One of the measures of success within the technology space is how much revenue is generated, but also a key indicator for “stickiness’” is how much time users spend on the platform.
Over the last few years, social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and the likes have figured out a way to commercialize the followers by asking users with many followers to promote brands using their page, in order to influence the follower’s buying decision.
Celebrities are not the only ones cashing in, a CGI model @ Lil Miquela with over 1M followers on Instagram was recently in the news, uncovered as a digital influencer. Such is the challenge with code generated imagery –the same can be said about the fake news phenomena, where web 2.0 resulted in everyone being a journalist, like the early print press era –CNN, CBS, CBC are no longer the single source of information, everyone with a recording device is now a journalist and code driven “bots” too.
To regulate or not to regulate?
Verstraete, Mark and Bambauer, Derek E. and Bambauer, Jane R. recommend a duplicity of approach to tackle the fake news phenomena, unlike the post printing press propaganda era, the challenges to curtailing fake news has to be multi-faceted.
They propose a combination of sanctions at the state level, using market-based solutions, regulation by code and lastly behavior modification through social norms. They conclude that of all four propositions, it will be difficult to implement state level sanction because of the first amendment. In 2017, the US Federal Trade Commission revised its endorsement guide to apply to social media. In a response to observation that bloggers/influencers were being paid to tout products and are paid by the entity.
The new guide stipulates that social media influencers engaged in a contractual nature with the brand should have disclosures on social media posts, videos, commentaries about the nature of relationship, regardless of the value received. In reading through the guide, it is probably the most exhaustive regulatory effort at effectively addressing endorsement, advertising and marketing within the context of new technology platforms. Some of the recommendations allowed for disclosures to be made using hashtags #.
Such simplicity of regulation, providing direction, not only for the brands but going into the food chain to influencers could be a sign of things to come.