To think Mumsnet doesn't hate Instagram influencers?

[jamoncrumpets]

And for prominent influencers who I will not name here for fear of them kicking off and getting the thread pulled to even hint that this might be the case is irresponsible on their part?

SO much gets discussed on MN every day. So much gets criticised. Social media influencers are a new and intriguing phenomenon - why wouldn't they be discussed here? For better or worse?

Many people have supported influencers for the way they earn money. That gets ignored. Many have politely criticised and pointed out ways it could be more ethical. This gets ignored. One or two have made comments that are personal or cross the line, these have been pounced on and discussed publicly.

The 'arguments' die down. People stop caring. Then prominent influencers go and start the whole thing up again.

Blaming MN is just lazy and irresponsible.

The Lizzie blog, like so much else on this subject, misses the real point for me. We know these parents monetise their children and they don't have a problem with it but this particular influencer took down her account because someone, on Instagram, not here, threatened her with a professonal misconduct complaint because of her conduct. Will be interesting to see if said influencer acknowledges that on her return instead of trying to spin a different story which seems to require MN to be the villain of the piece. Not holding my breath.

Spring I'm confused. You're not talking about the Lizzie blog writer being threatened with misconduct. The Other person has not said anything yet.

Sorry, no. The Lizzie blog suggests the influencer was forced off Insta by MN complaints about her and the #ad situation. That's not at all my understanding of events.

I have no idea who that Lizzie woman is, she clearly thinks she's important enough to prattle on in a blog about herself though. I'm so weary of blogging. Just do stuff, don't ANNOUNCE you're doing stuff to the works.

Sorry Spring, yes, hence why I found the article while googling for mumsnet/instagram info. I don't think many people know the full story unless they followed the story closely.

Haven't 2 other IGers left/had a break from 'the squares'? Perhaps it's a seasonal window change

In answer to the AIBU then it's true I don't hate Influencers. Probably very true to say I do have a lack of respect for some of them but that would tend to be the ones whose ethics (mainly dishonesty) I find lacking.

Just wondering why do the threads always head back to the same people? It is because they are 'like us'? Jools Oliver is the first instamum I recall and I read her pregnancy book. She sells stuff and shows her children. Is it different because she's already rich, her children probably have security etc?

I guess that is the reason. Jools Oliver probably isn't playing the "one of us" card. I think it is the aspirational lure of the Instamums - who are, in fact, just salespeople with a very targeted sales pitch. Do think it is a shame though that J O posts so many photos of her children - is it just an online photo album or is she also using them as ads?

Off the top of my head I'm pretty sure JO has shown her kids in the Little Bird? clothes she designs and a stylist/products were tagged for her latest child's nursery.

I guess that's it then, that people feel duped by the ordinary person who made money off the back of followers. Is it only a few people on MN who feel like that though? Why haven't the follower numbers gone down at all since these threads/the bad press?

No, I don't feel duped by people making money - only by the pretence surrounding it. I don't want to read the "woe is me", "I feel your pain", "ordinary lives" crap from people who are, in fact, just promoting a sales pitch. I worked in marketing for many, many years before going into education and I guess I am just seeing the same tactics in a new guise.

Sorry that what I meant Spring - making money off the back of 'us' - as you say 'pretending' to be like us.

But as I said, I don't see any decline in follower numbers. They continue to go up and up. I wonder what proportion might be 'hate followers' now?

I don't think many are hate followers. Perhaps the people that are feeling disenchanted are the people who were there when IG was new and have been through its evolution (and changes introduced by FB ownership). There are plenty of people who are coming to IG now and are just used to the ads because that's all they have ever known.

I think with JO she only (or as far as I know) promotes her own products. You know she has a line of Mothercare clothes, her books and she would support Jamie's stuff, so it doesn't feel out of whack to see it on her feed. If she started slipping in Bubble ads and ads for washing machines I'd probably start to be a bit . I don't follow her anyway though.

I don't hate follow anybody. I don't follow any influencers at all, purged em all! They keep popping up in my recommended feed though, like vermin!

True YourLookie she's not hawking random stuff. I've discovered since finding these threads that there are sooooo many 'instamums' and vloggers etc. And I've never heard them mentioned here. Are the people discussed here the original instamums?

I’ve just done an unfollow session. Quite a few fashion people that built up from blogs.

All of a sudden their faces grinning at me and their fellow influencer buds propping up the comments all felt too false / annoying. And I thought what am I following them for how ridiculous

Just as an aside I just noticed that DMBL is at the ODs holiday villa from last year! It's really odd recognising these destinations. So did the instamums' 2017 hol perks all go to fashion and interiors guys this year??

All of a sudden their faces grinning at me and their fellow influencer buds propping up the comments all felt too false / annoying. And I thought what am I following them for how ridiculous

This. . .an awful lot of the instamums and ‘influencers’ fawn and comment and gush over each other’s posts, same disingenuous (probably) compliments to receive the same back, they call themselves friends even though they may not have ever met and so on…it’s just a new age version of an old boys club. Vacuum chamber indeed. I’ve unfollowed loads since catching up on these threads and I dare say I’m not alone. This has had an impact.

You can talk about whoever you want Wearelocal, it's an open forum

Lots of questions though, are you a journalist?

That thought had occurred to me too *YourLookieLikey!

No spring and YourLookie. I'm new to MN and was trying to join in the conversation. I'm aware there have been lots of threads I may not have seen (I've read the most recent ones) and so was just interested to know why people talk about just a few of the instamums when the thread titles are much broader. I've followed interiors and a few instamums for a couple of years. But I see asking questions is the wrong style. Express an opinion and stick to it. Got it

No, no - perfectly ok to ask questions, everyone does, all the time. I was just aware how directed yours were and wondered if I was being led somewhere. Sorry for any upset.

Thank you Spring. I'm not upset at all. I realise that how I would speak IRL to a group doesn't translate in this format. I'm really just genuinely curious.

TBH I have less respect for the brands who have pushed this form of insidious advertising on the unsuspecting users of SM. Take Boden for example and their bollocksy hashtag that they "created" so that people can have "a chance of seeing themselves on the website" (whoopy fucking doo). Now look at the Boden IG page and tell me if you can find anyone that isn't a blogger/influencer featured on their page (I couldn't identify one). How many normal Boden customers eagerly tag their new gear hoping to be featured, but are really just providing free advertising to Jonnie helping him sell 1000 Breton tees a day (I gasped at that statistic!) ?

I agree YourLookieLikey re the disrespect for Boden's strategy that you describe above.

This might be obvious, but I think it needs saying:

Let's not conflate the hate' - i.e. dislike/disrespect - for instagram influencing as a concept with the individuals who do it.

Personally I was dismissive of instagram influencing and instagram as a platform when I first joined these threads midway after they'd started; ironically I'm less so now because I think I 'get' instagram finally and can see a way to use it that I'm comfortable with, should I chose to do so.

There are ethical issues that the role of instamum raises that other types of influencer do not - e.g. the divide between personal and professional and the use of children - and it's inevitable that people are going to have strong feelings about those issues on a general level, both for and against. It's hard to make an argument without giving specific examples, and that's where these threads have at times become murky. A few posters have at times gone too far and made it properly personal, but for most of us it's been about discussing a new social phenomenon and whether it's too lightly regulated.

btw I mean me using IG as a regular user, not as an influencer!