Students are required to individually select a social media entrepreneur from a digital platform to conduct a case study analysis. The purpose is to interrogate how they operate and how they build their profile. You will be expected to critically analyse the case study along the following aspects:
Evaluate the communication strategies and goals;
Interrogate the motivations and drive of the entrepreneur (including their background and who they are);
Analyse business models and flow of profits;
Assess the political, economic, regulatory and platform contexts to identify potential issues for the entrepreneur and broader stakeholders;
Identify platform affordances and cultures;
Consider the broader local and global contexts
Instructions:
What do I have to do?
Choose a social media entrepreneur and investigate who they are and how they operate online. Be creative about who you choose! Some platforms you may want to look on, that are not the Big Five are Twitch, OnlyFans, TikTok
Consider the following prompts as you develop your report:
Vision: What is their mission and their vision?
Social media entrepreneurs generally have strong ideals or values that they are looking to promote and build their profile by adopting a particular mission or vision to create some form of social value and even change (in this way they are more than simply “influencers”).
Motivation: What is their underlying motivation and drive?
This is often the foundation for the vision, it underlies and is the place from which their values stem. To help answer this prompt, think about identifying their background, where do they live, how did they grow up, who is important to them, do they have family? What was their prior work experience? What is their educational background?
Identity: How do they construct their identity?
Identity is something that is (co)produced online; audiences can contribute to the identity construction, along with the features of a platform, and social media entrepreneurs may want to present particular facets of themselves or go to lengths to be perceived as “authentic”. So how does your chosen entrepreneur present themselves online? How do they present, construct and relate to their imagined audience?
Business/Operation model: Put simply, how do they make money or a profit?
How does your social media entrepreneur make a living? What is their business approach? Are they sponsored? Is their approach financially viable? Other elements to consider here are whether they are achievement oriented (do they set goals for themselves? Are they aiming to develop something in particular); are they an innovator (developing a new approach or idea to meet a particular challenge); are they an opportunist (did they become a social media entrepreneur seemingly unintentionally or look to capitalise on an unintended opportunity that emerged); are they/were they associated with a high profile business or organisation?
Platform affordances: What role does the platform specifically play in elevating (or inhibiting) your chosen social media entrepreneur?
Think carefully about platform and technological affordances, as well as the specific features of the platforms (what content can be created; how might certain content gain more visibility). Also consider in general, what content do they create and how do they engage with their audience/other users?
You may use screenshots to help illustrate your report.
Please integrate relevant literature and references, following standard academic conventions. There is no min or max amount of references. Use them as you need to provide evidence and support your arguments, claims and to demonstrate explicit engagement with the concepts from the unit.
