This thesis examines the role of authenticity, its elements and manifestations in the process of developing a relationship between micro-celebrities and their fans. The issue is demonstrated by the example of YouTube, the most important video-sharing site. Part of the issue is whether the YouTube content creators and their subscribers develop parasocial relationships as defined by Horton and Wohl (1956), and authenticity as an element that sets the relationship between micro-celebrities and their fans apart from the relationship between traditional celebrities and their fans. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with concepts that are associated with development of the micro-celebrity phenomenon, discusses the concepts of micro-celebrity and authenticity themselves, and expounds the parasocial relationships theory. Analysis of the role of authenticity in the process of developing the relationship between micro-celebrities and their fans is based on qualitative research that draws from interviews with micro-celebrities and their fans and the analysis of videos and comments by which viewers respond to them.

SKAM (”Shame”) is a Norwegian WebTV-series which portrays several youths during their time in high school. Each season addresses a new main character whom treats or is subjected to the feeling of shame. The WebTV-series is unique in its way of not being shown on the traditional television. Instead the series is shown on the digital play-service NRK and SKAM’s own blog. SKAM is transmedia in its way of using social platforms to expand and give new perspectives and stories to the fictional world. For example, the characters obtain authentic Instagram profiles where the viewers can to comment, like or follow the characters. The aim of this study was thus to explore what kind of relationship between fans establish with the fictional characters of SKAM when using transmedia storytelling and why they interact with the phenomenon’s social platforms. The paper also examines in which way SKAM is using transmedia storytelling. The paper is restricted to the platform Instagram and an audience segment called “fans”. This due to the time restriction for the paper to dictated as well as “fans” being the most exploited to extend a fictional world in form of social and cultural activities. The scientific questions attempt to be answered by interviewing a focus group along with carrying out a semiotic image analysis. The results showed that the way SKAM was using the transmedia storytelling in a realistic manner which created a similar form of hyperreality in which parasocial relationship and emotional realism could be formed. This due to Instagram being already an integrated platform in the fans lifestyles. The integrated platform along with the similar hyperreality allows the fans to interact or have the illusion to interact with the characters in a manner which portrays them as social friends. Creating a social bond from the fans to the characters. The characters Instagram profiles portrays in a realistic manner with text and pictures. Their problems, emotions and lifestyle creates a solid connotation to the audience. Making the fans laugh, cry and feel with the characters and wanting to engage in their life. The transmedia storytelling lets the fans engage with the character and letting new perspective of their realistic lives being portrayed. Creating parasocial and emotional realism.

Titel: “Ska vi ha sex?” - En kvalitativ studie om mottagandet av Brottsoffermyndighetens kampanj “Av fri vilja”     Författare: Emma Nilsson & Amanda Forsberg   Kurs, termin och år: Examensarbete C-uppsats MK094G, VT19   Antal ord i uppsatsen: 14 241   Problemformulering och syfte: I juli 2018 ändrades sexualbrottslagsstiftningen i Sverige och arbetet med att implementera den så kallade “samtyckeslagen” påbörjades. Brottsoffermyndigheten har fått i uppdrag att implementera lagändringen och gör detta i form av kampanjen “Av fri vilja”. Idag kämpar olika slags organisationer med att nå fram genom det oändliga kommunikationsbruset där allt fler kanaler och budskap tävlar om människors uppmärksamhet. För att lyckas förändra människors attityder gentemot utvalda fenomen är det avgörande för organisationer att skapa budskap som går igenom bruset, fastnar hos mottagaren, blir ihågkommet och slutligen förändrar mottagarens attityd enligt sändarens önskemål. Studien undersöker hur genus påverkar mottagandet av Brottsoffermyndighetens kampanj “Av fri vilja”.   Metod och material: För att effektivt kunna besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar har det konstruerats fokusgrupper för att undersöka attityder gentemot samtycke före och efter ett stimuli i form av Brottsoffermyndighetens kampanjfilmer “Av fri vilja”. Urvalet bestod av unga vuxna mellan 18-25 år. Deltagarna i fokusgrupperna har sedan fått ta del av en enkät som har undersökt relationen till kampanjens ambassadörer samt i vilken grad budskapet fastnar och blir ihågkommet av mottagarna.   Huvudresultat: Resultatet visade att det finns indikationer för vissa skillnader i hur män respektive kvinnor påverkas av kampanjen. Även om det finns vissa motsägelser gentemot de teoretiska resonemangen så visar resultatet i huvudsak att tidigare medvetenhet om och engagemang för samtycke kan avgöra hur kampanjen tas emot. Detta beror i stor grad på genus då de kvinnliga deltagarna har haft ett större intresse för samtycke än de manliga deltagarna.

本研究搜集299份線上問卷，以類社會互動理論的取徑去探究在Facebook中介下的品牌關係。研究結果發現，品牌吸引(包括社會吸引和任務吸引)以及粉絲的工具性媒介使用動機與類社會互動成正相關，但粉絲的年齡、教育程度、收入此三個人口統計變項與類社會互動間的關係則不顯著。而類社會互動與品牌關係亦成正相關，並完全中介品牌吸引且部分中介粉絲的工具性媒介使用動機對品牌關係的影響。 / This study collected 299 Web questionnaires and applied parasocial interaction perspective to examine the relationship between fans and brands on Facebook. Finding revealed a positive relationship between brand attractions (including social and task attraction) and instrumental media motivation to parasocial interaction. Demographics (including age, education, and income) did not have a significant relationship with parasocial interaction as expected. There is also a positive relationship between parasocial interaction and brand relationship. Parasocial interaction perfectly mediated the influence of brand attractions and partially mediated the influence of the instrumental media motivation on brand relationship.

In this study, an overview is presented regarding how the mechanics in a resource-based game, specifically Crusader Kings II (Paradox Development Studio 2012), might affect the player's connection to the characters in the game. The study introduces conventions prevalent in grand strategy games, roleplaying games as well as literature theory. Participants of the study played two different versions of a mod for Crusader Kings II (2012), and were interviewed, to find indications for how different players related to characters in the game, what mechanics they valued, and their view on the characters themselves. The conclusions that are reached in the study indicated that there are mechanics in the game that influence the player’s connection to the characters, but that it is, to a certain degree, up to the player as to what extent they are used or employed.

Denna uppsats handlar om hur följare på olika sätt uppmuntras av influencers att köpa modeprodukter på Instagram, utifrån ett informatikperspektiv i den digitala kontexten. Syftet är att öka förståelsen för hur en följare på olika sätt uppmuntras att köpa modeprodukter som marknadsförs av en influencer på Instagram, vilket även kan ge förståelse för hur modeföretag strategiskt kan arbeta med influencer marketing. För att undersöka detta har vi haft 11 intervjuer via personliga möten eller online över Zoom med kvinnor i åldrarna 20-35 år. De har fått svara på frågor relaterade till hur de upplever att relationen till en influencer och exponeringen av deras innehåll inspirerar dem till att handla de modeprodukter som de marknadsför. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades sedan utifrån en tematisk analys. De olika teman som uppkom utifrån den tematiska analysen var inspiration skapar nya behov, tilltalande innehåll, spara pengar genom rabattkoder och trovärdiga samarbeten. Studiens slutresultat visar att de parasociala relationerna spelar roll för att en respondent ska handla de modeprodukter som marknadsförs av influencers. Resultatet visar även att rabattkoder, rörligt material, igenkänning, tillgänglighet och inspirerade outfits är bidragande faktorer för att respondenterna ska genomföra ett köp av en influencers. / This essay is based on how followers are encouraged by influencers in various ways to purchase fashion-related products on Instagram, from an informatics perspective in a digital context. The purpose is to increase understanding of how a follower is encouraged in various ways to buy fashion-related products that are marketed by an influencer on Instagram, which also can provide an understanding of how fashion companies strategically can work with influencer marketing. To investigate this, we conducted 11 interviews through personal meetings or online through the program Zoom with women in the ages of 20-35 years old. They were asked questions related to how they perceive their relationship with an influencer and the exposure to their content inspires them to purchase the fashion products they promote. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The different themes that emerged from the thematic analysis were inspiration creates new needs, appealing content, save money with discount codes and credible collaborations. The study's final results show that parasocial relationships play a role in a respondent's decision to purchase fashion products marketed by influencers. The results also show that discount codes, video content, recognition, accessibility, and inspired outfits are contributing factors for respondents to make a purchase from an influencer.

Characterization in Pulitzer-awarded features and traditional features was measured using a characterization typology developed by the author. Although some of the results were statistically constrained by a small n, those results which were statistically significant reflect that what separates Pulitzer-winning features from regular features are those elements of characterization particular to scene: a character's distinctive physical characteristics, clothing and possessions; the setting and environment as it defines a character; a physical description of character that is not lineament nor habitual posture or expression but bodily appearance in the immediate moment; a character's movements and actions, facial expressions, words, and thoughts. In an era when the predicted demise of newspapers is more fact than fiction, the reader's experience with newspapers is paramount. Crucial to the news reading experience is the reader's enjoyment: how "I" experienced a story through empathy, parasocial interaction, and/or identification. Perhaps a solution to newspapers' loss of readership is scene: within scene, fear, anguish, exhilaration, and joy are not only the experiences of the characters, but also that of the reader's.

In the light of the digitalization and the emergence of social media, the concept of influencer marketing has increased significantly in importance on a global scale and is now considered one of the most effective, powerful and cost-effective marketing tools for businesses in today’s society. Nevertheless, despite the effectiveness of influencer marketing, the growing worldwide marketing trend of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) influencers, also described as human-like influencers, is currently revolutionizing today’s influencer marketing and is expected to become the new way of marketing from a future perspective. With millions of followers on social media, CGI influencers are quickly gaining three times higher follower engagement than prominent celebrities and human influencers, even though their existence is not real. As a result, the organizational use of CGI influencer marketing has intensified markedly on a global scale from several world-leading brands. Although CGI influencers are expected to increase significantly within marketing, the current knowledge and understanding of CGI influencers as a marketing strategy for brands and products is insufficient and is in essential need of further exploration. This thesis contributes to the yet very limited empirical research by focusing on the research gap of differences between CGI influencers and human influencers from a consumer perspective, with the following research question: “How do CGI influencers differ from human influencers in terms of its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions?”  The research purpose of this thesis is to explore whether there is any difference in the impact of CGI influencers and human influencers on consumers’ purchase intentions in order to increase the understanding of the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing in comparison to influencer marketing on consumer behavior. The research purpose was fulfilled by undertaking a qualitative inductive research approach and performing ten semi-structured interviews with respondents which both follow at least one macro- or mega human influencer and CGI influencer on Instagram. The thesis focuses on CGI influencers in relation to the aspects of motivations to follow, opinion leadership and parasocial relationships, since these are closely linked to purchase intentions. By increasing the understanding of consumers’ view, attitude and behavior, this thesis has discovered multiple key aspects in how CGI influencers differ from human influencers in terms of its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions. The results show that CGI influencers are generally seen as more or less the same as human influencers in terms of inspiration. Followingly, it is possible for consumers to create parasocial relationships with CGI influencers. Nevertheless, this thesis has identified a dominant perspective that CGI influencers affect purchase intentions to a lesser extent than human influencers at present, which is primarily based on higher-developed parasocial relationships, a greater perceived genuineness and higher consumer trust for human influencers. The core theoretical implications are the expanded scientific research on CGI influencers as a marketing phenomenon, and the perceived differences and similarities between CGI influencers and human influencers from a consumer perspective. The key practical implications are the increased understanding of the effectiveness of virtual influencer marketing in comparison to influencer marketing on consumer behavior, and how to implement CGI influencers in the marketing strategy successfully. On a societal level, the most central societal implications are several ethical issues of CGI influencers within marketing.

La cancel culture (culture de l'annulation) est depuis quelques années une pratique en ligne populaire, mais controversée. Souvent par milliers, les utilisateurs de réseaux sociaux se rassemblent pour dénoncer publiquement et tenter de minimiser la présence en ligne d’une personnalité publique ou d’une entreprise qu'ils jugent problématique, leur fureur atteignant parfois des sommets impressionnants. Considérant l'impact de cette pratique, nous nous sommes interrogées sur la manière dont elle est perçue et vécue par les personnes qui y participent. Cette étude exploratoire définit d'abord la culture de l'annulation à travers diverses modalités numériques et sociohistoriques, puis analyse les réponses de 19 individus ayant participé à des annulations en ligne. Ces étapes ont permis de découvrir pourquoi les gens décident « d’annuler » et d'explorer les expressions de leurs participations. Finalement, c'est surtout le désir de défendre leurs propres valeurs et les communautés marginalisées qui sont ressorties comme les principales motivations de leurs annulations. / Cancel culture has been a popular, but controversial online practice for the past few years. Often by thousands, social media users gather to publicly denounce and attempt to minimise the online presence of a public figure or company they deem problematic, their fury sometimes attaining impressive heights. Considering the impact of this practice, it is worth asking how it is perceived and experienced by the people concerned. This exploratory study first defines cancel culture through diverse digital and sociohistorical modalities, and then analyses the responses of 19 subjects who have participated in online cancellations. These steps served to discover exactly why people canceled and to explore the expressions of their participations. In the end, it was mostly the desire to stand up for their own values and for marginalized communities that stood out as their main motivators for canceling.

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