PDF Summary:Get Rich or Lie Trying, by Symeon Brown

In the digital age, social media platforms have evolved to exploit human behavior for profit. In Get Rich or Lie Trying, Symeon Brown exposes how these networks incentivize attention-seeking and the commodification of personal lives to drive advertising revenue.

The author reveals how influencers prioritize virality over authenticity, individuals brand themselves for sponsorships, and online service providers mine marginalized communities for content. Brown also examines the prevalence of fraudulent "get-rich-quick" schemes targeting vulnerable populations with deceptive offers of instant success.

(continued)...

Context

• While self-objectification affects all genders, women are disproportionately impacted due to societal expectations and the historical objectification of female bodies in media and advertising.
• Success on one platform can lead to opportunities on others, as individuals leverage their audience to expand their reach and income streams across multiple sites.
• Platforms like Instagram use algorithms that often prioritize content featuring popular aesthetics, such as the "Insta baddie" look. This can amplify the visibility of such content, further entrenching these beauty standards.
• The focus on transactional interactions can affect personal relationships, as individuals may prioritize online engagements over real-life connections, potentially leading to isolation or superficial interactions.
• Many individuals turn to social media as a source of income due to economic instability or lack of opportunities in traditional job markets, especially in industries like modeling and entertainment.
• Achieving fame on social media can have psychological impacts, including pressure to maintain a certain image and the stress of constant public scrutiny.
• Engaging in monetized content on these platforms can raise issues related to privacy, as creators often share personal or intimate content, which can be leaked or misused.

Monetizing Bodies, Sexuality, and Social Movements via Digital Platforms

The author then explores how online platforms have created new industries around selling bodies and sexuality. These new avenues empower a new generation of sex workers, while simultaneously incentivizing brands to co-opt genuine social activism into their marketing strategies.

Influencer Economy Prompts New Generation of Workers Using Social Media to Sell Body and Sexuality Access

This section examines the booming online sex work industry and how websites such as OnlyFans have enabled influencers to monetize intimacy by leveraging the attention economy. Many hopeful performers see these outlets as lucrative side hustles or possibly as pathways to a higher-paying influencer career. However, Brown argues that although these platforms offer high income and autonomy, they often jeopardize long-term health and wellbeing.

Websites Like OnlyFans Monetize Intimacy, Often to the Detriment of Long-Term Wellbeing

Brown shows how the seemingly easy access to digital sex work can attract vulnerable women who are then pressured to constantly produce new and increasingly explicit content to maintain their followers and keep income flowing. Sites like OnlyFans profit from their creators' commitment to constantly create new content. This demand also incentivizes unsafe practices, such as undergoing plastic surgeries.

Cherrise, a young mother from Manchester, went on a surgery tourism trip to Turkey that went awry after Clinchub—the company that sold her the procedure—botched it. She had financed her surgery by offering provocative images and videos on OnlyFans. Cherrise, whose interest in cosmetic surgery stemmed from wanting to become a successful Instagram model and influencer, further blurred the lines separating traditional brand promotion from online adult content.

Practical Tips

• You can support vulnerable women by volunteering with organizations that offer alternative employment opportunities. By dedicating your time to such organizations, you help create pathways for women to find work outside of digital sex work. For example, you could offer to teach a class on basic computer skills or resume building, which can empower women to apply for a variety of jobs that may not have been accessible to them before.
• Create a blog or social media page that highlights the artistic and creative aspects of digital sex work. Use this platform to showcase how these creators contribute to the broader digital landscape beyond explicit content. You could feature interviews with creators discussing their artistic process, inspirations, and the challenges they face, thereby shifting the focus from the pressure to produce explicit content to the value of their creative expression.
• Consider collaborating with other creators to share the workload and cross-promote content. Find creators with similar interests or audiences and propose a content exchange or a collaborative project. This can help you tap into each other's follower bases, provide fresh perspectives, and keep the content flowing without having to create everything yourself.
• Engage in community discussions or online forums to support individuals considering plastic surgery for non-medical reasons. Offer emotional support and provide information on the potential risks and the importance of self-acceptance. This peer-to-peer support can be a powerful tool in helping someone make an informed decision. You might, for example, join a Facebook group focused on body positivity and share resources that discuss the value of self-love and the dangers of cosmetic surgery.
• Consider a side hustle that aligns with your interests and skills to generate extra income. If you have a hobby or talent, such as crafting, photography, or writing, you can monetize it through platforms like Etsy, Shutterstock, or Medium. By doing so, you can earn additional funds in a way that feels authentic and enjoyable to you.
• Create a vision board that represents your ideal influencer persona without cosmetic changes. Use images, quotes, and symbols that resonate with your authentic self and desired brand image. This can help you visualize success and influence based on your natural attributes and unique qualities.
• Establish a communication plan with a medical professional in your home country. Before going abroad for surgery, consult with a local doctor who can provide a second opinion on the necessity and safety of the procedure. Arrange for follow-up care upon your return, ensuring continuity of care and a point of contact in case of postoperative complications.
• Develop a 'value assessment tool' to evaluate the true worth of services or products you're considering. This could be a simple spreadsheet where you input various factors like cost, reviews, potential ROI, and personal or business needs. By assigning weights to these factors, you can calculate a score that helps you determine which options offer the best value.
• Create a content series that combines your product with a trending online challenge or meme format. This could involve using your product in a humorous or unexpected way that resonates with the viral nature of the challenge, thereby capturing the attention of a broader, more engaged audience.

Corporations Co-opt Social Movements Like Body Positivity, Turning Genuine Activism Into Commercial Enterprises

Symeon Brown then demonstrates how brands have co-opted social activism like the body positivity movement to drive sales, turning a sincere desire for social change into exploitative enterprises. Despite claiming to empower women with messages that promote self-acceptance, these brands are primarily motivated by profit and continue to uphold a narrow and often altered beauty standard.

The influencer turned 'activist' Chidera Eggerue (The Slumflower) provides an interesting example of this trend. Her #SaggyBoobsMatter campaign initially resonated with numerous women tired of unrealistic beauty ideals. However, as her profile grew, she began promoting a highly individualistic and transactional approach to relationships with men, all while calling it feminism. Ironically, her own followers turned into a revenue stream as white women, apparently guilty over a white peer's achievements and Chidera's claims of having been wronged, began sending her donations.

Other Perspectives

• Corporate support can provide financial backing and resources that might be difficult for grassroots movements to obtain, helping to amplify their message and effect change.
• The partnership between brands and social movements can create educational opportunities for consumers who may not be aware of certain issues, thus spreading awareness and fostering a more informed public.
• The definition of beauty is subjective and constantly evolving, and what may seem like a narrow standard to some may actually reflect a broader cultural shift in aesthetics.
• The campaign's resonance could be perceived as limited to online communities and may not have translated into widespread societal change or acceptance of diverse body types in mainstream media and everyday life.
• Feminism encompasses a wide range of ideologies and practices, and there is no single correct way to advocate for women's rights and empowerment.
• The focus on white women's motivations for donating risks overshadowing the broader impact of Chidera Eggerue's campaign and the positive change it may represent for many people.

Digital Platforms Commodify Marginalized Identities and Cultural Expressions

Brown further analyzes how digital services such as Twitter and Facebook have profited from the unique creative expressions of marginalized communities, mining their content and culture for ad revenue with minimal to no compensation or recognition for those producing it. The author also examines how influencer culture has incentivized individuals to falsely claim marginalized identities and even exploit social justice language and imagery for their own gain.

Black Twitter's Creativity Mined For Corporate Profit With Little Compensation or Credit

Brown argues that Black Twitter now serves as a valuable research hub for multinational companies and advertising agencies. These corporations mine the innovative language and creative expressions of black people online for profit, appropriating their words and their style for marketing campaigns. The author points to the fast-food giant Popeyes who directly leveraged language from Twitter's Black community to target their competitors in a campaign that helped increase sales to the point of a sandwich shortage. Despite that, few Black meme creators have gained enduring financial reward from their viral success.

Other Perspectives

• Multinational companies and advertising agencies often draw inspiration from a wide range of sources, not exclusively Black Twitter, and their campaigns can be influenced by various cultural trends and social media platforms.
• There may be instances where individuals from Black Twitter have been compensated or credited, but these cases are not highlighted or as well-known.
• Some might argue that the use of culturally relevant language in advertising is a form of engagement and recognition of that culture's influence, rather than exploitation.
• The issue of compensation for viral content is complex and involves questions of intellectual property rights that extend beyond racial lines, affecting content creators of all backgrounds.

Influencers Exploiting Social Justice Language and Imagery For Personal Gain

Symeon Brown demonstrates how the commercial demand for people who champion social justice campaigns has incentivized individuals to falsely represent being activists. Their ambition to gain followers and develop a social media presence for sponsorship and brand deals has led many to exploit progressive movements like Black Lives Matter, distorting the movement's truths and even generating elaborate scams to draw donations for causes they have very little real involvement with.

The author details Jussie Smollett's story, a television star who fabricated a hate crime to generate media attention and boost his own celebrity. Smollett, a visible champion of the BLM movement, claimed he had been attacked by Trump supporters wearing Make America Great Again hats, and even garnered support from prominent politicians and celebrities. Only a police investigation uncovered that the actor himself staged the attack.

Practical Tips

• Create a personal accountability group with friends or colleagues where you can discuss and evaluate the impact of your actions on your reputation. This group can serve as a sounding board to prevent actions that could be perceived as inauthentic or attention-seeking. You might share your intentions before taking a significant action and get feedback on how it might be perceived by others.
• Create a personal "trust index" for the media you consume, rating news sources based on their history of accuracy and bias. Keep a simple spreadsheet or journal where you note instances where news sources have either correctly reported information or fallen prey to sharing falsehoods. Over time, this will help you develop a more discerning eye for trustworthy news and become more critical of the information you accept and pass on.
• Develop a personal "investigation game" to play with friends or family. Create a fictional scenario where an event has occurred, and participants must determine if it was genuine or staged. Each person presents their case, and together you analyze the evidence, debate the possibilities, and come to a conclusion. This game will not only be entertaining but also improve your collective ability to assess and interpret information critically.

Other Perspectives

• Some individuals may start by leveraging social justice for personal gain but can become genuinely committed to the causes they promote as they learn more and become more involved.
• The visibility of influencers can bring mainstream attention to social justice issues that might otherwise be overlooked or marginalized in public discourse.
• It is important to distinguish between influencers who intentionally scam their audience and those who may make mistakes or missteps in their activism without malicious intent.

Proliferation of Fraudulent "Get-rich-Quick" Schemes and Financial Scams

Brown concludes by examining how the appeal of instant financial success—regularly preached by internet gurus and influencers on social media—has led to a proliferation of fraudulent "get-rich-quick" schemes and outright scams that target vulnerable populations with limited economic opportunities.

How Offers of Instant Success and Wealth Lead to Pyramid Schemes and Dubious "Opportunities" Targeting Vulnerable Populations

In this section, Brown argues that the appeal of quick and easy wealth has created a booming industry of predatory schemes and pyramid scams that exploit the desire for financial freedom. The author argues that digital spaces have become havens for these enterprises, serving as portals through which they can reach and target vulnerable and anxious populations seeking alternatives.

Digital Platforms Lure Entrepreneurs With False Assurances of Profit and Freedom

Here, Symeon Brown explains how the language of start-ups, VCs, and influencer experts is constructed around narratives of liberation and freedom. The web is marketed as a fresh and accessible frontier where everybody can become wealthy if they hustle hard enough. However, the author argues that often these exaggerated claims of success are misleading. Many new companies fail to meet their targets and profit margins—relying on financial backing from investors without assurance of returns—and even exploit unethical practices.

The notorious case of Theranos is highlighted. Theranos, the health technology firm established by Elizabeth Holmes, a young Stanford dropout, raised billions from investors based on claims of a novel blood testing device that did not exist. In reality, Holmes had oversold the capabilities of her inventions for financial reward while actively engaging in deceit.

Context

• Theranos often bypassed regulatory scrutiny by operating in a legal gray area, using its proprietary devices in limited settings to avoid full-scale validation by the FDA.

Other Perspectives

• The emphasis on achieving wealth through hard work on digital platforms can perpetuate a culture of overwork and burnout, which can be detrimental to the well-being of entrepreneurs.
• It should be noted that setting ambitious targets can be a motivational tool for entrepreneurs and their teams, even if these targets are not always met.
• Start-ups are inherently risky ventures, and investors are typically aware of and accept the potential for high risk and high reward scenarios.
• The language of liberation and freedom can be seen as aspirational, aiming to inspire and motivate entrepreneurs to innovate and take risks in a competitive market.
• The responsibility also lies with investors and consumers to perform due diligence, rather than taking claims at face value.
• Unethical practices by some firms should not overshadow the positive impact that ethical businesses have on innovation, job creation, and economic growth.

Schemes Exploit Marginalized Groups' Economic Insecurities, Entrenching Poverty and Debt Cycles

The author goes on to demonstrate how many of the pyramid schemes emerging in recent years directly target groups likely to be facing financial precarity, such as people with low incomes, single mothers, and racially minoritized populations with limited job options. These schemes lure their victims with promises of financial salvation and a route to affluence with a 'boss babe' mentality. However, most participants only lose money, fail to recoup their initial investments, and even find themselves further in debt after obtaining loans to cover their participation fees.

Brown follows the case of a young mother, Rose, who signed up to network marketing company It Works! after being approached by another female influencer on Instagram. Rose was having difficulty covering her expenses following being hospitalized for depression. She had been forced to leave her job to care for her mother, who had also been diagnosed with a mental illness, and ended up returning to her hometown, where well-paying work was scarce. Seeking a new path to financial security, she signed up with It Works!. However, despite the company promising her a lucrative career as a distributor selling their health products, she found herself being pressured into auto-enrolling for monthly purchases of products that she failed to sell and could not afford, pushing her further into debt. Later, Rose started working with a jewelry company called Palmpe, where she was offered "free" jewelry in exchange for promoting the company on Instagram. Palmpe also proved shady. The cost of postage and packaging she had to cover was far in excess of the actual cost of the items she had been "gifted', which had in reality been dropshipped from China.

Practical Tips

• Start a peer discussion group with friends or family members where you can share experiences and knowledge about financial opportunities and scams. Use this group as a platform to discuss any new business propositions that come your way, providing a space for collective insight and support. This can help you and your peers stay vigilant and protect each other from falling prey to fraudulent schemes.
• Set up a "financial reality check" monthly meeting with a trusted friend or advisor. Regularly discuss your financial goals, current strategies, and any new opportunities you're considering. This accountability can help you stay grounded and avoid impulsive decisions based on promises of financial success that could lead to debt.
• Create a personal emergency fund by setting aside a small percentage of your income. Start with as little as 1% of each paycheck and gradually increase it. This fund acts as a financial buffer for unexpected expenses, reducing the need to join ventures out of desperation. Use online savings accounts with automatic transfers to make the process effortless and consistent.
• Develop a "financial self-defense" workshop with friends or community members. Collaborate to share experiences and role-play scenarios where you might be pressured into spending. Use this as a safe space to practice assertiveness and learn to say no. This peer-to-peer learning can strengthen your ability to resist high-pressure sales tactics.
• You can protect yourself from misleading costs by creating a personal cost verification checklist before making purchases. Start by listing common fees and costs associated with the type of product you're interested in, such as shipping, handling, or insurance for jewelry. Before completing a purchase, use this checklist to verify that all costs have been disclosed by the seller. This way, you ensure transparency and avoid unexpected charges.

Crypto Craze Spurs Influencer Traders Promoting Risky Products and Manipulating Markets

The final section focuses on how the recent cryptocurrency craze has led to a new generation of "influencer traders" promoting risky products and manipulating markets for personal gain.

Social Media Anonymity Enables Fraud, Insider Trading, and Viral Schemes to Exploit the Market

Brown explains how the anonymity afforded by social media has made possible schemes that inflate the price of an asset by spreading rumors and then sell it before it crashes—along with other unethical or even illegal practices like insider trading that exploit market manipulation. The instability of cryptocurrencies and the opaque regulatory environment have allowed these hustles to thrive.

Des Amey, a former assistant headteacher from east London, rebranded himself as a financial mentor, launching the Amey Finance Academy—part of the U.S. multi-level marketing scheme International Markets Live (IML)—after failing at several prior schemes. Amey claimed he had mastered the art of trading and portrayed himself as a six-figure earner with his own private trading floor in Canary Wharf, but, in truth, he was a charismatic salesperson exploiting his network of disadvantaged young people from his local community.

Practical Tips

• Develop a habit of cross-referencing investment tips with regulatory filings. When you come across a hot tip on social media, take the time to look up the company's latest filings with regulatory bodies like the SEC. This will give you a clearer picture of the company's actual financial health and future prospects, as opposed to the hype that may be circulating online.
• Identify your unique value proposition by reflecting on your skills and experiences that could benefit others. For example, if you're proficient in a particular software, consider how you could mentor others in mastering it. This could be as simple as creating a series of tutorial videos or writing an instructional e-book.
• Educate yourself on basic financial literacy through free online courses and resources. Websites like Khan Academy or government resources such as the Financial Literacy and Education Commission provide foundational knowledge that can help you spot unrealistic claims and protect yourself from potential scams.

Regulators Struggle to Keep Pace, Leaving Digital Investors Vulnerable

The author concludes by highlighting how financial regulators are struggling to keep pace with the breakneck speed of digital hustles and influencer marketing schemes being deployed on social media platforms. As these scams gain greater traction and online appeal, regulatory watchdogs like those in the UK are finding themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of complaints from victims who have been left out of pocket with very few channels for redress.

Samuel Leach, the entrepreneur behind Samuel & Co Trading, also tried to leverage the cryptocurrency boom for personal gain by launching his own cryptocurrency, Yield Coin. He promised his large following of young aspirant traders that he would reward his "employees" who performed well in his new virtual currency and even pay part of their salaries with it. Despite Leach possessing the digital reach and community to successfully launch a coin, Yield Coin's value has subsequently plummeted. Although he's become a millionaire from his skill in social media promotion through training courses, this space is increasingly saturated. The author ends by leaving us pondering what the next digital gold rush will look like and who its likely victims will be.

Other Perspectives

• The pace of regulatory development could be seen as a necessary caution to avoid stifling innovation in the rapidly evolving digital economy.
• Some regulatory agencies are adapting by employing technology and data analytics to more efficiently handle and investigate complaints.
• Launching a cryptocurrency does not necessarily equate to capitalizing on a boom; it could also be an attempt to innovate or provide a new service.
• The promise of payment in a new virtual currency could be seen as a way to artificially inflate its value by driving demand among followers without providing a stable or guaranteed return.
• The plummeting value of Yield Coin could be indicative of a market correction after an initial period of hype, which is a common occurrence in the lifecycle of many digital assets.
• The success of Samuel Leach's training courses may not be solely attributed to the quality of the courses but could also be a result of aggressive marketing tactics.
• The digital space is vast and ever-expanding, which means that while certain niches may become saturated, there are always new opportunities and markets that entrepreneurs can explore.
• The focus on "victims" may overshadow the successes and legitimate advancements in the digital asset space that have provided real value and innovation.