Feeding the Feed
I used to think that the only people who could become famous were celebrities; those that appear in movies, those who sang on stages. However, the personalities of today’s fame scene prove my old self wrong. Today, we’re dominated by Internet Celebrities, people who turn on a camera and climb their way to fame from the other side of the screen in the comforts of their homes.
Turns out, it isn’t as easy as that.
Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of interviewing Gabby Maniego, a Public Relations Manager of today’s hottest bars and clubs, and partner of some of the biggest names in the blogger and social media influencer industry such as David Guison, Richard Juan, Kim Cruz, Cha Ocampo, Dani Baretto, and Luis Hontiveros, among many others.
Being exposed to the power crowds on a daily basis, Gabby’s memorized how this life works and he was kind enough to let me in on the works behind all the shiny and perfect images that these influencers put out there. It is these depictions of a few seconds of their lives that thrive their success and get their followers coming back for seconds — for forever.
“Alam mo yung totoo, pag nagkakaroon sila ng mga sponsors at pinapapicture sila ng hindi nababagay sa aesthetic ng feed nila, totoong iniiyakan nila yan!”
He shared the struggle of maintaining the integrity and credibility of the content you post, staying true to your individuality, all while accepting all these offers from sponsors and clients. “O sige, nasira nga aesthetic ng feed mo, pero kasi naman, paano mo naman matatanggihan yung 50k? They feed their feed.”
That Wednesday, he was arranged a relaunch party for the bar Tipple and Slaw. Aside from inviting all the top bloggers, he manages the social media accounts for all these bars, getting these influencers to post a picture or two of them in launch parties and Happy Hours. These are what his projects are usually like. He was kind enough to invite us to the launching of Tipple and Slaw to observe the crowd; their language, their social abilities. “You can even observe the amount of shots they can take.”, he jokes. No, the party at the end of the day is not the highlight, he says. Contrarily, Gabby thinks it’s being able to take a break from all the noise. He says it’s being able to go on his own social media accounts that are not affiliated with the companies or the people he promotes. “Me time”, “social MEdia”, he calls it.
Gabby says it’s pretty hard to put a label on the work that he does since he believes that his job shouldn’t be put into a box and limited to the stereotypes of snooty internet celebrities or just a party “PR” guy. He says that there’s “so much reflection involving the self and of human nature” that makes the job so complex. You really have to understand your person to understand your branding and at the same time understand other people to understand the social aspect of it all.
He says he grew as much as technology grew (that’s a lot!). In this digital age, there’s so much more behind the perfection of your feed as long as you scratch the surface.
“There was a time I found myself feeding on my feed. Hindi na siya reflection ng sarili ko kundi ang buhay na sana mayroon ako — repleksyon ng perang nakukuha ko. At nakakapagod yung buhay na ganun, kaya kailangan ikaw gagawa ng sarili mong depth sa work mo, para alam mo na mayroon talagang meaning at substance, hindi yung puro post-post lang o pasikat-sikat lang.”
The launch for Tipple and Slaw was a success. The best of that the Filipino Bloggers had to offer came to the event, ate free food, enjoyed the free flowing drinks, sang to their snapchats and posted on their feeds the time of their life that they were having.
But something about that night was different for me when I left the party.
Those who came that night were no longer just influencers on the other side of the screen.
And Gabby Maniego is no longer just a guy who tweets for bars and promotes the internet celebrities.
They are all so human.
Check out the bars that Gabby is an ambassador of:
