Break the Internet:
in pursuit of influence
Overview
Traditional media is over. The internet reigns. And in the attention economy, influencers are royalty. But who are they … and how do you become one?
Break the Internet takes a deep dive into the influencer industry, tracing its evolution from blogging and legacy social media such as Tumblr to today’s world in which YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok dominate. Surveying the new media landscape that the rise of online celebrity has created, it is an insider account of a trend which is set to dominate our future — experts estimate that the economy of influence will be valued at $24bn globally by 2025.
Olivia Yallop enrols in an influencer bootcamp, goes undercover at a fan meetup, and shadows online vloggers, Instagrammers, and content creators to understand how online personas are built, uncovering what it is really like to live a branded life and trade in a ‘social stock market’. From mumfluencers and activists to governments and investors, everyone wants to build their online influence. But how do you stay authentic in a system designed to commodify identity? Break the Internet examines both the dangers and the transformative potential of online culture.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Rights held
- Paperback
- 198mm x 129mm
- 288 pages
- 9781912854172
- GBP£9.99
- 12 May 2022
- WORLD ENGLISH + EX. EU
Awards
- Shortlisted for the 2022 Business Book Award in the Smart Thinking category
Praise
‘This is a book that looks deeply at the commodification of the self, and the increasingly blurred line between leisure and labour … Behind our small screens is an unimaginable vastness, which Break the Internet manages to shape into something understandable, even to the influencer-ignorant such as me … wryly funny.’
‘It is refreshing to read a book that eschews the usual sneering anti-influencer condescension. Break the Internet is devoid of snobbery, placing the emergence of influencers within a wider economic context … persuasive and well-written.’
About the Author
Olivia Yallop was a digital strategist and commentator on technology and pop culture, whose book on the rise of the influencer, Break the Internet, was critically acclaimed when it was published in 2021.
