Hi everyone,
Lots of content this week.
Let’s dive in!
This week on the internet…
Emily Ann Gemma’s Instagram drama shows how scary it can be to build a business on social media
Emily Ann Gemma, an influencer and blogger with nearly 1 million followers, has been locked out of her Instagram account since it got hacked last week.
She has been posting on her blog in the interim, where she explained what went down:
“At 9:08AM [while I was using the app] I was essentially kicked out of my account & within minutes they removed the full page & handle…So far, I notice a trend in the emails asking if I will come back but that is something I am unable to answer right now – I actually don’t have any control if I’m being super clear.”
Emily is basically living a creator’s worst nightmare: she has no access to her business on Instagram and can’t fulfill any of her professional obligations on the platform. The fact that, despite working with Instagram, she hasn’t been able to get her account back by now has to also be causing a lot of stress. I am sure she had brand deals tied to Instagram that she has been unable to fulfill this week.
This kind of scenario is just one of the reasons influencers have been telling me recently they have been seeking to diversify their revenue streams and not rely solely or mainly on Instagram brand deals to make money (IG didn’t return a request for comment about this when I asked them for the linked story).
I have never seen an influencer as big as Emily get taken down for so long. She has been posting to other platforms like LTK and Facebook to try and make up for the loss of her gram.
Yes, Facebook! Desperate times, people!
News in the debate about influencer kids
A high school student is leading a new charge to put into place some legal protections for kids of vloggers.
As Geekwire reported:
What happens when a family’s video blog or “vlog” morphs into something else? What if it becomes a money-making endeavor, with parents hungry for clicks. What if the kids become the unwilling, non-consenting, unpaid stars of the show? Chris McCarty is a Seattle high school senior spearheading efforts to protect and compensate kids who are featured in revenue-generating family video blogs, or “vlogs.” (Photo courtesy of McCarty)
“People are starting to talk more and more about privacy, but they haven’t talked about for-profit family vlogs yet,” said Chris McCarty, a high school senior in Seattle.
So McCarty is spearheading an effort to educate people about the issue with a website, an Instagram account, and by calling for new laws. At McCarty’s prompting, Washington lawmakers recently proposed House Bill 2032, which states: “Some children are filmed, with highly personal details of their lives shared on the internet for compensation, from birth. In addition to severe loss of privacy, these children receive no consideration for the use and exchange of their personal property rights.”
I have been saying for years that a great reckoning is coming for child internet stars, who currently have no legal protections. I'm not surprised the next generation is taking this up as a cause, after all, they have seen the effects first hand.
The great Vanity Planet takeover?
I got tagged in a post this week from a follower who asked me why a company called Vanity Planet was taking over her Instagram feed. “They seem to have an endless influencer marketing budget,” she said.
I decided to ask my IG followers if they were also being inundated with Vanity Planet ads, and 65% of you said yes! The company sells some interesting products, like a facial steamer ($85) and anti-aging red LED eye glasses ($95).
So, is Vanity Planet the new Tula? I have to admit, I am curious about the eye glasses. So far, the steamer has gotten decent reviews from people who have DM’ed me to say they were influenced.
So, are you being influenced?
One more thing…
One follower told me that she had been influenced to buy from Vanity Planet during the pandemic, and ended up barely using it. She said she wondered what other weird, random, or funny products people bought due to pandemic boredom.
I thought I’d open it up to you guys. What is your funniest pandemic purchase you were influenced to buy?
Mine was probably these fake nose ring hoops that I was convinced would make me look chic and cool like Amanda from “Summer House.” I wore one for two seconds and my husband immediately laughed at me. He was right, I didn’t really pull it off, lol!
Leave yours in the comments below!
Stephanie
Side Chat 2/17/22
I def have been inundated with vanity planet for years from Aussie wellness influencers. I actually bought one of their face scrubbers and never use it lol.
I also got fake nose rings during the pandemic.
pandemic purchases were abundant here! a purple wig & usb disco light were my early buys for making zooms more fun.