Online Media: ZOELLA

PAPER 2 : Online Media 1 : ZOELLA

SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE ONLINE AGE

You will look at the role played by blogs and websites in the media today, exploring the way in which these convergent media platforms increasingly overlap, as well as investigating the potential that they offer for self-representation.
The changing relationship between media producers and audiences will be considered, as the idea that media consumers have now become producers who regularly and actively participate in the creation and dissemination of media content online.
The impact of digitally convergent media platforms on media production, distribution and circulation will also be explored.

  Text 1  : " Zoella "  : GENERAL ANALYSIS 

You should be mainly analysing her blog ( new version and archive) as well as her other outlets on youtube,twitter etc.
Analyse and summarise the  content and purpose  of her blog/ youtube channel and insta

• What areas of life does she focus on ?
• Who is her main target audience ?
• Does she simply entertain her audience or support, give advice and educate ?
• What is her mode of address ?

1. Are there any differences between the  content and purpose of her various blogs and online channels ?
2. How does Zoella produce  income ? This link  will help and here's an article about youtube and its income channels
3. How can her audience interact with  or give feedback to Zoella/Zoe ?

Define parasocial interaction in your own words
Summarise the representation of gender as well as other representations  such as age , class or ethnicity that are most dominant in her blogs. You can also explain any use of stereotypes and  gender performativity along with relevant technical codes such as body language, use of colour, props and formatting.
What are the main differences between Zoella and Zoe Sugg as representations ?

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Zoella mainly focuses on lifestyle videos where she talks about hair, make-up and fashion that would appeal to teenage girls, but mainly females aged from 12 to their mid twenties. She started off with Primark hauls which is a typical, affordable high street store that many young females shop at, making it accessible to the viewers. She tends to make videos about Primark hauls even in her most recent videos which shows that it still is an interest among her viewers even after 10 years. Primark is cheap but has many different items which makes its products widely bought across the UK. Zoella creates make-up videos advertising different products from different brands and boosting her fame and income. In each video she talks about a certain item and sponsors it, receiving many from the companies ho pay her to mention the product.
In her videos Zoella is seen to have very "girly" hairstyles, which may girls may want to try as they see it looks stylish on her. She tends to change her hair colour and haircuts often, while doing hairstyle tip videos that receive many views.The theme in her videos is bedroom settings with pink and pastel backgrounds with cute lights of fluffy cushions. With time as her videos progress the background looks nicer and the quality of the videos improves majorly. It is clear that as she gets more viewers she starts to put more effort into her videos and uses better quality cameras to insure she makes the videos as appealing as possible. Her main target audience is teenage girls who would want to follow her path and be like her, being like an influencer for them. She isn't an influencer in a healthy way but more in a fun way where she does videos about eating junk food or playing games or doing Q&As with her friends and family. However, in her most recent videos she mentions being Vegan and going to gym. The main focus in her videos is entertaining and keeping a cheerful atmosphere for her viewers, rather than educating them. She starts to talk a lot about her private life once she gets comfortable with her viewers and fills them in on her anxiety or panic attacks, creating a parasocial interaction and more familiar connection with her viewers.Zoella uses a very direct mode of address when talking to her audience. She looks directly at the camera and talks about her life in a friendly, talkative way to involve the audience more and insure they like her personality. On her blog she includes links to all her social media platforms, books, stock and things she is interested in. By putting all her important details in one place she makes it much easier for people to access her products and buy them or receive more fame. By adding products she likes to her blog she is receiving income from different companies who ask her to sponsor them.
She adds a link to her two instagrams where the different themes can be evidently seen. In the "Zoella" one there is more pink and girly themes, whilst the "Zoe Sugg" one is much more formal and elegant with lighter and darker tones to show a more serious approach as she is getting older and may not attract the same young audiences. 

As Zoella is now 29 it may seem that she is too old to continue doing videos for teenage girls as she cannot relate to that lifestyle anymore, so in her recent videos she can be seen acting in a more formal and more educated way.