Endorsements for Ratcliff’s work
JJ Abrams (Director & Writer of Lost, Alias, Fringe, Star Trek, Super 8, Star Wars: The Force Awakens):
“Trey’s images are other-worldly, mind-blowing creations that, at first glance, appear to be some digital trompe l’oeil; a Photoshop trickery post-production creation. But no, Ratcliff’s photographs—through techniques he freely shares —are inspiring and real. Something which makes them all the more incredible.”
Hans Zimmer (Composer for The Lion King, Gladiator, Inception, Interstellar, Batman):
“Trey’s pictures are a daily source of inspiration for me. I can’t count the times that I’ve gotten stuck in my writing and, as I sit there staring at my computer screen desperately trying to think of the next idea, the screensaver kicks in with one of Trey’s images, and the shapes and colors triggered something in me that got me to the next note…”
Patrick Rothfuss (Author of The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, Doors of Stone):
“Someone once told me that a photographer is an artist that paints with light. I never understood what that meant until I saw Trey’s work.”
Hugh Howey (Author of The Wool Trilogy; I, Zombie; Beacon 23):
“Trey’s art not only captures the soul of its subjects and environment; his body of work reveals the depth of the man behind the camera. I aspire to see the world with as much grace, humility, and wisdom as Trey. He is more than a photographer; he is an observer of the human condition, and he relates what he sees in stunning prose, with biting wit, and with soaring images.”
Tina Guo (CEO of Guo Industries; Grammy-nominated acoustic/electric cellist; recording artist; composer):
“I love Trey’s beautiful imagery, his body of work and I’ve even been lucky enough to go on a photo walk with him in Budapest, traveling around the city taking pictures and listening to words of wisdom on both life and photography matters! This book takes an all-encompassing look at the world of social media and specifically Instagram, analyzing what it truly means to connect with your following and the importance of building a real and loyal fan base as opposed to a mere numbers game. As with all things, quality over quantity!”
Lisa Donchak (Technology Consultant, Behavioral Scientist):
“Trey has been deeply involved in social media since long before most of us knew what it was. Through his art, he’s been able to reach millions of people across social media networks, in some cases redefining the engagement model between an Influencer and their followers. As he’s made his name across these platforms, Trey has delved deeply into their inner workings, through his own experimentation, his conversations with other thought leaders in the space, and his discussions with the founders of many of the most popular social media companies. In this book, Trey shares his unique insights on the topic of the darker side of social media—perspectives that will shift the broader conversation about how we interact with each other on the web.”
Kevin Kelly (Founder of WIRED and Author of The Inevitable and What Technology Wants):
“You can often learn how something works by how it breaks. The thing I really like about the book is way Trey shines x-ray beams into a broken system and thereby illuminates how it works. Once one understands how the system works, the reader can then optimize it for good. While Trey educates us on how to fake influence, this book is really about how to create genuine positive influence—and why it is more powerful and sustainable. This is also a tremendous resource for those who employ Influencers, because it gives you different smell tests to discern the genuine from the imposters, protecting your own reputation and money. I’d go so far as to say the discernment and media skills entailed in this book should be a required literacy in every high schooler’s education. You’ve heard of critical media skills? This is critical Influencing skills.”
DEDICATION
Dedicated to my dad. Dude, I am sorry you’re gone, but thanks for the inspiration and that awesome DNA. Also, speaking of acronyms, I wish we had done MDMA together!
EPIGRAPH
“In the beginning, the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
— Douglas Adams
CONTENTS
Endorsements for Ratcliff’s work
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
CONTENTS
Join the Conversation
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 Under the Influence
Connecting the World
Who Uses Instagram?
What Are Influencers, and Why Do They Matter?
Who Are Influencers?
How Widespread Is This Phenomenon?
What’s the Secret?
What Is Really Happening to Us on Social Media?
The Black Mirror Nosedive
Is There Another Path?
Chapter 2 Something Fishy Is Going On
Social Network Measurements as a Fictional Construct
Fakes Are on All Platforms
What’s Wrong with Purchased Followers?
Other Instagram Scams
Why This Is Important Now: Backlash Against Instagram
Why Has Nobody Written This Book Before? (Or: Retribution-bots and Revenge-bots)
Chapter 3 The Inside Scoop (Or: How to Buy Your Way to Fake Internet Fame)
My Experiment: I Built a Fake Influencer Account
Step 1: Open the Account and Make Some Content
Step 2: Go to the Instagram “Black Market” and Buy Some Followers
Step 3: Buy Some Likes
Step 4: Buy Some Comments
Step 5: Buy Instagram Story Views
Step 6: Buy The Verified Blue Tick
Step 7: Explore Everything Else
Trade Some Clicks—Credit Card Not Required
Step 8: Understand Your New Fake Audience (They Can’t ALL Be Bots!)
Where Do Bots Get the Photos?
Step 9: Look Like an Influencer
Step 10: Contact Brands Directly and Sign up with an Agency That Represents Influencers
Conclusion: Everything Is For Sale
Chapter 4 How to Slow the Zombie Apocalypse (Or: How to Detect the Fakes)
How To Spot Fake Accounts as a User
How to Vet Influencers if You’re a Brand, Marketer, Agency, or Business
How to Spot Fake Accounts If You’re Instagram—And What You Should Do About It
Instagram Public Relations and Instagram Security Respond
An Internal Sea Change
Possible Solution #2: Use More Scripts to Highlight Suspicious Behavior
Possible Solution #3: Mobile App Only + Monthly Forced Password Rotation
Responses from @miss.everywhere
Chapter 5 Selfies and the Ego Running Amok
Accidental Role Models Setting Unrealistic Standards
Case Study: Paris Hilton with a Faux Messiah Complex
Case Study: The @slutwhisperer
The Comparison Game: How We Measure Up
Staying in the Competition: Manufacturing Our Online Personas
Instagram Selfies
Connection Between Social Media and Anxiety
A Mass Delusion
Chapter 6 See the Matrix
Algorithms Are the Puppet Master
Yuval Noah Harari and Trains
Chapter 7 Moving Forward—What Could “Good” Look Like?
How We Got Here
What Went Wrong?
It Can Work: Lessons from the One-Time Panacea of Google+
Blank Piece of Paper
How the 150 Solution Solves All the Problems
Is Time Up?
Chapter 8 How to Stay Zen on Social Media
How to Be a Valuable Human
Figure out What Your Goal Actually Is
Dabble in Mindfulness
Set Some Social Media Rules of Engagement
How Do I “Check Out” of the Instagram Ego Game?
Unplug from Instagram
Chiefs, Priests, and Thieves
Chapter 9 Concluding Thoughts
How to Flourish in Our Tantalizing Future
10 Ways to Fake Influence
11 Ways to Have Real Influence
Why Does Trey Stay on Instagram (and Other Social Media)?
A Final Photo
Appendix A My Improbable Road to Internet Fame
For Those of You That Cravy Some More Travy
My Personal Approach to Taking Photos of People and Landscapes
My Philosophy
You Are Not the Thoughts in Your Head
Some of My Favorite Photos
Appendix B The 1,000 Tane Commandments
Appendix C Book Suggestions
About The Author
Other Resources
Join the Conversation
Do you find these topics interesting and timely? Take a photo of the image below and share it with your friends on social media with the hashtag #UnderTheInfluence. I mean, assuming they are real friends and not bots.
I also invite you to join the conversation inside our Facebook Group. And hey, be nice, eh? That’s a good rule for life.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnderTheInfluenceBook
Text copyright © 2019 Trey Ratcliff.
Cover art copyright © 2019 Trey Ratcliff.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, photocopying, scanning or otherwise, without the expressed written permission of the author.
Cover Design by @stephanbollinger.
Interior layout and design and eBook conversion by www.writingnights.org.
Book preparation by Chad Robertson.
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, email [email protected].
ISBN: 9781091586550
This book may contain suggestive themes, crude humor, and strong language. Content may not be suitable for anyone who is easily outraged or offended.
Real Instagram handles and names are used throughout as examples. In this book, I provide my personal opinion on what may constitute fraudulent behavior on social media, based on the evidence and data available to me. The reader is welcome to draw their own conclusions.
PREFACE
I invite you to read this book in its entirety, especially if you’re dreaming of fame and fortune as a Social Media Influencer. For those with different aspirations, and those who are hoping I’ll get to the interesting parts quickly, I’ve handpicked some juicy bits that I think you’ll find most relevant.
For Marketing Managers, Advertising Directors, Brand Managers, and their Bosses: Immediately read the first half of the book about Instagram-related fraudulent behavior so you can spot the fakes before you waste another dime on doomed Influencer marketing campaigns. You’ll probably want to be sitting down.
For Sociopaths: I can’t stop you from using this book to fake your way to getting rich on Instagram, as thousands have before you. Follow the recipes inside if you’re an asshole who thinks fraud is kinda cool.
For Techies and Social Media Insiders: There are plenty of graphs and objective technical analyses to geek out on. There are also a few bold conclusions that you might be surprised to see in print.
For Instagram Employees: You probably already know all the scams and tricks I’m about to expose in chapter 3. So, I’ve also provided some solutions in chapters 4 and 7 that might make you a hero at the next company brainstorm.
For Parents: Go straight to the part about selfies and anxiety in chapter 5, right after you fail to force your child to replace Instagram on their phones with the Headspace meditation app. I may never convince you that mindfulness is better for their lives—and yours—than selfies, but I’ll try.
For those of you who think Social Media might be causing your anxiety: It probably is. Read chapter 5, about selfies and anxiety to understand why this is. Then check out chapter 8, where I talk about some solutions.
For Technophobes: If you’ve managed thus far to not be tempted to live your life online, congratulations! If you’re into schadenfreude, this is the book for you.
For Artists and Creatives: Even if you don’t believe you belong in this category, I hope I inspire you to create in some way, whether it’s online or IRL. Along the way, don’t take social media or yourself too seriously. There is an extensive section on how to have actual influence rather than faking it.
For those who don’t skip ahead to the “About the Author” section in Appendix A: I, Trey Ratcliff, am an artist and professional photographer. I run the #1 Travel Photography blog in the world. I’m also a bit of a computer geek, so I jumped on social media back in the early days. I regularly communicate with heaps of friends I haven’t met yet (I now have over 5 million followers, including 170,000 on Instagram). I guess that makes me a Social Media Influencer. To be clear, I haven’t purchased any of these followers using the fraudulent means I will soon describe in this book. You can read more about your new author friend in Appendix A.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to my editors Lisa Donchak (Instagram - @therainbowgoat) and Pamela Bramwell (Instagram - @pbramwell) and contributors including, but not limited to:
Aaron Lammer (Instagram - @aaronlammer)
Amber Colle (Instagram - @ladycolle)
Amelia McGeorge (Instagram - @amelia.mcnugget)
Amie Yavor (Instagram - @amie_yavor)
Annika Beer (Instagram - @annika_beer25)
Baz Macdonald (Twitter - @kaabazmac)
Beatrice Onions (Instagram - @beatriceonions)
Ben Calvert (he’s too old and grumpy to use Instagram)
Brian Brushwood (Instagram - @scamschoolbrian)
Carla Munro (Instagram - @blackrobincreative)
Chad Robertson (does not understand Instagram’s value proposition)
Christa Laser (Instagram - @christa.laser)
Clayton Morris (Instagram - @claytonmorris)
Cliff Redeker (Instagram - @mcrsquared2)
Curtis Simmons (Instagram - @curtissimmons)
Danny Garcia (Instagram - @danmiami)
Dave Gent (I asked for his Instagram but he wanted a beer)
David Maxwell (Instagram - @davidewtmaxwell)
Dean Burrell
Elizabeth Carlson (Instagram - @youngadventuress)
Erin Keeble
Frederick Van Johnson (Twitter - @frederickvan)
Gary Beller (Instagram - @garybeller)
Georgia Rickard (Instagram - @georgiarickard)
Gino Barasa (Instagram - @ginobarasa)
Graham Woodyatt
Hans Mast (Instagram - @hansmast)
Hugh Howey (Has quit all social media)
Jared Polin (Instagram - @jaredpolin)
Jason Silva (Instagram - @jasonsilva)
Jeffrey Martin (Instagram - @gigajeff)
Jim Pollard (Instagram - @jimpollardgoesclick)
John Tierney (Twitter - @johntierneynyc)
Johnny Jet (Instagram - @johnnyjet)
Josh Whiton (Instagram - @joshwhiton)
Julie Wolf (Instagram - @whyge
orgia)
Kevin Kelly (Instagram - @kevin2kelly)
Kevin Rose (Instagram - @kevinrose)
Kiersten Rich (Instagram - @theblondeabroad)
Kirk Strawn (Instagram - @kirkstrawn)
Lauren P. Bath (Instagram - @laurenepbath)
Leo Laporte (Has quit all social media)
Lindsay Adler (Instagram - @lindsayadler_photo)
Matt Hackett (Twitter - @mhkt)
Matt Mullenweg (Instagram - @photomatt)
Matt Ridley (Twitter - @mattwridley)
Meagan Morrison (@travelwritedraw)
Miranda Spary (Instagram - @mirandaqueenstown.co.nz)
Nicole S. Young (Twitter - @nicolesy)
Niki Shmikis (Instagram - @nikishmikis)
Olivia Wensley (Instagram - @liv_wensley)
Om Malik (Instagram - @om)
Patrick Rothfuss (Twitter - @patrickrothfuss)
Peter Ruprecht (Instagram - @peterruprecht)
Rene Smith (Instagram - @renejsmith)
Rick Sammon (Instagram - @ricksammonphotography)
Robert Scoble (Instagram - @scobleizer)
Ruby Wilson (Instagram - @rujean)
Sally Rutter (Instagram - @seesallyeat)
Serge Ramelli (Instagram - @photoserge)
Sofia Jin (Instagram - @_sofjin)
Stephan Bollinger (Instagram - @stephanbollinger)
Stu Davidson (Instagram - @veridian3)
Under the Influence- How to Fake Your Way Into Getting Rich on Instagram Page 1
