Applying Audience Theory to Zoella: Clay Shirky

One of the key ideas Shirky presents is that audiences have become more than just consumers in the internet age, as increasing levels of user interaction. Rather than being passive and subject to what a "Media God" (as David Gauntlett calls it) wants us to consume. Shirky calls audience members 'prosumers', a term that indicates that audiences are now interacting with media texts like producers. Not only do we now speak back to the content creators, we have become content creators too. We can share thoughts or opinions on a media text at any time but also create separate content to share with each other.

An example of this surrounding Zoella is the backlash she received over some old tweets that were uncovered. The idea of negotiated and oppositional readings is important here, as some audience members have presumably accepted the oppositional reading. They have reinforced this stance and therefore helped shape the perception of Zoella as a person. The wildfire platforms of Twitter and YouTube have both, in this case, enabled audiences to throw away their passivity and actively participate in what content Zoella creates. In this specific example, we see that the vocabulary used by Zoella is being molded; she clarifies in a tweet that words like "chav" and "skank" are now words that she "wouldn't use now", despite previously using them.

It isn't just online mobs that have interacted with Zoella's content in a negative fashion, as some other YouTubers have actively explained their disdain for the representation of Zoella. One of the most prominent of these content creators is the True Geordie, who has explained at length that he dislikes the brand of Zoella. Despite this, he has managed to become a part of the representation and the influence of Zoella. They represent opposing ideas of masculinity and femininity, one makes content about domestic products and life and the other makes long podcasts and videos about football. Despite this, they may be seen as similar figures in their communities. The conversational tones and the face-to-face styles of their videos are not dissimilar. Both have discussed mental health issues and had confessional moments surrounding this issue.