when did she begin her youtube career?
2009
how many subscribers does she have? how many insta followers does she have?
1.1 million
9.2 million
what is the name of her partner? how many kids do they have?
Alfie Deyes
2 kids
what is the name of her second youtube channel?
MoreZoella
what is her youtube and instagram content about?
She started off primarily focusing on makeup and hair products (using, demonstrating and reviewing)
But has become more generic lifestyle vlogging now, focusing on fashion, food and family eg her videos feature her doing a lot of relatable activities such as cooking, cleaning, going out with friends
Very overtly feminine based topics - associate with young women and the societal idea of looking good
Her content is all very family friendly - no swearing, no sexually suggestive content, no controversial topics - all about appealing to the widest possible audience and avoiding being demonetised
what is the name of her merch brand? when did she create it? who with?
Sugg Life
2016
Brother Joe
what is her website? tell me about it
www.zoella.co.uk
- easy to navigate
- feminine, pastel
- rage of topics to appeal to wide audience; style, beauty, lifestyle, recipes, books, sex and health
- section called shop zoella
how is she associated with charities?
She is an ambassador for MIND
She was part of 2014 Band Aid
She was on 2014 comic relief Bake Off
what is a ‘prosumer’
An individual who both consumes and produces media content. They actively participate in the creation, distribution, and discussion of media.
Creating content by commenting on existing content
what are some problems with online participatory media?
Aspirational narratives - gives audiences false hope due to their unobtainable lifestyles - mental health concerns
High energy lifestyles arent realistic
Virtue signalling - not necessarily real (false personas)
No regulation - there is no regulatory body for social media content so anyone can do or say anything, lack of safeguarding - millions can see traumatising content before it gets taken down
what is meant by virtue signalling?
when people post content to suggest how good they are and that they have a strong moral compass
how does livingstone and lunts regulation theory relate to the product
There is no regulatory body for social media content so anyone can do or say anything - most social media pages ‘self regulate’ by having their own rules (they rely on users or algorithms to check content)
However it is impossible to regulate everything that breaches guidelines due to the sheer amount that is uploaded to social media everyday, meaning that content that breaches regulations is often seen by millions before it is reported and removed
Plus it is virtually impossible to permanently remove something once it’s been posted
Self regulation through parental controls - zoella comes across as family friendly
Self regulation of her own content - no political leanings, no strong themes, no sexualisation
how does butlers gender performativity theory relate to the product
zoella constructs a stereotypical female identity - influences and manipulates her young audience to follow these hegemonic stereotypes
Her content often presents reasonably traditional ideas of masculinity as well as- showing men eg Alfie going to the gym, playing football, drinking beer
However we also see the men ‘performing’ activities that are typically female eg face masks, sleepovers etc - perhaps reflects the growing social culture where gender is more than just old fashioned binary stereotypes
how does gauntletts identity theory relate to the product?
Young audiences may use her videos to construct their own identities
Audiences may take inspo from zoe and alfies perfect relationship
how does gilroys post colonialism theory relate to the product
by presenting only white ideals of beauty in her videos, zoella is effectively symbolically annihilating representation of black and ethnic minority voices
how does curran and seatons theory relate to the product?
she uses algorithmically appropraite and effective titles in her videos in order to maximise advertising revenue and attract larger audiences
Her work about mental health and anxiety shows that perhaps some of her content is about more than making profit, it’s about raising awareness for mental health
how does hesmodnhalghs cultural industries theory relate to the product?
She has branched off into another YouTube channel called MoreZoella which is the behind the scenes stuff (making use of popular formats to make more money)
She started her own company called A to Z Creatives, where she has a whole team of people whose job it is to work as agents for successful vloggers
Zoellas manager works there and her job is to deal with brand partnerships and deals that she’s going to get involved in
Vloggers have to diversify - by having other aspects of revenue, you reduce risk and increase profits eg zoella focuses on promoting her merchandise in her posts, and she also turned to publishing with a book she ‘wrote’ called girl online
how does gerbners cultivation theory relate?
her stereotypical ‘feminine’ content (makeup, fashion etc) reinforces certain hegemonic standards of female beauty and the idea that in order to be successful, a woman has to look nice
hoes does jenkins fandom theory relate
range of zoella fan videos exist, allowing audiences the opportunity to express their love for their idol
Zoella regularly attends fan conventions eg VidCon - fans pay to attend to meet vloggers and get autographs etc
how does shirkys end of audience relate to the product
audiences can interact with her media products - comments on her youtube and insta, links on her website, links on her insta where you can find her books, apps and youtube
how does baudrillards postmodernism theory relate?
she has constructed her own hyperreality of her perfect life
Bricolage - a lot of her content is shared across multiple channels (hers, Alfie’s, Joe’s etc) so they borrow eachothers content and ideas, and they often have a variety of near identical videos, photos and posts across their channels
She shows us that she is aware of the camera and audience, sometimes showing the camera and breaking the 4th wall - self awareness is a feature of postmodern products
Showing us imperfections eg no makeup, messy house, crying, add to the representation of ‘reality’ and makes it feel like we are seeing the ‘real’ her even tough it is likely still heavily constructed
What are the conventions of vlogs?
Single camera set up, close ups, direct address - this makes it hard for the editing to be ‘invisible’ as in many other media products
Sometimes they use jump cuts which are obvious cuts made into one shot where something has been taken out - uncommon in other media bc it draws attention to the fact that it’s been edited (however some vloggers leave the mistakes in to make them seem more ‘real’ or relatable)
Lights behind the camera - lights are easily available and cheap online so vloggers use them to put the focus on them and make the shots look more professional
Handheld camera/phone shots to add a feeling of realism and naturality - also creates an ‘amateur’ atmosphere but audiences like that bc they feel they are getting the real zoella
Encouragement of audience interaction eg asking questions, tell them to subscribe and comment etc - makes audiences feel engaged (can leave comments on her website and social medias)
They will often leave in long pauses or silences which add to the idea that she is reacting naturally to the world around her - makes her less professional and more relatable
Use of a range of inform words, colloquialisms, slang and direct address that appeal to young audiences
Informal mode of address combined with her sometimes silly behaviour and sense of humour also appeals to a young audience - makes them feel like they have a personal relationship with her (called parasocial interactions which is where the audience feels they are actually friends with her)
Collaborations with other vloggers/celebrities - tag eachother, appear on both channels which will bring in a wider audience
Give examples of intertextuality on her channel
She refers to other media products in her posts eg singers, films, brands, celebs, makeup - adds to her representation as someone who is current, popular and fashionable - engages fans of those products
She collaborates with other social media influencers/vloggers eg Alfie Deyes - creates an impression of popularity and success
How does Todorovs narratology theory relate?
There is not a clear Todorovian narrative structure to most videos, instead they often just show glimpses of random major events - the editing is quite fragmented, showing a montage of shots from different activities
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theorists22
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media terms17
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Semiotics8
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I, Daniel Blake23
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Black Panther20
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Tide11
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Kiss of the vampire15
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newspapers22
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the daily mirror26
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the times23
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Super. Human.15
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Riptide16
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formation16
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women's hour12
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Assassins Creed Liberation25
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The Bridge21
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Peaky blinders21
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Attitude21
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Zoella30
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The Big Issue20
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Vogue22
