Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age

by Alice E. Marwick

Social media, once heralded as revolutionary and democratic, have instead proved exclusionary and elitist

Social media technologies such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook promised a new participatory online culture. Yet, technology insider Alice Marwick contends in this insightful book, “Web 2.0” only encouraged a preoccupation with status and attention. Her original research—which includes conversations with entrepreneurs, Internet celebrities, and Silicon Valley journalists—explores the culture and ideology of San Francisco’s tech community in the period between the dot com boom and the App store, when the city was the world’s center of social media development. Marwick argues that early revolutionary goals have failed to while many continue to view social media as democratic, these technologies instead turn users into marketers and self-promoters, and leave technology companies poised to violate privacy and to prioritize profits over participation. Marwick analyzes status-building techniques—such as self-branding, micro-celebrity, and life-streaming—to show that Web 2.0 did not provide a cultural revolution, but only furthered inequality and reinforced traditional social stratification, demarcated by race, class, and gender.

Genres: Technology, Nonfiction, Social Media, Sociology, Business

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Desiree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I must say that it did take me a bit to get into this book. I put it down for a while, thinking it was going to be a really heavy read. But, it turned out to be quite the fascinating book! It was a lovely walk down memory lane for me, with names like Kevin Rose, Veronica Belmont and Leo LaPorte! Many others are mentioned, but these happened to be the most familiar to me. The author refers to them as micro-celebrities. They are "famous" to certain people, and are expected to be more accessible to their fans than are Hollywood type celebrities. She takes the reader with her to the glitzy parties and day to day lives of these people. Also explored are the wannabes and how they attempt to integrate into the scene!

The latter parts of the book explore topics such as micro-celebrity in detail, along with life streaming and self-branding. Very well written, it flows well and is easy enough to read! Highly recommended for those interested in the inner workings of the people in Silicon Valley.

[Katherine]

again like It's Superman, i just started it so long ago. also, i didn't understand anything that was going on, and maybe i'll understand it more in the future, so i'm interested in picking it up again??? but probably not tho

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marwick's ethnography of the tech scene in San Francisco is as addictive as the media she is talking about. Her findings confront the ideas surrounding "authenticity" as defined by this population that puts value on number of followers, retweets, traffic, etc., while actively denying that those things really matter. There are many keen observations about micro-celebrities, anti-consumerist consumerism and, most importantly, the inequalities within the scene. The later chapters circle in on sexism within the scene, how it is maintained and has become a part of the institutions in tech.

Really fascinating read for any anthropologists, journalists, tech fiends, or even just tech users. Would have loved to see more on racial inequalities, which she hints at.

[carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's almost impossible for me to objectively evaluate this book - I know a lot of the folks interviewed for the research and Alice herself. That said, there are some terrific insights to take away from this book and two chapters in particular were standouts: Lifestreamed and Designed in California. An excellent read and much thanks to Alice for looking at these behaviors with an academic and contextual eye.

[Wessel van Rensburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read some of Marwick's papers on celebrity, and having heard her speak on fashion bloggers and Pinterest, I expected more from this book. It is a good ethnography but too trapped in academic style exposition. It detracts from the narrative.

Having said that the point she makes about status, social media and its affordances is fascinating, and I had not seen anybody make it before (or in a book at least).

[River · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book exploring how social media works. It's primarily an ethnography of tech workers in the Bay Area who design social media tools (like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc), but it has very good insights into social media in general as it pertains to celebrity, self-branding, etc.

There is lots worthwhile stuff in this book -- highly recommended!

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marwick's in-depth examination of the tech culture in the late 2010's and its relationship to trends in American culture is a fascinating read with some really great conceptual innovations that artfully manages to capture an interesting snapshot of an era and a place. Though much has changed in the intervening years, Status Update provides a really nice jumping off point for understanding how the culture of tech and technology has grown and changed over the years, and how some elements of its makeup--like its obsession with celebrity and authenticity--have persisted. Understandably, many of the specific sites, figures, and references in the book haven't aged well or have simply disappeared, but the conceptual framework that Marwick explores is solid and continues to provide worthwhile insights into the world of digital culture today.

[Chris Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart writer. Probably more caught up in the scene she was in and gossip. She makes great points about the amount of privilege - sex, race, age, money - in tech but i’m sure you’ll find the same attitudes everywhere like showbiz, politics, banking, and wall street. Some of those too are believed to be meritocracies. But alot of this seemed more like a how to guide to work in tech but not be in tech. Not to say those positions aren’t important, they are. I’m just not interested in them.

[YiengYin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book is eye-opening to me; it transports me through the technology revolution of dot com era, Web 2.0, and social media. This book is a critique of social media's questionable revolutionary goals on democracy, meritocracy, and entrepreneurship in light of gender, racial, and social inequality issues. Through her research, the author has proved the elements of exclusionary and elitist in the tech scene. It is indeed a thought-provoking book about the social media use.

[A'Llyn Ettien · Rating 3 out of 5]

No longer hot off the presses, but still an interesting look at some of the ideas and realities of social media.

[Magistr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into Silicon Valley culture and its roots, Entrepreneurship and consequences of american dream in web 2.0 world

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but uneven look at how social media has altered society’s perception and understanding of the public self. About five pages into Status Update, I realized it was going to be more academic than I expected and that it was a reworked version of Dr. Marwick’s dissertation. I’m not who designed the cover or wrote the blurb, but neither indicates the true reach or scope of this book, which is a shame.

The weakest part of Status Update is the first seventy pages. Weighed down by four-syllable words and overwrought academic analysis, I almost put the book down multiple times because it continually reminded me of why I don’t miss higher education. I wish someone had cut at least 20 pages out of the first chapter, because it doesn’t do credit to either the book or Dr. Marwick’s abilities.

The best thing about this book is the author. Dr. Marwick is smart, capable of drawing connections between various academic disciplines and her own fieldwork, and, when she hits her stride, a pretty good writer to boot. I definitely plan to keep an eye out for future books and articles by her.

This book reminded a great deal of Jason Sokol’s There Goes My Everything. Not because of the subject matter (almost no overlap there), but because both books are ambitious undertakings that showcase both the author’s potential and inexperience.

The good parts of Status Update make for riveting reading. I’m interested to see where Dr. Marwick goes next. Quasi-recommended.

[Diana180]

#kindle #curriculum #digitaltextuality Everyone who is on social media needs to read this book to feel less worse about their public record, especially if they don't work for Google and blog about parasailing and startup drinks, but maybe even if they do. Marwick has put a new perspective on the last 20 years online, discussing for instance the shift from experimental, zinish websites as the dominant aesthetic to the more attention-engineered corporate and cryptocorporate websites we have today. Geek money priorities are also skewered for the first time in memory, particularly the justification of spending on self improvement, hobbies, travel, and especially travel that involves spending time with friends or potential friends. (Not that I don't resemble and endorse these up to a point.) The research is thorough and arguments about discrimination that seemed tendentious at first were well supported later. My main criticism is that there was a lot of repetition and tighter writing might have resulted in broader readership and influence; I am pushing at my students but I doubt they will read it through in mid-term, whereas they managed Jill Walker Rettberg's slimmer text on selfies. Disclaimer: I know the author on social media, including here, though not in an inner-circle way.

[Lance Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Marwick provides an insightful and fascinating look at understanding social media, culture, and class identity in this book. Through her text, it's quickly evident that though social media presents itself as this utopian world of access and connection, there are many misrepresentations and much gesturing that more than creates a distorted view of what social media is and how we use it. These questions of access, presence, and celebritism create different outcomes and rather than diminishing class boundaries, often reinforces them. It's an essential text for people looking to understand social media either in general or for professional and personal use.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd /

[Terrell Solano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had gotten a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. I enjoyed reading through this book and learning not only methods but a little more about the people who are behind a lot of the good ideas we see everyday.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age is a book that will open the eyes of anyone who reads it. It uncovers the truth of social media today which may shock some readers.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in social media and how it works.

[EvaLovesYA · Rating 3 out of 5]

En rigtig god kilde med dybdegående stof og en grundig gennemgang.
- Brugt på universitetet (engelsk kandidat) til en opgave om self-representation, selfies og celebrity culture.
Og ja, jeg lavede noget, men jeg læste også om twitter-beefs og researchede på Youtube i 2 dage. Det var alletiders!

[KitCat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one took me awhile to read but was worth it. I found many thought-provoking ideas and am now experimenting with my online persona. The conclusions about women working in tech were right-on.

[Mills College Library]

305.52 M391 2013

[Nadia Seraiocco · Rating 3 out of 5]

À lire, pour un survol de l'histoire de Silicon Valley, de sa création, de la bulle techno jusqu'aux réseaux sociaux...

[Summer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for class, but ended up enjoying it. Definitely brought up some interesting points about the quantified self and status.