Portfolio Assignment #6

From Sarah Banet Weiser’s (2012) reading, I learned that “what is understood (and experienced) as authentic is considered such precisely because it is perceived as not commercial” (p. 10). I never realized that what determines authenticity is a lack of commerce. Weiser’s reading relates to my own experience because it is difficult for me to think of any popular message that I have viewed through media that did not involve commerce in some way. Furthermore, I had no idea how much money influencers can make from sponsored posts before reading Jarry Lee’s (2018) article. This can be connected to Weiser’s (2012) article because I think that inauthenticity develops on Instagram once one starts to make money from it. When reading Lee’s article, it reminded me of some of the work that I have done as a public relations intern. I often had to look up influencers on Instagram that my company could potentially pitch our clients to. That experience alone made it clear to me how often influencers are used for promoting in the modern day.

Furthermore, in my opinion, the following quote from Mary Gui shows great inauthenticity: “‘If someone comments on my picture in those first 10 minutes, I make sure to reply and comment on one of their pictures in return.’” She is not commenting on their pictures because she is authentically interested in them. Finally, while watching FYRE, I learned how powerful influencers have become because they were able to successfully promote a scam to their followers. They should have been more aware about what they were promoting. This is an example of inauthenticity because it seems like the influencers were more concerned with making money than being well-informed about what they were promoting.