Book Announcement: Monetising the Dividual Self. The Emergence of the Lifestyle Blog and Influencers in Malaysia
Dear All, I am happy to announce the publication of 'Monetising the Dividual Self. The Emergence of the Lifestyle Blog and Influencers in Malaysia', I believe it is the first book focused on the emergence of microcelebrities/influencers in an Asian context and the data is based on long-term ethnographic on- and offline fieldwork. In a nutshell, this book traces the beginnings of what are now know as social media influencers. I started looking at them in about 2005 and the book starts with a 'blog war' in the pre-monetised Malaysian blogosphere. I use this a starting point to discuss the components of personal blogging - the performance of authenticity and the interaction of blogs and self expression. The chronological development of the chapters intersperses detailed academic and theoretical discussions with case studies and thick descriptions suitable for classroom discussion. The book uses actor-network theory, assemblage and affordances as its theoretical foundations. It describes lifestyle bloggers as entrepreneurs of the dividual self and suggests that they offer prototypes of future forms of self-expression and being. The account ends with a regional blogmeet in 2009 that - in hindsight - might have been the high point of blogging in Malaysia and Singapore, before Facebook, Twitter and Instagram came to dominate. I'd like to thank all of the bloggers who gave me their time, the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia, the many academics who provided feedback and support over the years and the very patient editors at Berghahn Books. For those who are interested, there is a two months limited time 50% discount available for purchases via the publisher website. The book is here: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/HopkinsMonetising and the code HOP185 can be used when an order is placed via this site. Best regards, Julian --- *DR JULIAN HOPKINS* Adjunct Senior Research Fellow School of Arts & Social Sciences Monash University Malaysia Recent publication: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/HopkinsMonetising E: julian.hopkins@monash.edu W: http://julianhopkins.com *Your reaction is more important than who is right.*
Greetings, I thought some of you fine people might be interested in my brand new book, The Burden of Choice: Recommendations, Subversion and Algorithmic Culture <https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/the-burden-of-choice/9780813597812>. Use code: 02AAAA17 for 30% off. From Rutgers UP: The Burden of Choice examines how recommendations for products, media, news, romantic partners, and even cosmetic surgery operations are produced and experienced online. Fundamentally concerned with how the recommendation has come to serve as a form of control that frames a contemporary American as heteronormative, white, and well off, this book asserts that the industries that use these automated recommendations tend to ignore and obscure all other identities in the service of making the type of affluence they are selling appear commonplace. Focusing on the period from the mid-1990s to approximately 2010 (while this technology was still novel), Jonathan Cohn argues that automated recommendations and algorithms are far from natural, neutral, or benevolent. Instead, they shape and are shaped by changing conceptions of gender, sexuality, race, and class. In the process, this book considers not only how we now define our choices and perform choosing online, but also how we constantly contest and subvert the choices that algorithms present us. With its cultural studies and humanities-driven methodologies focused on close readings, historical research, and qualitative analysis, The Burden of Choice models a promising avenue for the study of algorithms and culture. And here are some reviews: "Suffused with nuance and aplomb, Jonathan Cohn’s The Burden of Choice details the asymmetries of power and disputed logics of contemporary algorithmic culture—an outstanding contribution to digital studies." --John Cheney-Lippold, author of We Are Data: Algorithms and The Making of Our Digital Selves "Algorithmic recommendations aren’t politically neutral. But, as Cohn details in this illuminating book, nor is their power absolute. The Burden of Choice is a primer on algorithmic dissidence, couched in a history of computational decision making." --Ted Striphas, author of The Late Age of Print: Everyday Book Culture from Consumerism to Control “Fascinating and timely, this exciting book explores the history of algorithms, recommendations, and suggestions.” --Chuck Tryon, author of On-Demand Culture: Digital Delivery and the Future of Movies Best, Jonathan Cohn Assistant Professor, Digital Culture English and Film Studies University of Alberta ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ (Amiskwacîwâskahikan), Treaty 6/Métis Territory New Book: The Burden of Choice: Recommendations, Subversion, and Algorithmic Culture <https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/the-burden-of-choice/9780813597812> (Via Amazon <https://www.amazon.com/Burden-Choice-Recommendations-Subversion-Algorithmic/dp/0813597811/> or Powell <https://www.powells.com/book/-9780813597812>)
participants (2)
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Jonathan Cohn -
Julian Hopkins