The Citizen Marketer: Promoting Political Opinion in the Social Media Age (Oxford Studies in Digital Politics)

From Hashtag Activism To The Flood Of Political Memes On Social Media, The Landscape Of Political Communication Is Being Transformed By The Grassroots Circulation Of Opinion On Digital Platforms And Beyond. By Exploring How Everyday People Assist In The Promotion Of Political Media Messages To Persuade Their Peers And Shape The Public Mind, Joel Penney Offers A New Framework For Understanding The Phenomenon Of Viral Political Communication: The Citizen Marketer. Like The Citizen Consumer, The Citizen Marketer Is Guided By The Logics Of Marketing Practice, But, Rather Than Being Passive, Actively Circulates Persuasive Media To Advance Political Interests.^ Such Practices Include Using Protest Symbols In Social Media Profile Pictures, Strategically Tweeting Links To News Articles To Raise Awareness About Select Issues, Sharing Politically-charged Internet Memes And Viral Videos, And Displaying Mass-produced T-shirts, Buttons, And Bumper Stickers That Promote A Favored Electoral Candidate Or Cause. Citizens View Their Participation In Such Activities Not Only In Terms Of How It May Shape Or Influence Outcomes, But As A Statement Of Their Own Identity. As The Book Argues, These Practices Signal An Important Shift In How Political Participation Is Conceptualized And Performed In Advanced Capitalist Democratic Societies, As They Casually Inject Political Ideas Into The Everyday Spaces And Places Of Popular Culture. While Marketing Is Considered A Dirty Word In Certain Critical Circles --^ Particularly Among Segments Of The Left That Have Identified Neoliberal Market Logics And Consumer Capitalist Structures As A Major Focus Of Political Struggle --^ Some Of These Very Critics Have Determined That The Most Effective Way To Push Back Against The Forces Of Neoliberal Capitalism Is To Co-opt Its Own Marketing And Advertising Techniques To Spread Counter-hegemonic Ideas To The Public. Accordingly, This Book Argues That The Citizen Marketer Approach To Political Action Is Much Broader Than Any One Ideological Constituency Or Bloc. Rather, It Is A Means Of Promoting A Wide Range Of Political Ideas, Including Those That Are Broadly Critical Of Elite Uses Of Marketing In Consumer Capitalist Societies. The Book Includes An Extensive Historical Treatment Of Citizen-level Political Promotion In Modern Democratic Societies, Connecting Contemporary Digital Practices To Both The 19th Century Tradition Of Mass Political Spectacle As Well As More Informal, Culturally-situated Forms Of Political Expression That Emerge From Postwar Countercultures.^ By Investigating The Logics And Motivations Behind The Citizen Marketer Approach, As Well As How It Has Developed In Response To Key Social, Cultural, And Technological Changes, Penney Charts The Evolution Of Activism In An Age Of Mediatized Politics, Promotional Culture, And Viral Circulation.-- This Book Looks At The Phenomenon Of The Citizen Marketer. The Citizen Marketer Is Guided By The Logics Of Marketing Practice, But, Rather Than Being Passive, Actively Circulates Persuasive Media To Advance Political Interests. Such Practices Include Using Protest Symbols In Social Media Profiles, Tweeting Links To News Articles To Raise Awareness About Issues, Sharing Politically-charged Internet Memes, And Displaying Merchandise That Promotes A Favored Electoral Candidate Or Cause. These Practices Signal An Important Shift In How Political Participation Is Conceptualized And Performed In Advanced Capitalist Democratic Societies, As They Inject Political Ideas Into Popular Culture. The Book Argues That Citizens View Such Activities With Regard To How They May Shape Or Influence Outcomes, And As Statements Of Personal Identity. Marketing Is A Dirty Word In Certain Critical Circles, Particularly Among Segments Of The Left That Have Identified Neoliberal Market Logics As A Focus Of Political Struggle. At The Same Time, Some Of These Critics Have Pushed Back Against The Forces Of Neoliberal Capitalism By Co-opting Its Marketing And Advertising Techniques To Spread Counter-hegemonic Ideas To The Public. Accordingly, This Book Argues That The Citizen Marketer Approach Is A Means Of Promoting A Wide Range Of Political Ideas, Including Those That Are Broadly Critical Of Elite Uses Of Marketing In Capitalist Societies. The Book Includes An Extensive Historical Treatment Of Citizen-level Political Promotion In Modern Democratic Societies, Connecting Contemporary Digital Practices To Both The 19th Century Tradition Of Mass Political Spectacle As Well As More Informal, Culturally-situated Forms Of Political Expression That Emerge From Postwar Countercultures-- Machine Generated Contents Note: -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1: The Citizen Marketer Approach To Political Action -- Chapter 2: The Historical Lineage Of The Citizen Marketer -- Chapter 3: Self-labeled And Visible Identities -- Chapter 4: Political Fans And Cheerleaders -- Chapter 5: News Spreaders And Agenda-setters -- Chapter 6: Towards A Critical Literacy Of The Citizen Marketer Approach -- Methodological Appendix -- Notes -- References -- Index. Joel Penney. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. From hashtag activism to the flood of political memes on social media, the landscape of political communication is being transformed by the grassroots circulation of opinion on digital platforms and beyond. __The Citizen Marketer__ offers a new framework for understanding this phenomenon by exploring how everyday people assist in the promotion of political media messages in hopes of persuading their peers and shaping the public mind. The analysis is grounded in the firsthand testimony of citizens who have engaged in popular activities such as changing their profile picture to a protest symbol, tweeting links to news articles to raise strategic awareness about select issues, and publicly displaying everything from slogan T-shirts to viral videos that promote a favored electoral candidate. In contrast to the “slacktivism” critique often leveled at these media-based forms of political activity, __The Citizen Marketer__ argues that they enable citizens to take on the potentially influential role of viral political marketers as they participate in the networked dissemination of ideas. Furthermore, the discussion critically examines the promises of the citizen marketer approach for expanding democratic participation and elevating the voices of marginalized groups, as well as the risks that these practices pose for polarization and partisanship, the trivialization of issues, and control and manipulation by elites. By investigating the logics and motivations behind the citizen marketer, as well as how this approach has developed in response to key social, cultural, and technological changes, the book charts the evolution of activism in the age of mediatized politics, promotional culture, and viral circulation. Cover 1 Series 3 The Citizen Marketer 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 1. The Citizen Marketer Approach to Political Action 16 2. The Historical Lineage of the Citizen Marketer 54 3. Self-​Labeled and Visible Identities 82 4. Political Fans and Cheerleaders 137 5. News Spreaders and Agenda Setters 146 6. Toward a Critical Literacy of the Citizen Marketer Approach 174 Methodological Appendix 204 Notes 216 References 240 Index 250