Abstract
This paper contextualizes and critically examines the incorporation of transactional features into two popular mobile social media apps: Instagram and Snapchat. It examines how mobile social media acts as an interface between culture and commerce. We situate this interface within a larger political economic context in which tech companies are embracing ‘fintech’ to drive growth. We argue that mobile social media platforms play a unique role in monetising personal data and context awareness through their development of ‘transactional affordance’ – a term we develop to understand new features allowing users to connect content to forms of payment. We argue that the success of these affordances is tied to labour associated with the ‘performative authenticity’ of social-media influencers. Our first case study examines the recent development of ‘shopping’ and ‘checkout’ features on Instagram, and the significance of this feature for the economic growth of parent company Facebook. We then look at how the specific development of augmented reality features on Snapchat serve as the basis for new transactional affordances in everyday contexts. We conclude the paper by arguing that the contextual commerce these phenomena entail signals a shift to a transactional culture in which everyday interactions become opportunities for consumption.
Highlights
When Joe’s Jeans dropped its latest collection on Monday, its second collaboration with influencer Danielle Bernstein of We Wore What, both collaborators watched in real-time as the sales rolled in. (Parisi, 2019)Over the past few years, brand development and social media influencers (SMIs) have emerged as interconnected phenomena, reflecting the impact of digital media platforms on brand management
We employ two concepts to demonstrate this dynamic: ‘performative authenticity’ (Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Shtern et al, 2019) and what we call ‘transactional affordances’. The former refers to social practices that are embraced by SMIs and, we argue, intensified by mobile social media apps
By critically examining the context bringing these phenomena together, we develop a political economic analysis of two mobile social media platforms, Snapchat and Instagram, as they increasingly incorporate ecommerce and financial tech capabilities
Summary
When Joe’s Jeans dropped its latest collection on Monday, its second collaboration with influencer Danielle Bernstein of We Wore What, both collaborators watched in real-time as the sales rolled in. (Parisi, 2019). This concept stacks nicely with Bratton’s (2014: 3) ‘app as interface’ framework, where apps connect ‘the single remote device to an ocean of data and brings that data to bear on the user’s immediate interests’ We develop this line of analysis using two examples: (1) the recent development of ecommerce capabilities on Instagram allowing users to directly purchase items featured in Instagram posts and stories (Galligan, 2018); and (2), Snapchat’s Scan utility which, among other functions, enables users to take a photo of an object and buy it on Amazon (Constine, 2018). The final section of the article links the influencer model, authenticity, mobile apps, and ecommerce to argue that these apps are accelerating the spread of a transactional culture built upon a capitalist logic of commoditisation
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