decline, the one art suffering the most may actually turn out to be Comedy, as no one bothers to learn any of its timeworn classic techniques, methods, rules and esthetics. Blame can be put on Second City and its imitators, their success has been too broad and destructive. Comedy writing has to be taught. Comedy skills, not improv, not personality-based humor, and gimmicks. I saw one such person, actually on a Joan Rivers interview, who was amusing in person, to a degree, but when I looked at one of her youtube videos on which her "fame" is based, it was execrably amateur, and completely lacking in comedy skills. It is frightening.
7
@Grittenhouse
This is quite off topic, but Grittenhouse you might educate yourself and read a wonderful book by Sam Wasson called "Improv Nation."
Despite your personal opinions, Wasson's book reduces your argument about comedy in America to tatters. And it is beautifully well-written, too.
The writer/performers who worked at, or were inspired by Second City, created a revolution in American comedy that has had a tremendous impact on entertainment for over 60 years and counting.
Broad and self-destructive? Hardly.
17
To me a 'Real Influencer' is one who pays cash, and then the next season brings friends, who also pay cash. THAT is influential, posting pics is not.
The people here are running a low expense place to begin with, and these people who have managed to travel there and have the money to buy an I-Phone and webtime so why should they be trying to hammer down an already low price to nothing, in exchange for essentially nothing.
This is why the wealthy make such a bad name for themselves, and the Wannabe Wealthy act even worse.
If you really like a place, pay full amount PLUS a tip, then tell and bring friends: they are there to do Business, and already have their own forms of advertising. Don't try to steal that from them in exchange for merely saying what a great time you had, of Course you had a great time if it was free.
The people depend on money to be able eat and live for themselves, and kind words and pictures do not buy a meal for them, why should it for you? Perhaps they put a pic of you on the wall and call it even?
Then you can pay cash like the rest of the world does.
123
The job of a travel reviewer involves providing unbiased advice and insight on a place. This usually involves paying for your meal or stay like any other guest and then hoping that you could sell enough travel guides to recoup the costs.
Tripadvisor, travel blogs and Instagram have short-circuited a lot of the need for these guides, while giving those that can cultivate an audience a new advertising platform. Ad-content, whether from an influencer or a marketing agency, is bought and should be recognized for what it is.
As in most parts of our lives, it's important to know the difference between editorial and advertising content, if you actually want to get what you paid for.
45
Barely young enough to be considered "millennial", I find the idea of "influencers" laughable.
Just because you are young and care free doesn't make you and your experiences special or influential. It just means you are young and care free. We were all there once, and then we got jobs and moved on. Why would I follow someone online just because they happen to be of a certain age/position in life?
66
The word influencer makes me cringe..
106
@Cindy, Just think of the poor souls who identify as influencees of these narcissists.
45
Eeeewww. We cancel plans to go to places that become fashionable on Instagram. Instagram trashed blooming deserts in CA this year. IG is actually useful so you know what to avoid.
92
“If you know that you have something to offer on the table, it’s never a bad thing to try,” she wrote. Yes, it most certainly is bad. Some people have egos that exceed their sense of common decency and good manners. I'll bet their parents had to bribe someone to get them into college.
121
My booking preference is always with the proprietor who loudly and clearly rejects “influencers.” For the dubious benefit of gaining followers, these joints lose actual customers who don’t want an “influencer” atmosphere.
52
What a great idea. I will try this at my local grocer.
38
Influencers seem to be grifters and people who follow influencers seem to have empty lives that they try to fill by watching someone else have a life. The millions of people who follow influencers should try getting out of the house more often.
52
It's another behavior of the "Tech/Geek Generation". Those people who came of age without the ability of getting through a day with a screen in front of them.
And then concluding that the world is what they see on that screen.
It started with Napster, which to it's founders, didn't think their company was based on theft - it wasn't on their screens. Then along came the real world in the form of a lawsuit.
Just like Mr. Casaccia is the real world.
Keep focusing on your screens, folks - there must be an app somewhere.
15
kinda reminds me of an episode on South Park called "You're not yelping", where these self proclaimed people called themselves Yelp reviewers. These yelp reviewers would ask for free food in exchange for a 5 star rate. Then one day this restaurant owner decided he had enough and kicked out all of the yelp reviewers. His restaurant soon became popular, and the rest of the restaurant owners in town followed suit and banned the yelp reviewers.
41
The number of followers is completely irrelevant to how much influence an influencer actually has. The real number can easily be determined by looking at a few (or several) posts and seeing how many "likes" there are. Amazing people haven't realized this and still only look at followers.
7
Recently we were researching whether Influencer Marketing was a way to go for our furniture brand. We reached out to a couple and were directed to their talent agency for discussions. Said talent agency quoted $4,000 for ONE photo post to their 230,000 followers. After discussing internally we decided not to proceed, why? - On further investigation of the metrics of the persons account, only 8% of their audience were "engaged", meaning they had liked/loved a photo, therefore it was going to cost us $0.21c per person who interacted with a photo about our business. Alternatively, we can put that $4,000 into Facebook advertising and generate approximately $20,000 in revenue (based on historical conversion data). So go figure, what makes more sense for us to do? The problem here is that big brands are fueling these Influencers because they have the budget and heck, the person booking the placements doesn't care, it's not their money!
61
I don't care how many followers an Instagram "influencer" has, the odds that their posts result in cold, hard cash for the vendor are low. Maybe it is different for something like a dress, or a necklace, worn by a well known celebrity, that consumers can reasonably afford to buy in stores. Exotic vacations are quite a different deal.
51
@Steve Acho Good point. The vast majority of "likes" are people who look at this as vicarious fabulousness, who are wishing they could do this.
21
@HKGuy I was getting nauseous as I read about Influencers thru these posts until I got to "vicarious fabulousness". Now I'm happy! Thanks!
33
Simple. Tell an influencer that they can stay for free, if they give a cash deposit which is the same value as the good or service being advertised. The influencer then posts about their stay / activity / item, and encourages their followers to purchase with a specific URL which can be tracked by the business. The business can then see the real impact of the influence and if they hit a certain number of preagreed sales, then the influencer gets their deposit back. The business can understand if the investment in influencer marketing was good value for money, and the influencer actually has to do some real graft or they stop getting things for free, and the actual marketing value of social media comes into focus.
162
Bravo to Mr. Casaccia. I'm a physician and have several dermatologist friends who have also been blindsided by supposed "influencers" who tried last-minute bartering tactics -- after receiving elective dermatologic treatments! -- to replace the payment with a social media post. Unreal.
167
Like all other forms of advertising, this one requires skeptical inquiry by the buyer. Caveat Emptor.
Personally, I wouldn't give an "influencer" a free shoe shine. I don't believe in the model.
64
Do people actually ever book a room based on an Instagram post? I suspect many of these "influencers" probably just like and follow one another's posts, creating a feedback loop: when one of these hacks posts a pic from Hotel X, the other hacks see it and conclude Hotel X is run by a chump who took the "influencer" bait and comped the room, so they then send Hotel X an unsolicited begging letter, or simply show up and expect the same treatment.
My suggestion is that hotels and restaurants institute a surcharge for these egomaniacs, who are frankly wasting their time with these deluded demands for special treatment.
66
Self-entitled narcissism by callow people.
One only needs read of the episode between the White Moose Cafe in Dublin, and self-described "influencer" Elle Darby. Her photos and youtube vids say it all.
Alas, the world overflows with young Kardashian WannaBe's who see $$ to be made off the gullibility of others.
I can only wonder what blisterings Mark Twain or H.L. Mencken could administer were either still alive.
123
@Barry C
I can see the Ashland in your vocab choice :)
1
Ahh no wonder they want to redistribute wealth. They don’t like to work. And no sitting on your phone posting all day isn’t work.
Get a job.
63
@Jay They wouldn't be doing it if it didn't get them free stuff. Say what you want, but if I can get something for free or at a discount, or even for an exchange of services, and both parties are fine with it, what's the harm?
Why are you against businesses deciding who to do business and what to charge people?
1
@Jay - EVERYBODY wants to redistribute wealth; Republicans want to siphon it all upward, Democrats want to distribute it downward. People not interested in wealth redistribution are like unicorns.
23
@Jason Lotito
When people post reviews, opinions, or endorsements, without revealing that they have been compensated it's inherently dishonest. When I pick up a magazine or visit a hotel's site I am fully aware that I am reading a paid endorsement. With so called
" influencers" it may be less obvious.
If you have received something in exchange for goods or services you are working for that entity. You're opinions are bought and paid for.
40
I'm surprised that nobody in the tech world has come up with a system for figuring out what the actual monetary value is of most of these "influencers." For example, if a hotel owner gives an influencer $2,000 worth of freebies, there seems to be no way to accurately measure, in monetary terms, what they're getting in return. Having a lot of followers, which you can also buy, means pretty much nothing these days. Until someone can figure out what the actual worth of these freeloading influencers is, then the scams will continue. When someone finally does figure this out, look for most of the "influencers" to fade away.
20
@Andy Marx
Many travels sites and such as their visitors how they heard about their business. Most business try to track the effect of the advertising dollars.
When I bought a car, the dealer requested that I post a comment about my positive experience with him and his dealership.
Every business seems to ask "how did you hear about us?" I might reply, web search, someone's blog, or my mom told me about you.
4
In Pulp Fiction, Samuel Jackson said he planned to walk the earth. It sounds like the 1990’s version of influencer. John Travolta called it out for what it really was: being a bum. These people are bums.
41
This strikes me as highly ironic when I compare it to the publishing and entertainment industries, where new talent is often asked to provide free content in exchange for influence. Performing in a public venue or writing an article available to the masses are enough to put food on the table, right? I find it hilarious that the very model used to exploit this generation has now been appropriated by them. I'm not saying they aren't freeloaders, but they're not stupid either. They learn from their elders.
35
@hart Perhaps it can give leverage to real talents, who can now say, what do you think I am, some amateur influencer?
1
@hart spot on. Unpaid internships and entry wages post degree are another avenue of exploitation that seems to be fine for the older generation to continue benefiting from.
16
I am capable of doing my own research. And I will never install 'Instagram' on my phone. Good for Mr. Casaccia.
38
At least with real advertising or marketing or even word of mouth marketing there are people taking pictures and writing articles and talking about the vacation places because they enjoy seeking these places out and offering a valued piece of content. With “influencers” it’s just narcissism. “Look at me at (enter location here)”. It’s for them. Not for anyone else.
28
I applaud the pushback but I find his receptiveness to "real" influences (those with half a million or more followers, by his definition) to undermine the principle of his stance.
23
@Greg Pick a real "influencer" with 500,000 plus followers can actually draw attention and generate more business for a small-business owner because they can reach more people, if the followers are genuine and not purchased or bots. Many people go on vacation to certain places simply because someone else went.
10
@Greg Pick I have similar feelings, but then again, that level of free advertising would certainly bring offers of free stays and concessions in the legit marketing realm.
@A black guy - So because you're popular on you should get stuff for free? And those of us who prefer not to debase ourselves with such nonsense can just pay full freight. OK.
12
It's amazing how loud the social marketing echo chamber has become. Influencers are living for the post and not for the experience. Streams of pics with no deep or genuine feeling behind it. Just bodies with smartphones, passing through places, instead of people interacting with other people and cultures.
If that's all travel means to someone, why not just stay at home and watch NatGeo? It's a lot cheaper and you get to avoid the hell that is known as air travel.
Maybe I should just change my IG feed to be pics of people traveling on my TV set...
40
Amen!
5
These solicitations are updated versions of junk mail.
One problem with this model is that it shifts costs from the sender to the recipient.
Junk mail at least requires the sender to have some marginal literacy, and to bear the cost and time of sending the messages - printing, postage, etc.
These messages, however, are forcing business owners to take valuable time to wade through it all, let they miss something valuable in their in-box.
Of course, it isn't just the pathetic wanna-be influencers who are doing this - add work-from-home purveyors of mailing lists, SEO tools, guaranteed ! Google rankings, and other snake oils.
We need better spam filters, because unless human nature changes - freeloading is eternal - this will only get worse. In the meantime, our online post about which guest blogs we accept, and under what circumstances, is consistently ignored. After all, a REAL influencer isn't going to let something as trite as a guideline get between them and a free vacation!!
40
Bravo! These self proclaimed "influencers" looking for a free ride also have a negative impact on those of us who are professionals trying to make a living.
63
Legends in their own minds, can't hurt to ask though right? You can't pay your rent or buy food with "likes" now can you.
17
Facebooks influencer days are numbered. When everyone becomes an influencer no one is.
Authentic, unadvertised, and unwritten-about places have the highest value in every sense of the word.
Free loaders offering insider info are just con artists looking to take advantage of someone. The grifters in the White House are their role models.
128
@BSmith I can't say "Facebook influencers" are our biggest threat... What we have to worry about on Facebook are international security threats. The real money is on Instagram.
8
@Rachel
Facebook owns Instagram, so ...
10
@BSmith There are no influencers on Facebook because the number of friends is relatively very limited.
2
It sounds like this chap should join forces with the owner of The White Moose Cafe in Dublin, Ireland, who has had some similar though more plainly put responses to 'influencers.'
18
@JamesO
The White Moose Cafe owner's response to the "influencer" pulls no punches. With a relative who works in Dublin in the hospitality industry, I say, "Bravo!"
17
I applaud the hotel's response to these selfish folks. Let's hope they don't retaliate with fake bad reviews of his business.
44
This sounds something like the social media version of the corporate “unpaid internship.” Or the car manufacturer that charges $5,000 for “vegan leather” seats slathered in good old vinyl. Or Trump University. Or one of the many other such schemes that seem to be proliferating these days.
52
"modern day beggars" is a good label.
No one with any self-respect would ask for freebies for social "influencing." I hope all hotel/resort owners push back on these freeloading scourges.
87
I wonder whom is the most ridiculous: the self proclaimed “influencer” or those who are supposedly influenced.
87
@Jeremie Now that's a tough decision.
8
How well did the "influencers" make the Fyre Festival work. A bunch of moochers with cell phones.
66
There is a lovely, lilting sweet reward that comes one's way when one arrives at a special place run by honourable people and one pays for the privilege of staying and/or dining there with actual currency.
It shows the host respect and appreciation. It makes you feel good you are helping to support the enterprise with something tangible that can pay for things such as electricity, staff, food and upkeep.
Alas, as a world traveler for my occupation as a writer, it strikes me that we have come upon an age where, instead of wanting to keep these journeys private, there are those who actually expect to receive free services in exchange for - what?
A few clicks of a smartphone camera and an upload to the Internet?
I have made lifelong friends at far-flung places by first arriving as a grateful, paying guest. I have returned to these places time and again as a welcomed partner in appreciation of a shared ethic.
Perhaps some of these 'influencers' should take a step back and give it a try.
219
The gig economy has led many to over-value their time/effort/social capital and we teach in high schools and universities that initiative taking is a good thing. However, perhaps we should also be teaching the value of modesty and the limits of the value of cheap content.
168
@Connie
Teaching grifting in high school?
That sounds like a terrible idea to me.
Is that what those kids parents were doing who paid $500,000 to get their supid spoiled brats into good universities and colleges?
The Facebook model is ultimately a Ponzi scheme. When will folks realize it and stop genuflecting to Mark and Priscilla?
It's true that Facebook has founded and provided some major financing for critical healthcare facilities in the Bay Area. But the public provided the majority of the money to build those facilities and gave naming rights to the Zuckerbergs.
The idea that you create value with followers is inherently a Ponzi scheme - it works for a while but ultimately everyone loses.
9
@BSmith social capital has, and will always have, value... however, I was suggesting that we teach the value of well researched and thoughtful content, not the value of social media followers.
22
Now maybe the cheapskates of the world can understand how real professional photographers feel when they are only offered exposure in a publication, or on a website, as the 'payment' for their work. News for the world, exposure doesn't buy groceries, cars, cover the mortgage or fix the plumbing.
316
@ws Indeed. This is what writers call "dying of exposure," i.e. being compensated with vague promises of "exposure" rather than with money.
62
@ws Supposedly, H.L. Mencken wrote, "People die of exposure."
21
@ws Entertainers also. I have a standard reply I cut and paste when people ask me to work for free.
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Are there ANY mature sentient adults who value the opinions of social media “influencers”? Unless this resort is catering to gullible 14 year old girls who somehow make their own international travel plans, I seriously doubt this business is missing out on much. I would wager that the vast majority of travelers go to travel booking websites for reviews.
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@Jim I completely agree. Even the term "influencer" makes me cringe.
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@Jim Do you take recommendations from a travel magazine? If so, what's the difference? Features in a magazine or newspaper used to influence people to go resorts. Now that those mediums are shrinking. Where are resorts going to get native advertising?
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@Jim There are a lot of people who would never have heard of a place like Siargao who may see a picture on social media and think they would like to visit. For many people of a wide range of ages, it’s no different than hearing about someplace in a newspaper column or magazine article. And just as in print media, there are sometimes hacks trying to take advantage.
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