CHAIRPERSON

Dr Connor Graham, Asia Research Institute, and Tembusu College, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

The face of internet celebrity is rapidly diversifying and evolving. Online and mainstream celebrity culture are now weaving together, such that breakout stars from one-hit viral videos are able to turn their transient fame into a full-time career. This talk, based on select concepts from a new book on internet celebrity cultures, presents a framework for thinking about the different forms of internet celebrity that have emerged over the last decade, taking examples from the Global North and South, to consolidate key ideas about cultures of online fame. It discusses the overall landscape, developments and trends in the internet celebrity economy, and cross-cultural lessons.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Crystal Abidin is a digital anthropologist and ethnographer of vernacular internet cultures. She researches young people’s relationships with internet celebrity, self-curation, and vulnerability. Her books include Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame Online (2018), and Microcelebrity Around the Globe: Approaches to Cultures to Cultures of Internet Fame (2018). She is listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (2018) and Pacific Standard 30 Top Thinkers Under 30 (2016). Crystal is a lecturer in digital media with the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University, post-doctoral fellow with the Media Management and Transformation Centre (MMTC) at Jönköping University, researcher with Handelsrådet (Swedish Retail and Wholesale Development Council), and adjunct research fellow with the Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT) at Curtin University. Reach her at wishcrys.com.

REGISTRATION

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