Sophie Bishop

I really enjoyed speaking to @drdaveobrien.bsky.social about Influencer Creep for the New Books Network - a nice little podcast if you're looking to get the ideas of the book neatly summed up, or maybe to assign for your class!

newbooksnetwork.com/influencer-c...

So because of various personal and toddler related reasons I missed my pub date post (Influencer Creep was out on the 28 October). Here's a pub week round up because nice things happened! I was thrown a pub day dinner, gave a talk for @digitalculturekcl.bsky.social & matched my nails to the book.

Celebrating the publication of our very own @sophiebishop.bsky.social's first book, 'Influencer Creep'!
🎉 We are hosting a book launch on the 19th November (followed by a drinks reception), and everyone is welcome: ahc.leeds.ac.uk/media/events...
📚 Order the book: www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

I don't agree with the central argument - that a turn towards influencer culture represents a turn towards "money over truth" Really?? Is the influence of money new for ESPN????

This is a mediation on political economy of news - the the fraying distinction between journalists and 'influencers' does raise important q's about expertise/training, but this article hits all the (gendered) refrains about influencer culture - that it's "vapid", "fluff, visual candy cotton" (?).

ESPN has discarded brilliant journalism for squirts of memebrain swill | Aaron Timms Influencer creep symbolizes a broader rot at the heart of the broadcaster as it attempts to stop interrogating the very sports it covers

An interesting piece from Aaron Timms about how ESPN's embrace of the creator economy has changed their sports coverage - "Influencer creep symbolizes a broader rot at the heart of the broadcaster as it attempts to stop interrogating the very sports it covers" www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/s...

In "Navigating privilege and precarity: A reflexive inquiry into identity, academia, and Indian media industries", Smith Mehta (@mediaindustries.bsky.social) explores the interplay of identity, privilege, and precarity in academic research. Read it here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Is this a circuit? It’s twisted in the middle

25 Most Influential Creators of 2025 From streamers and podcasters to OnlyFans models and TikTok megastars, here's the people shaping the culture of 2025.

The @rollingstone.com list of most influential creators is Influencer Creep in action! For many, content creation did not start as their main gig - for example a former Hamptons private chef (@wishbonekitchen.bsky.social) and a former Team USA rugby player ( @ilonamaher.bsky.social).

Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture by Sophie Bishop In this uneven debut treatise, media studies scholar Bishop analyzes how social media influencer culture impacts the art world. ...

My book, Influencer Creep, is a Publishers Weekly (@publisherswkly.bsky.social) Pick! Thank you for engaging so deeply with the themes of the book. The verdict? “those in the art world will find plenty to chew on”. Read here: www.publishersweekly.com/9780520402706

And if you are a journalist who wants to see if you agree with Publisher Weekly's take then please get in touch with my publicist @helenabrantley.bsky.social for a review copy!

Influencer Creep: How Optimization, Authenticity, and Self-Branding Transform Creative Culture a book by Sophie Bishop. A look at how the rise of influencer culture has changed creative work   A sculptor works while wearing a GoPro camera to capture Instagram content. A painter decides whether to make pieces that she w...

If this lukewarm review has piqued your interest about Influencer Creep, you can preorder in the UK here: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/infl... and in the US here: www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/fr/@martfoto1?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Martin Woortman</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/fr/photos/un-couple-de-mannequins-debout-devant-une-structure-metallique-oQ_gZcYbx1M?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>

[New paper] "You and TikTok are, and will remain at all times, independent contractors", By ‪@taylorannabell.bsky.social‬, @sophiebishop.bsky.social, & ‪@cgoanta.bsky.social‬ policyreview.info/articles/ana... #TikTok #Monetisation #PlatformGovernance

I'm in Montreal on annual leave right now but really happy to share Tom Brock, Will Partin, & I's new article out in Team Performance Management: 'Towards a geopolitical economy of esports: making sense of Saudi Arabia’s investments' www.emerald.com/insight/cont...

These covers are gorgeous!

Influencer Creep by Sophie Bishop - Paper Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.

The artists I spoke to in my research felt this push towards more traditional art works that possess a kind of 'aura' - but also struggled to represent the material quality of this work via social media. A conundrum explored in the forthcoming book Influencer Creep www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

Human After All: Art in the Digital World Explore how artists in 2025 are balancing technology and tradition. From digital tools to handmade revival, the future of art remains deeply human.

Really love this piece in Art Plugged by Eva Zhang about the ways that artists are returning to craft and care in an increasingly messy digital landscape artplugged.co.uk/art-digital-...

Influencer Creep by Sophie Bishop - Paper Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.

If you would like a book length exploration of the way that artists navigate Instagram in their working lives then please pre order Influencer Creep here www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

I like how Miller shows the artists aren't creating art work FOR Instagram, buttt some of this work is 'best understood' through social media. It's super hard for artists to create works that will be seen by audiences (because they were promoted by algorithms) BUT are also created as authentic art.

So You’re an Artist? How Many Followers Do You Have?

V late to the party but really enjoyed this @nytimes.com piece by M.H. Miller, who reveals the plentiful economic rewards for artists who end up 'tripping the algorithm', simultaneously noting the risks of visibility when art worlds remain 'suspicious of populism' www.nytimes.com/2025/05/14/t...

This looks great - Reddit is such a vibrant and important source within content creation, important to study in-depth.

Yes please!!

Hello I've decided to use Blue Sky now. In unrelated news, my book 'Influencer Creep' will be published with University of California press in October 2025. It's about the ways influencer culture has transformed creative work.

Preorder here: www.ucpress.edu/books/influe...

On December 17 & 18, we are organizing a conference at the University of Amsterdam on GenAI & Creative Practices. We are very much looking forward to your proposals for papers, panels, roundtables and fishbowls!! CfP: rdt.uva.nl/genai--creat... Deadline proposals: 26 May