I almost didn't answer the email that came back in April 2025. But I also tell my students to never shut a door before they at least peak their head through. And I'm so glad I did.
I'm honored and humbled to have been asked to be the founding Editor-in-Chief of the new Springer Nature academic journal, Creator and Influencer Studies. I'm proud to say I have the best editorial team in the business in @adriaramaral , @qian.xenia.huang , @danijaradent , and @jessrauchberg . Our editorial board is made up over 40+ established voices and emerging leaders in content creation, influencing, cultural production, and online platforms.
We look forward to reading your work when our submissions portal opens on Feb. 12.
Clipping, or the practice of cutting up long-form content into short bits for other social media platforms, has gone a bit viral in the news over the last week. The biggest problem with clipping is that the videos are not often disclosed as being bought-and-paid-for content, meaning it seems more organic than it actually is.
Of course, paid content should always be disclosed. But our reaction to clipping says a lot about how we view social media consumption.
All views are my own and don’t represent any organizations I’m affiliated with.
#clippers #clipping #socialmedia #socialmediamarketing #internetculture
Let’s keep demystifying the peer review process, shall we? Come with me while I assess two reviewer reports for an article.
#academia #research #peerreview #academicsuccess #researchpaper
Excited to share that my latest op-ed, co-authored with the fabulous @jessmaddox21 is now live in @theconversation.us ! 🎉
In “TikTok’s popular microdramas shrink TV into bite-sized chunks,” we explore how TikTok’s move into scripted “microdrama” content through PineDrama is less a break from television than a continuation of television logics through algorithmic recommendation, platformed attention, and mobile-first viewing cultures. The piece examines how TikTok increasingly functions not just as a social media app, but as a hybrid entertainment infrastructure that blends television, streaming, advertising, and platform culture together.
We also examine why TikTok may succeed where Quibi failed, and how apps like ReelShort, DramaBox, and ShortMax helped establish the growing market for vertical storytelling.
Also, shoutout to @issarae who has been creating incredible media since her groundbreaking YouTube series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. From Insecure to The Photograph, Barbie, American Fiction, and now PineDrama’s Screen Time, her work continues to shape contemporary media culture and digital storytelling in exciting ways!
Huge thanks as well to Nick Lehr at The Conversation for his thoughtful editing and support throughout the process.
Read here 👉 /tiktoks-popular-microdramas-shrink-tv-into-bite-sized-chunks-280422?utm_medium=article_clipboard_share&utm_source=theconversation.com
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Welcome to the world of content creator and influencer specific insurance policies. These are media specific liability insurance policies that can help protect content creators and influencers from things like defamation suits, brand contract disputes, FTC violations, and cyberattacks. Umbrella insurance is also another popular way to cover yourself in these instances, which is what I do.
Nothing in this video should be taken as financial, insurance, or legal advice.
All thoughts are my own and don’t represent any organizations I am a part of.
#socialmedia #influencers #influencermarketing #creator
What’s the difference between a content creator and an influencer? In terms of day-to-day labor, not much. But in terms of what they accomplish and how we talk about them, there’s a huge difference.
But each day, the differences become more muddled. And in an online attention economy, even creators becomes more transactional, resulting in the same practices of influencing.
#creator #influencer #socialmedia #influencermarketing #contentcreater
2026 is the year steampunk returns.
Steampunk emerges out to science fiction and is a retro-futurist idea, aesthetic, tool, and politics. It imagines a better future for technology instead of a shitty current one.
In an era of AI, algorithms, and more, it makes sense that physical media, cyberdecks, and seeing inside machines has returned.
Stay tuned for a surprise @jessrauchberg appearance at the end.
#techtok #steampunk #genai #cyberdeck #socialmedia
Over the weekend, many people were outraged when it seemed like The Devil Wears Prada 2 used generative AI. But this was just another example of a supposed tell being completely wrong.
Generative AI witch-hunts are not good. They create pervasive distrust, confuse taste with truth, and create more labor for people.
Check out @alexis_art for the great work.
#ai #generativeai
Four years ago I took a meeting with Netflix when they asked for my input on moving into short-form vertical video. Today, the market has changed with the rise of “micro dramas” and “vertical,” but I still have my doubts.
#verticals #microdrama #netflix #socialmedia #streaming
How some of the @ugagrady professors spent Reading Day, featuring the social media professor collab of @stepheng1mall@andreagbriscoe@sabrenacdeal and Dr. Walker, who is better than all of us and not on social media. @universityofga
#uga #universityofgeorgia #professorsofinstagram #godawgs
Heated Rivalry is excellent for so many reasons, but I have to give them props for how skillfully they used social media in service of the miscommunication trope. As someone who researches social media for a living and teaches entertainment analysis classes to college students, my interests have collided in social media as a plot device, preventing Ilya and Shane from truly understanding each other.
#heatedrivalry #heatedrivalrycrave #mediaanalysis #miscommunicationtrope
Some updates on signing a book contract, first rounds of chapter writing and editing, and beginning to take meetings on the “important stuff” (like picking a title).
#academia #author #authorofinstagram #writing #writersofinstagram
