Clay Shirky's End Of Audience Theory

 

Here is an extra YouTube video that I found really interesting of a TedTalk spoken by Clay Shirky explaining how social media can make history: 

Here are some examples of how real artists offer interactive experiences for their audiences on their social media platforms: 

Shawn Mendes: 

• In this video we can see Shawn Mendes interacting with a fan
• She is clearly a super fan as we can see from her facial expressions how excited she is at the prospect that Shawn Mendes could see the video 
• By Shawn Mendes using the duet feature on TikTok it creates a humble feeling that he is human and an individual just like everyone else on this social media platform
• This will increase his chances of gathering a larger fan base as people will observe how casual and kind he seems in the video and perhaps been interest to listen to what his music may sound like
• Another benefit of TikTok is that you can remark as a watcher and tag Shawn Mendes to go watch a video you've made, increasing excitement for his fans and allowing them to connect with him.

Taylor Swift: 

• here is a screen shot of one of Taylor Swift posts on TikTok
• On this video we can see that it states 'if you guys want to use my version of wildest dreams for the slow zoom trend here she is!' 
• This is showing that Taylor Swift is encouraging her fans and many other people on the social media platform to use her sound in their videos to boost attraction and popularity.
• Later she adds 'Felt cute might drop the whole song later' with an emoji. This creates a sense that Taylor Swift is very casual and a fun. This again creates a very informal feeling between her fans and her making sure there is no hierarchy. 
• Again this may encourage fans to listen to her music as they enjoy the personality and star persona of her as an artist 

Lizzo: 

• When I first watch this video I found it very funny and laid-back this instantly attracted me to Lizzo as an artist. I don't tend to listen to Lizzo myself but I know plenty of friends that have and do. However I was intrigued to know the style of music and what her music videos were like after going through her TikTok page.
• I noticed that she duet with a lot of fans and random people on the platform this again adds the informality and nonexistence of superiority and a hierarchy which feels much more relatable and enjoyable to the watcher.

On their social media platform TikTok, the solo artists connect with their followers or random members in all of these posts. This fosters a sense of community and a sense that the artists and their audience are on equal footing. Instead, the artists are attempting to convey a sense of equality and unity to the fans, making them feel as if they are friends with the artists and have a special relationship with them.