Well, yes dearest nerdlets, currency is currency. But clicks have become currency too. Every click is a bargaining point when it comes to haggling with advertisers and sponsors.
And when you're clicking poor journalism that supports bigotry, or worse, clicking on the links provided by the bigots and Nazis themselves, the click counter doesn't see your outrage.
All the stats show is traffic. And traffic means pairs of eyes on the page. That's what the advertisers are after. Advertisers don't care what you thought of the article - they just want you to see their ad.
And isn't it telling, my dearest nerdlets, that marginalised groups have to fight harder for YouTube views and website clicks than others (white cishet able-bodied (and often men, let's face it,)) do?
Look, I know that isn't the only thing at play here - a lot of things depend on content, presentation, etc.
But if you're telling me that the most popular BookTubers largely focussing on books written by white, cishet, able-bodied people is a coincidence, then I'm sorry, but that's just not true.
And things which are popular to begin with continue to receive more clicks and views.
Reviews for diverse books tend to be done by smaller BookTubers and get lower numbers of views, whereas the big BookTubers get thousands of views for the review of a popular, hyped, and non-diverse book. Strange that.
Clicks and views can also give so much inspiration and fortitude to smaller bloggers and YouTubers - they are a sign that someone is listening.
And if reviews of diverse books do well, if diverse books and authors and creators do well, then the big businesses - the publishing houses, the film studios, the marketing people, will realise that there's a market for different views of the world, and will come on board.
So, here's what I want you to do (pretty please!)
If you either -
a) click on 3 links to blogposts by diverse bloggers, or reviews of/posts about diverse books, or
b) watch three YouTube videos by or about diverse creators or their work
- then you will have helped make the world a better place - right here, right now.
Resist the urge to click on that Nazi-glorifying news story, or that rant against diversity by a white supremacist, and do this instead.
Come on my nerdlets, we can do this!
Like this post? Try these:
I had no idea it was bigger booktubers/bookstagrammers/book bloggers that posted more things about books written by that demographic! I always thought they would post more about diverse books, because I've just heard so much about it. Thanks for opening my eyes - I'll definitely have to make sure that I continue to support more people who post about diversity!
ReplyDeletePeople who post about diverse books actually often lose followers by doing so - I've posted about LGBTQ+ books and lost followers. I've shared a link to a post written by a black sexually fluid woman, and immediately lost 3-5 followers.
DeleteSo yes, any support for diversity is very much appreciated and needed!
Thanks for the comment :)
I actually had no idea this was happening! I don't watch a lot of booktube, but I do of course blog and I will definitely start clicking more then! Gotta show my support.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that clicks do count - I use the stats on my NetGalley profile to show that my blog has an active readership, and I've def had more invitations to review since I put that on there.
DeleteA lot of sites have a tendency to tailor their content to whichever posts are the most popular - and this counts for big newspaper websites as much as for personal blogs. So if you've heard that a newspaper article is awful (and we've all clicked just to see what the terrible thing they've said is) then that article will get more traffic - and the advertisers will be happy despite the horribleness of the content.
Yes! Join my diversely clicking army! ;) Ha.
I've quickly learned to not give racist and outrageous articles views and instead wait for screenshots. Many advocates of diversity and social justice already know this and try to prevent others from providing more clicks.
ReplyDeleteYou make so many great points, as always!
A lot of people still aren't aware that they're inadvertently supporting b*****ds by clicking these links - so I figured it was worth mentioning!
DeleteThank youuuuu!!!!!!!!! XD XD
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