García-Rapp, F. (2017) Popularity markers on YouTube’s attention economy: the case of Bubzbeauty. Celebrity Studies, 8 (2). pp. 228-245. ISSN 1939-2397
Abstract
This article focuses on issues of attention and popularity development in YouTube’s beauty community. I conceptualise the role of views and subscriptions as popularity markers, based on a broader ethnographic examination of 22 months of immersed fieldwork on the platform. I consider the case of Bubz, a British-Chinese beauty guru, through a purposeful sample of 80 videos. A content typology is introduced, presenting four distinctive video categories: content-oriented, market-oriented, motivational, and relational. Drawing from the concepts of ‘attention economy’ and ‘metrics of popularity’, I explore content characteristics and affordances for the creation and maintenance of viewers’ attention. I argue that the guru’s uploads lead to two types of audiences–casual viewers and loyal subscribers. Vlogs renew attention and help maintain the interest first generated by tutorials, leading to treasured subscribers–an essential commodity within YouTube’s highly competitive environment.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Informa UK Limited. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Taylor & Francis. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | YouTube; online popularity; beauty gurus; attention economy; popularity markers |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Journalism Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Apr 2019 11:10 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2019 11:41 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/19392397.2016.1242430 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:144840 |