LECTURE 7: INTERMEDIATION AND CURATION

Question 1

1) One key example of increasing pervasiveness of social media and digital technologies on fashion industry
2) Who are they
3) Based on…

Answer 1

1) Rise of so-called personal style fashion bloggers
2) basically entrepreneurs who use these technologies to turn their personal lives into online businesses by promoting themselves in the continuous pursuit of ‘attractive’ online content

Question 2

Blogger’s life and identity is managed when and where

Answer 2

managed and negotiated around the clock and across multiple platforms, for a variety of actors, from advertising sponsors to friends to readers

Question 3

Stats of americas blogging

Answer 3

1 in 10 Americans 18+ blogs

Question 4

Fashion blogs are described in lit as being written by… (2)

Answer 4

1) Fashion professionals 2) Ordinary people with an interest in fashion

Question 5

How are fashion bloggers are uniquely positioned and empowered to challenge the elite, top-down world of high fashion?

Answer 5

1) Through their self expression

2) ‘Outsider’ status

Question 6

Fashion bloggers are also playing a growing role in.. (2)

as well as democratizing fashion via…where fashion bloggers provide…

Answer 6

1) Defining fashion
2) Distributing knowledge

Open-source branding where fashion bloggers provide fashion brands with a new and unique routes to consumers.

Question 7

E.g. of international fashion sensation personal style blogger

Answer 7

Chiara Ferragni

blog “The Blonde Salad”
- turned over 5 million instagram followers and earns $9 million/pa

Question 8

Between these two extremes are personal style bloggers who have…

Answer 8

turned their blog into a sustainable full-time job through monetizing content such as sponsored posts, banner ads and commissions

Question 9

Taylor’s research methodology (what’s included)

Answer 9

• Focused solely on using data from blogs and social media to learn about their lives and practices
• Rather than use nvivo etc she recorded the data as ‘field notes’ and she examined individual blog posts within the website as a whole
• Included everything - from the text to the font, formatting, pictures and colours which make up the blog and are essential to the experience of reading and interpreting blogs.

Question 10

Taylor’s case selection

Answer 10

• Taylor started reviewing 50 of the top North American personal style bloggers and comparing them on a variety of measures, from quantitative means such as the number of Instagram followers and number of years in operation, to qualitative means such as the number of topics on the blog.

Question 11

Blog that Taylor chose

Answer 11

• 1 in-depth case study of personal style blogger (instead of using a wider sample)
• ‘Typical’ personal style blog - not an extreme case but rather, successful, mid-range personal style blog that has evolved and professionalized to the point where the blogger has turned her blog into a full-time business and can earn a living from it.

Question 12

Taylor’s participant’s blog is also part of a…

Answer 12

407 ‘brand influencers’ for an American public relations agency that partners well-known brands, like Dove of Coca Cola, with bloggers.

Question 13

Blogger being studied offers services including… (4)

Answer 13

• branded content
• hosting of events such as Twitter ‘hangouts’
• giveaways
• writes editorial content for fees ranging from $500-$7500 USD

Question 14

1) Which year did the blog start up?
2) How? Description
3) How did she gain trendsetter position in the industry?

Answer 14

1) 2008
2) ‘Outfit of the day’ posts -typically include several photos of the blogger indifferent poses, text describing the theme of the outfit and a detailed breakdown of the clothing she was wearing by item and brand, with links to where particular items could be purchased
3) She was early to the blogging scene in the US - whether fortuitous or intentional

Question 15

1) Taylor’s blogger’s “signature look” description
2) This look resonated with…
3) Tone and voice of the blog and these regular outfits
4) Design of the blog
5) Tone and image of the blog over time?

Answer 15

vintage and or handmade items with ‘accessible luxury’ and high-street brands

2) average North American readers and consumers
3) Light-hearted and cheery, which can be contrasted to the more brand conscious and exclusive aspects of the conventional fashion industry
4) She comes across as an ‘average’ or ‘every-day’ woman and is quite likeable, relatable, and friendly
5) Been consistent and as a longer-term reader you may feel like you ‘know’ her based on her blog posts

Question 16

1) What is at the very core of a blogger’s profession?

2) the ideal balance

Answer 16

1) Constructing a particular personal image and style

2) must be professional and present a consistent brand image, while at the same time be seen as ‘authentic’ and ‘real’

Question 17

1) Unique opportunity of being ‘sick’

2) While a blogger may cut back on work at times, they also…

Answer 17

1) Unlike other forms of creative work, being sick actually provides bloggers with the opportunity to Instagram their favourite cold remedy while maintaining their blog image
2) … appear to still always be working in some way; a fact that is reflective of the precariousness of this type of work.

Question 18

• Taylor’s blogger’s disclosure policy

- Policy identifies that brands can work with the blog both directly through…

Answer 18

• States that although she stopped accepting gifts in 2012, her blog is a business where advertisements and promotions are for sale
• sponsored posts and indirectly through commission from affiliate links for clothing items she has worn and banner ads
• However, she maintains that she wears what she wants and is free to choose which companies she works with

Question 19

While brand partnerships provide an important financial opportunity, they also pose

Answer 19

challenges for bloggers, when trying to maintain an authentic and transparent image to readers

Question 20

1) Taylor found that over time, readers have become increasingly skeptical..
2) Readers have responded by…

Answer 20

1) … of paid content or product placement
2) .. demanding high levels of accountability, which is seen when readers comment to question the demands a company may place on a blogger in exchange for payment or free goods and services

Question 21

Blogger’s new strategy to potentially protect herself from the neg associations of brand associations?

• example

Answer 21

Preemptively connects sponsorship to her personal life

• In one sponsored post, she thanked the brand for allowing her to be a mother that works from home while supporting her family
• Given her growing readership of young mothers, this may be a particularly relatable or acceptable reason for accepting sponsorship.

Question 22

Instance where paid sponsorship posed a problem for Taylor’s blogger?

Answer 22

• After the birth of her child: announced she was going to take a break from the blog in order to assess her future and what she had created on the blog
• Received lots of positive comments from long-term readers supporting her decision BUT next day she ran an OOTD post sponsored by a fast-fashion brand
• Several readers, including many who had commented positively on her previous post, expressed their surprise and frustration as to why she was blogging after making a sympathetic case for taking a break.
• Blogger admitted it was ‘paid’ sponsorship and cheekily added that outfit was ‘too cute not to post’

Question 23

Case study of paid sponsorship posing a problem for blogger highlights:

Answer 23

How readers can co-construct or even constrict a blogger’s identity and representations

Question 24

‘Untidy’ geographies

1) Reference
2) Description

3) Findings demonstrate how…

Answer 24

1) Ettlinger (2004)
2) Refers to how bloggers’ work practices take place across different localities and networks
3) Blogger’s virtual work spaces are linked to the blogger’s private physical and local workspaces, such as in the home, but also how work is performed across different places while travelling

Question 25

Bloggers create (2) hat enable an audience to experience

Answer 25

• relational spaces and milieus

- parts of their private life online

Question 26

new technologies and platforms are blurring the boundaries of…

Answer 26

the material and the virtual and new, hybrid geographies are emerging in which certain distance-transcending activities and interactions can be enacted whilst simultaneously being embedded in the performer’s positionality in material space

Question 27

1) When the blog in the study began, work activities primarily took place…
2) OOTD posts were photographed in

Answer 27

1) outside of the home
2) anonymous spaces around town, such as in a park or in front of a colourful outdoor wall

–> visible separation between work and home, and if the home was visible, it could reasonably be connected to the blog and business, such as a post documenting a home office makeover

Question 28

Over time, however, this bloggers’ home, family and personal connections have increasingly become part of the narrative and representations that her work is focused around

• Includes content such as…

Answer 28

a weekend kitchen renovation complete with before and after pictures, and an inspiration board for her son’s nursery.

Question 29

So while the home is often argued to be an invisible workplace, increasingly…

Answer 29

it is also a visible workplace.

Question 30

1) Holiday as ‘labour’

2) Tension also relates to…

Answer 30

1) A holiday is often not seen as labour, but through the act of blogging about it, this experience is transformed into a form of labour
2) … notions of always being ‘on’ and working, as work and ‘play’ are increasingly indistinguishable

Question 31

Personal style bloggers and bodily practice

1) General point

Answer 31

1) personal style bloggers - who pride themselves on being average, everyday people - are making discussions and practices related to body maintenance activities visible through their personal style blogs.

Question 32

Documenting types of body maintenance activities creates..

Answer 32

.. a sense of relatability with her readers

• also contributes to the extensification of work, which further blurs the distinction between personal and professional time and activities

Question 33

Blogger and fitness

Answer 33

• blogger shared her fitness history and goals before hiring a personal trainer with whom she developed a series of professionally photographed online workout routines
• Her personal trainer and his website were also prominently featured in blog posts
• These workouts were consistent with her accessible image, as anyone could follow along for free by working out from home

Question 34

New blog sections illustrate how a blogger can… but also reveals another way that work..

Answer 34

maintain and reinforce their brand image through adding new subject matter, but also reveals another way that work extends into new spheres.

Question 35

Female body and expectations for visual self-representation in social media

Answer 35

Female body is now exposed to levels of scrutiny far beyond what traditional mass media forms are capable of achieving = reinforces the high levels of precariousness associated with constant visibility and accessibility.

Question 36

Blogging research reminds us that while theories of aesthetic labour are valuable they only…

Answer 36

partly capture the realities of working and living online

Question 37

Blogger study reveals growing level of professionalization over time (description)

Answer 37

as the blogger grew her business and developed more sophisticated content through her blog, which suggests that the blogger has gained new skills and levels of proficiency in running her business

(like me introducing LeapSecond)

Question 38

Blogging raises some important questions to raise/reflect on:

Answer 38

1) why do bloggers continue to extend the boundaries of what parts of their lives they are willing to blog about?
2) Is it the result of a constant quest for content?
3) Is it the result of audience interaction and interest, or is it something that just seemed to ‘happen’ without conscious intention over time?
4) what about the the important of maintaining the body of the blogger?
5) What would happen for example if the blogger changes herself, her life or her body in a way that is not well-received by readers?

Question 39

Curators vs intermediaries

Answer 39

While all curators are intermediaries not all intermediaries are curators because the concept of intermediation is broader and encompasses a range of actors and activities.

Question 40

‘Art Worlds’

1) Reference
2) Description

3) ‘Division of labour’

Answer 40

1) Howard Beck (1982)

2) Constructs artistic production as a collective action
- He says that although artists form the core of this model all related activities to the process must be completed by people in a wider collaborative network

3) I.E. talking about a ‘division of labour’ in which artists or other creatives produce creative content and then a team of other individuals come along and handle everything else.

Question 41

‘Cultural intermediaries’

1) Reference
2) Definition

Answer 41

1) La Distinction (1984)
Pierre Bourdieu

2) The people who come in-between creative producers and consumers, or between production and consumption more broadly

Question 42

1) More recently, there is a growing understanding that some of these intermediaries don’t just leach off… but serve to shape…
2) Examples

Answer 42

1) … of real creative talent but serve to shape the creative economy in their own valuable way

2) People who act as co-producers, taskemakers and selectors.
- Intermediaries who identify and select emerging talent, co-produce artistic personas, manage uncertainty and shepherd artists through the production process and serve as tastemakers who curate and promote artists and products.

Question 43

Role of Music managers in Hracs’ paper (2)

Answer 43

1) ‘CONSULTANTS’ MANAGERS - translate the the demands of the marketplace for musicians and translate their creative visions and career goals into operational plans
2) Managers also ‘CONNECT’ musicians to individuals including fashion designers and local resources including rehearsal space

Question 44

Intermediation can be subdivided into a

Answer 44

range of specialized tasks or functions

Question 45

each industry from art to fashion has different intermediaries who do ___ and this has changed over time and especially with ___

Answer 45

different things

the introduction of digital technologies

Question 46

How a manager in music as an intermediary has changed over time

Answer 46

Managers have gone from cogs in the giant record label machine, to mostly unemployed after the MP3-Crisis to recently re-emerging as freelancers who perform these tasks for independent musicians on the open market.

Question 47

Shultz (2015) and craft reading suggestions

Answer 47

• Like independent musicians, crafters are taking advantage of new technologies that allow they to bypass the traditional gatekeepers such as craft guilds, art galleries and museums, taking on many intermediary functions themselves and turning to a range of newly emerging intermediaries.

Question 48

Shultz (2015)

- The advent of social media gives independent producers …

Answer 48

… an alternative venue in which to market cultural products and form social connections while bypassing the intermediaries who traditionally dictate access to the cultural economy

Question 49

Shultz (2013:4)

Whilst recognition and validation once from __ or ___, the internet makes it possible to ___

Answer 49

acceptance into museums or galleries, the Internet makes it possible to create a grassroots alternative to the hierarchical framework

Question 50

Shultz (2013)

1) Instead of turning to freelance managers to solve the problem of DIY production..
2) Some are also…

Answer 50

1) Crafters are turning to grassroots or bottom-up intermediaries to manage the more time-consuming aspects of work
2) … forming professional support networks to gain access to well-publicized shows and information from other more experienced crafters

Question 51

‘Collaborative networks’

Answer 51

Facilitate the sharing of costs, studios and retail spaces, are based on reciprocity and a genuine interest in wanting to see other independent producers succeed

Question 52

Return to gatekeepers and more specifically a Craft Mafia

1) Reference
2) General Description
3) Entry is limited to a select group of people
4) In return for joining.. which lends …

Answer 52

1) Shultz (2013)
2) Runs in US and UK and crafters must pay a fee to join but there is also an audition process
3) to ensure that particular categories of crafts do not face too much competition in Craft Mafia-sponsored shows
4) members get to sell their work in craft shows bearing the Craft Mafia name, which lends credibility and increases the profile of the show.

Question 53

Important that although digital production and distribution is said to democratize these processes through disintermediation and close the gap between production and consumption…

IN FACT!

Answer 53

creatives are not really bypassing or cutting out the middlemen

Generating new business models and new yet hidden roles for cultural intermediaries.

Question 54

1) Origin of ‘curation’

2) Etymology

Answer 54

1) Conceptualisation comes from the art world where specialized intermediaries ‘curate’ the oversupply of art works that feature varying levels of ‘qualities’
2) Latin verb ‘curare’ which means talking care and this is why it has traditionally been used in relation to the curation of museum or art collections

Question 55

1) Concept has been used to highlight the importance of…
2) But more recently, the concept has been
3) and here a broader understanding has evolved so that curation is said to involve…

Answer 55

1) …intermediaries in the construction, evaluation and preservation of art
2) … extended and applied to curators in other fields such as music, fashion and craft
3) interpreting, translating and shaping of the marketplace through the active and strategic practice of sorting, organizing, evaluating and ascribing value(s) to specific products.

Question 56

it is important to note that although we can develop a general definition for curation it must always be understood ____ because curation can ____

Answer 56

in context because curation can take different forms and emphasize different activities in different industries, locations and scales

Question 57

Inundated with products branded as ‘organic,’ ‘local,’ ‘fair trade,’ ‘natural’ and encouraged to evaluate the economic, ethical, health and environmental qualities of each item, many consumers find it difficult to…

Answer 57

… make the ‘right’ consumption choices

Question 58

Because we still don’t know very much about curation, Brain’s paper tries to address 5 interrelated questions;

Answer 58

1) What does the range of curatorial practices look like?
2) What motivates curators to perform their roles in the market?
3) In what ways does curation create value(s) for consumers?
4) How do the spatial and temporal dynamics - the where and when - of curation influence the form and richness of the information?
5) In what ways does curation shape food practices and perceptions of consumers?

Question 59

In the literature curators are often understood to be individuals but ____ are also important intermediaries in the marketplace for food

Answer 59

networks of individuals who share common values

Question 60

1) For business type, Brian et al focused on a elatively new kind of curator called a ___
2) Description

Answer 60

1) Food bag

2) Typically these bags are delivered to a family once a week and include all ingredients and recipes for five dinners

Question 61

1) Hracs et al literature and suggestions about farmer’s markets
2) It is a __ in its own right because it serves as a ___ because items included are assumed to be (3)

Answer 61

1) They are spaces constructed to facilitate interaction between ‘enlightened food producers’ and ‘concerned consumers’ to express and develop ideas and values concerning local food
2) curator, quality stamp
- fresh, local and from small-scale farms

Question 62

Farmers market curates food choices by (2)

Answer 62

limiting the available options, and helping consumers with their food choices even if they don’t interact with producers.

Question 63

Statistics of ‘farmers markets’ in Sweden

Answer 63

Since 2000, 23 Farmers’ Markets have been set up throughout Sweden

Question 64

Curation of the Swedish Farmers’ Market is officially based on 2 rules:

This means that …

Answer 64

1) only products produced within 250 kilometres from the market may be sold
2) the producers themselves have to participate in the market and sell their products

no ‘middlemen’ are allowed at the market and these rules are comparable to Farmers’ Markets in other countries.

Question 65

1) 2 smartphone apps helping consumers find local food:

3) Stats for 1st app

Answer 65

1) let’s consumers scan a product and the app categorises it either as Swedish by showing a thumb up or not Swedish by showing a thumb down
2) Launched in 2012 and helps consumers to find arm shops and artisanal food and provides them with information on the food offered and the producers
3) Between its introduction in April 2013 and May 2014 the app has been downloaded 92,000 times.

Question 66

Aims of curation (3)

4) Example of farmer market and reason

Answer 66

1) Generate direct economic profit
2) indirect financial rewards via enhancing the value/rep of a food brand, producer or location
2) Societal and env considerations
4) Organisation of the Farmers’ Market may be non-profit but the market was established for economic reasons - namely as a platform for producers to market their products and sell directly to consumers without middlemen

Question 67

1) Farmers Market in relation to societal and environmental considerations

2) Food blogger and env reason
- Other bloggers

Answer 67

Aim of the farmer’s market - to reduce food miles, preserve regional products and give visitors the chance to learn about cultivation and livestock farming is underpinned by the motivation to use curation to improve animal welfare and environmental sustainability

2) - He no longer wanted to be part of such a food system and through his blog he aims to inspire other people into similar choices.
- In other cases, bloggers aim to ‘educate’ consumers about local food and recipes with cultural significance

Question 68

even when consumers felt confident about making their own food choices, they turned to curators to..

• Curators also said to inspire consumers by encouraging them to (2)

Answer 68

• save valuable time and energy

1) try new food products, recipes or sourcing places
2) and by providing new ideas about evaluating food.

Question 69

In many cases, curating food goes beyond mere inspirational ideas to include giving a set of clear instructions on how to go about choosing good local food..

Answer 69

• Curators were able to stage valuable food-related experiences and opportunities to engage with people and communities

Question 70

curators were able to stage valuable food-related experiences and opportunities to engage with people and communities is highly ____ and based on ____

Answer 70

personalised

a calculus of needs and desires

Question 71

Brian’s food research: ___ was a big source of value

e.g.

Answer 71

Convenience

e.g. some consumers appreciated the convenience of having food bags delivered directly to their doorsteps each week

Question 72

Consumers considering buying/preparing food, not as a burden but as a..

• many of these consumers are drawn to experiences that are more ___
  e. g. while restaurants give consumers a night out, food bags encourage and facilitate the more…

Answer 72

rewarding experience

authentic and inspiring than visiting supermarkets and that facilitate active engagement, creativity and self-actualization that result in a ‘story’ which, in turn, can be converted into social and cultural capital

e.g. active, rewarding and valuable experience of learning and making a new meal alone or with family and friends

Question 73

‘Collective buying group’ description

offers farm tours but also more active experiences such as…

Answer 73

Uses its connections with local farmers to arrange engaging experiences for its members

‘Working on the farm’ - providing even higher levels of value for consumers

Question 74

Also simply getting together to discuss, prepare and consume food is an act in itself which may have value for consumers (description)

Answer 74

• People may interact with curators and other consumers to learn but also to demonstrate their own food knowledge and skills

Question 75

collective food practices form a vehicle for people to display the…

People are also attracted to being part of a community of…

Answer 75

cultural capital they embody and to construct their self-identity

like-minded individuals, sharing norms and values, and being confirmed and inspired in food practices and ideas

Question 76

• As more curators enter the marketplace we also see that curation is being performed in a growing range of…
• These spaces feature ___ and ___ which facilitate different forms of ___ and ____

Answer 76

• physical, temporary and virtual spaces

- unique spatial and temporal dynamics which facilitate different forms of interaction and levels of trust

Question 77

Food blogger and space

Answer 77

• He uses virtual space and the nature of the interaction is personal and one-way
• By describing his everyday life, his personal food ideas and including bits and pieces of his private life, the blogger creates an intimate and relatable account of his quest for good food
• Although consumers may never meet the blogger the posts are very personal and consumers are encouraged to share their own personal experiences and opinions with the entire group of readers
• Over time this form of interaction can generate high levels of trust and familiarity which allows members of virtual networks to exchange even tacit knowledge in an on-demand way.

Question 78

How is spaced used by the collective buying group

Answer 78

Mostly PHYSICAL

• though social media is also used
• personal and 2 way interaction
• Groups typically meet in members’ homes or a neighbourhood community building once a month on ‘pick up’ day
• as these collective buying groups include friends often living in the same neighbourhood the collective buying group is also talked about outside official meeting times
• The pick-up days, members’ meetings and other events such as ‘Vegetarian Monday’ as well as exchanges through email and social media establish and reinforce trust within the communities and facilitate an on-going collective discussion of what good food entails.

Question 79

Space and food bag

1) Full description
2) Main source of info on the content of the bag comes in the form of….
3) Thus, this form of curation entails little direct input from consumers and trust and loyalty is created..

Answer 79

1) Food bag is brought into the physical space of the home and the nature of interaction is impersonal and one-way
- Although the delivery of a curated food bag to your doorstep seems intimate, the process is actually quite generic and prescriptive (ordered online and little opportunity for customization)
- No social interaction when the bags are delivered
2) leaflet - which explains the choices of products and specific recipes for the week
3) through the quality of the service

Question 80

Space and Farmers’ Market
1) Type and nature of interaction

2) although the Market offers many possibilities for interaction (lit suggests leads to social learning), Brian found that this interaction is often…
3) Rather than engaging in deep discussions about food-related values and practices, many discussions do not go beyond…
4) The limited social exchange and learning may be explained by our assertion that as a space…

Answer 80

• Physical yet temp space and the nature of the interaction is rather impersonal and 2 way
  2) Superficial
  3) Information about price and the exchange of money
  4) …the farmer’s market curates ‘good food’ and consumers simply trust this curation and do not require any more information to convince them

Question 81

Space and food app

1) Type of space and nature of interaction
2) Located within a cell phone, and thus likely to be accessible at all times, the food app is…
3) however nature of apps precludes interaction, ability to verify and ask qus about what exactly is curated therefore most of the interviewees thus found the app….

Answer 81

1) Virtual and the nature of interaction is impersonal and one-way
2) Extremely convenient for consumers seeking simple forms of curation
3) too superficial and would not rely on the app for their food choices

Question 82

1) What has important implications for the form and richness of the information provided??
2) These dynamics produce…

Answer 82

1) ‘the where and when’ of curation

2) different forms of consumer involvement and varying levels of influence on food choice and practices