Thinking of today's White House gathering of Ticktok 'influencers' and some videos I've been watching about cosmetic plastic surgery where the subjects were referred to as "celebrities and influencers."
Is this the dawn of the age of nondescript influencers whose only purpose is to implant the ideas of the ruling class on the illiterate public?
They're not statesmen or movie stars or musicians or actors or authors; they're not preachers or philosophers or inventors or shamans. They don't do anything at all except well, influence?
This seems so empty, what am I missing?
Sort of related and maybe of some interest:
In William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition, there is a new market niche in the internet ecology for individuals who have an above average ability to predict which trends and memes will be successful. Marketing and advertising companies hire them as consultants to help "read" the market.
In Vernor Vinge's novel Rainbow's End, there is a job role called "Search and Analysis". As the name suggests, there are people who make their living by being above average at finding information and sifting through all the noise and garbage and propaganda.