Jules Lund hits out at ‘lazy journalists’ and says influencers have ‘more integrity’ than mass media
Jules Lund, media personality and founder of influencer platform Tribe, has swung out at “lazy journalists” who stereotype and sensationalise influencers.
“The only time I see unappealing influencers is in articles where lazy journalists have just picked photos trying to make out like every influencer looks like a Kardashian,” Lund said in the two-minute video posted to LinkedIn, which he “may regret” posting.
“And the hypocrisy. You know why they use sensationalist images and dramatic headlines, these journos? For engagement. For clickbait. To be shared, to be liked. Exactly what they’re accusing these influencers of caring about.”
Jules you’re my idol – i agree too much FAKE NEWS
I don’t watch the news, either. There’s nothing there that I need to know.
An influencers impact is inversely proportional to the IQ (or lack of IQ) of the audience they are influencing.
The impact of an influencer is inversely proportional to the IQ (or lack of IQ) of the audience they are influencing.
But doesn’t everyone want to see who has the biggest butt – which appears EVERY DAY on a certain ‘news’ site?
Can’t believe he’s still getting away with it
Not all influencers are created equal. An attractive person wearing not much clothing is a very different type of influencer to say – a guitarits doing free online lessons (and yes they are both in positions to influence purchasing decisions). “Influencer” is basicalyy too broad a term a lot of the ime.
Similarly “journalist’ can describe a writer of vapid click bait, a foreign correspondent, a long form writer, or a racist trying to influence elections. It too has become a broad term (journalists should really unionise for a number of reasons, but one of them in particular should be protecting the term “jounalist”).
So yeah, jounralists or influencers claiming they are not quite as bad as the other one. Who? Which infulencer? Which outlet’s journalists?
line writes “journalists should really unionise” … so you presumably haven’t heard of the MEAA?
MEAA doesn’t have broad membership and lacks the power to do the kind of things necessary like enforcing professional standards/motivating broad involvement in industrial action/protecting journalism’s reputation. Actually perhaps professional body would be a better term. Journalism really needs something like other professions have (law soceity, medical board, nurses board etc).
line – there’s actually a lot of evidence out there to say that influencers don’t actually have influence. It can all be explained by a phenomenon called ‘homophily’ which was brought to marketers attention all the way back in 2014 by the IPA in their #SocialWorks report and that has been duly ignored ever since. It is not too broad a term. It is an incorrect and misleading term.
Uh, you know that impressions don’t mean that everyone who saw the post was impressed, right Jules? Seems like Mr Lund is getting a little defensive as influencers start to lose their influence…
So true Jules.
You do have to laugh at all these media outlets decrying the state of media, when they’ve been one of the driving forces in cheapening it.
I understand why (money), but don’t act all sanctimonious when someone parks their tank on your lawn for ad dollars. You sound pathetic.
Dont bite the hand that feeds you Henry!
Not sure how media is feeding me. I work for clients, not rebates.
you live for clickbait
Influencers suck just as much as journalists.
Journalists suck just as much as influencers.
Hahahah what?
Influencer sets up fake scenario with their fake persona, to do nothing more than flog a product and yet they have more ‘more integrity’ than mass media.
nah mate.
Great report. Actually, I have not read it. But I have been staring into Jules’ blue eyes all morning.
Jules makes some valid points…. BUT. The concept of integrity doesn’t exactly spring to mind when I think about Tribe influencers.
We stopped using Tribe a year ago when we realised the majority of influencers on the platform are promoting a different product in almost every post.
You can’t really call this ‘creative expression of passion of expertise’.
(and yes, I work in PR, so – you know – I leave my integrity at the door on a daily basis)
The one misstep is in this quote
“Yeah, like a girl promoting her favorite cold-pressed juice is gonna ruin culture. Take a look in the mirror.”
I think we have gone beyond the point of being able to able to say that social media, influencers, and the “look at me” culture hasn’t had a negative impact on a generation of young people.
Jonathan Haidt who is in Sydney next week, (i think), is one of many who have done extensive research on the impact that social media has by gamifying likes and creating stylised images of perfect lives. It has massive negative consequences.
I’m all for Jules and anyone else making money from social media.
Lets just not pretend that it doesn’t have any negative impact on culture.
#lookatme
The use of American spelling just proves the point… 🙂
Do you mean Tori Spelling?
Influencer: low grade paid word of mouth channel where any integrity that might exist is as rented as the time you get the influencer for. So kinda like celebrity endorsement, only without the celebrity.
Makes some very solid points. It’s not influencers per se, but the cultural points by which influencers are judged and measured.
Celebrity endorsements aren’t new. For the anyone new at this game; a brand or agency pays someone to plug something and then pays a publisher to reach their audience.
Some folk can’t see past the term ‘influencer’ – which is really shorthand for digital content publishers that have built an audience, for better or worse, by producing content this audience will pause to look at.
It’s no use stomping your feet and saying I’m not interested in investing in some chemical lip inflation because some tight faced bare chested try hard from maffs is promoting it. Suprise suprise you probably aren’t the target audience. You probably only read Cosmo for the ads too.
It’s humorous to read all the instant influencer bashing. Attack the digital publishing model rather than the ones on the platforms.
*Goal is to take money away from traditional advertising channels and funnel into a newer channel for self profit by paying individuals less”. Sounds like someone’s feeling the heat of their meaningless business model being questioned. And this from a former ‘presenter’ who was paid for being told what to say. Integrity?! Isn’t it ALL just media anyway?