OSP: Taylor Swift CSP - Audience and Industries
Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks
Audience
The article talks about how Matty Healy, the lead singer of The 1975, faced backlash from his fans after laughing along to offensive jokes on a podcast. Fans on Twitter called him out, showing how audiences now have the power to hold celebrities accountable for their actions.
Taylor Swift upset some fans when Ticketmaster’s presale for her tour turned into chaos, with many Swifties unable to get tickets. Fans were frustrated and disappointed, and both Swift and Ticketmaster had to apologise. Swift even called the whole situation “excruciating.”
Yes, definitely. Stan accounts show how fans are no longer just passive viewers, they’re active creators. They make their own content, share opinions, and shape how others see their favourite artists. This fits Shirky’s idea that audiences now participate in media rather than just consume it.
Swifties spend a lot on things like concert tickets, albums, and exclusive merchandise. For many fans, it’s not just about buying products, it’s about showing their dedication to Taylor.
Taylor makes her fans feel personally valued. She remembers details about them like their haircuts or personal achievements and mentions them at shows. She’s also sent surprise gifts and handwritten letters to fans, which makes the relationship feel more genuine and personal.
Fans go all out to get noticed, posting pictures of all the merch they’ve bought, showing multiple copies of her albums, or creating emotional or creative content about her. They know that if they stand out, there’s a chance Taylor or her team might see it.
Fandoms are like social ladders. Fans who buy more merch, go to more concerts, or show the most loyalty often gain more recognition within the community. In Taylor’s fandom, the more you spend or participate, the higher your status.
Taylor’s business model is built on the desire to connect with her. Fans feel that the closer they get by spending more money or showing more devotion, the more likely they are to be noticed by her. That sense of closeness is what keeps fans engaged and buying.
Yes. Taylor’s website and social media are mainly aimed at a female audience, with her pastel aesthetics and emotional tone. But she also appeals to a broad age range, from younger fans to older ones who love her earlier albums or collectible items like vinyls and cassettes.
Fans can interact with Taylor by commenting on her posts, joining livestreams, attending her concerts, and sharing her content online. However, most of these interactions are managed by her team, who make sure her image stays positive and consistent. It feels personal, but it’s still carefully controlled.
Her online presence fits Shirky’s theory because fans are no longer just consuming her content, they’re part of it. They share, remix, and respond to her posts, creating their own mini-communities that Taylor sometimes acknowledges. It’s a two-way relationship rather than a one-way broadcast.
It’s a bit of both. Taylor’s online presence mostly promotes her music and brand, but she also uses it to express her views, like when she publicly supported Kamala Harris. Because she has such a loyal following, her opinions can influence how fans think about social or political issues.
As of late 2022, Meta (Facebook) had around 2.96 billion users, LinkedIn had about 900 million, and Twitter (now called X) last reported 330 million in 2019.
They make money through advertising. Basically, they sell our attention to advertisers, the more time users spend on the platform, the more ads they can show and the more profit they make.
ARPU stands for Average Revenue Per User. It helps companies measure how much money each user generates, which is crucial for tracking growth and profitability.
Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to reach even more users and control more of the social media market. With billions of people using these platforms, Meta can collect more data and make more money from targeted ads.
Platforms like X (Twitter) now charge for extra features. X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) gives users things like fewer ads, longer posts, and an edit button for around $8 a month.
- Add “friction” to online sharing so misinformation spreads slower.
- Make platforms explain why certain posts are recommended to users.
- Ban discrimination in algorithms, such as hiding ads based on race or religion.
He’s the whistle-blower from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, who exposed how Facebook data was misused for political advertising.
He argues that while people have the right to speak freely, they don’t have the right to be automatically amplified by algorithms. Platforms aren’t neutral, they decide what gets seen and what doesn’t.
Disinformation means false or misleading information created to deceive people. I do think some things can be objectively true or false like facts or data but opinions are different because they depend on perspective.
He compares Facebook’s negative social effects to pollution. Just like oil companies don’t profit from pollution but still cause it, Facebook doesn’t profit directly from hate or disinformation, but its design allows those things to spread.
It suggests that social media platforms should face stricter safety rules. Wylie points out it’s strange that household appliances like toasters are more heavily regulated than platforms that can affect democracy and public health.
Instagram has been criticised for promoting unrealistic body images and showing users repetitive content, like endless fitness ads, which can harm self-esteem and mental health.
Yes, definitely. Taylor should make it clear when she’s being paid to promote something. Transparency matters fans deserve to know when she’s giving a genuine opinion versus a paid endorsement. Being honest helps her seem more authentic and keeps her relationship with fans based on trust.
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