GEOMEDIA SPEAKER SERIES – DIGITAL SEMINAR INFLUENCERS: PLATFORMS, EXPERTISE, AND AUTHENTICITY

April 3 2025, 13-15
Karlstad University

Today’s influencers wield pervasive social, cultural, political, and economic power through sustained visibility on their ‘native’ social media platforms and across a wide range of other contexts. This seminar explores how they navigate platform logics, assume popular forms of expertise, and communicate through strategies of authenticity and self-branding. The panel will feature three presentations of the latest work by distinguished scholars in the field of influencer studies.

13:00-13:20
INTRODUCTION

Professor Anne Jerslev, University of Copenhagen
Professor Mette Mortensen, University of Copenhagen & Ander Visiting Professor in Geomedia Studies, Karlstad University

13:20-13:50
INFLUENCER AUTONOMY: NAVIGATING AUTHENTICITY, AGENCIES AND ALGORITHMS

Associate professor Vilde Schanke Sundet, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet)
Research professor Kari Steen-Johnsen, Institute for Social Research in Oslo
Assistant professor Mads Møller Andersen, University of Copenhagen

13:50-14:20
THE EXPERTISE OF FINANCIAL INFLUENCERS AND STRATEGIES OF CALIBRATION TOWARDS MONETIZATION

Associate professor Andreas Gregersen, University of Copenhagen
Associate professor Jacob Ørmen, University of Copenhagen

14:20-14:50
RELEVANCE, COMMITMENT, AND IMPACT: ASPIRATIONAL FORMULATIONS OF INVESTING-RELATED INFLUENCER COLLABORATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ETHICAL FASHION

Associate professor Heidi Hirsto, University of Vaasa, Finland
Doctoral researcher Cecilia Hjerppe, University of Vaasa, Finland

14:50-15:00
CONCLUDING DISCUSSION