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Comment by panorama | Hacker News Reader

We live in a society where, because ad dollars drive so much of online commerce, attention _is_ currency. And right now influencer marketing is outperforming many other channels, so naturally a lot of money is headed this direction, allowing many 'ordinary' people to monetize.

I don't think this is a problem - I believe in the power of the internet democratizing revenue opportunities and disrupting outdated media channels.

(Bias disclaimer: I run a startup that helps brands find Instagram influencers to work with - won't plug it here but it's in my profile).

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Upvote for posting a disclaimer that you have a horse in the race. People need to try and start doing this more when posting opinions.

In one way, this is sponsorship taken to a micro level. And sponsorship is fine - and usually open, for the benefit of both parties.

But if I open a random influencer agency website, I can read something like this: "Influencers drive trust". The message here seems to be: Yes, trust is super valuable - and now the price is finally dropping! But is it really?

It's a weird middle-ground. I myself constantly ask people for their recommendations on books and such. I trust them and act upon their suggestions. The only difference is that influencers are paid to suggest, and sometimes this leads to low-quality products being touted by low-quality influencers appearing in your feed. Definitely bad.

DHH suggested a book in an interview with Tim Ferriss[0]. I read what DHH says often and trust his taste - is this bad? I don't think so. Obviously DHH wasn't paid to talk about this book, but it wouldn't matter either way to me; a lot of his influence comes from the fact that I know he wouldn't willingly shill for something he doesn't believe in.

[0] http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/10/27/david-heinemeier-hans...

It doesn't just sometimes lead to lower quality recommendations. It ALWAYS does due to the nature of how it works.

When someone is financially incentivized to push something, but discloses that, you have to take it with a grain of salt. When they don't disclose it, you can't trust a word out of their mouth. Full stop.

I think those agencies seriously misunderstand what trust is.

Or just write bullshit copy. It doesn't matter to them, as long as it attracts customer.

It's actually fun to watch how ad/marketing sector is stewing in its own bullshit - as the sector subdivides and specializes, each component has to employ the same "tried and true" bullshit tactics to attract customers within the sector.

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