Sunday, 9 September 2012

Week 7- Diasporic Marketing

The media has a big role to play in the foundation and creation of diasporic cultures, and can ultimately shape   the varying diasporic cultures and identities; although these  large number of forms are quite numerous and are constantly shifting  through everyday life- the media gives the means for self-imagining and identity building. (Youna, K pg 135, 2011)

Breaking this down I would say that media (and of course new media) is the dominate platform in which diasporic identities are able to form and achieve a coherent sense of self within the new host nation, and as such also are subject to marketing based on certain assumptions of the host nation at large on their transnational identities and how they can therefore be appealed to.

Diaspora within the media is viewed by Youna as a site of contest between transnational identities relating to nation, race, gender, class, culture, and language- and how they are built upon continuing interaction and re imagining (pg 136, 2011). Taking this into consideration it is easy to see that such identities are complex and constantly in opposition to what as perceived as the traditional culture of the state.

Examine this example of diasporic media; the YouTube sensation SuperWog, who while the content of his videos can be quite crude, both represents a form of cultural diaspora and also interestingly in the context of this discussion- parodies what it means to be a part of a certain transnational group.


In terms of how this has adapted I would contend that online social media platforms allow greater access for diasporic communities to communicate and share ideals and sense of self- and hence it makes it so that it is easier for companies to target what they believe will interest certain groups. I have heard for example that the ads you see on Facebook are presented to you largely based on your interests based off page 'likes'-

It is little wonder they appear to be surprisingly relevant most of the time!

References-

Youna KimInternational Journal of Cultural Studies, Mar 01, 2011; Vol. 14, No. 2, p. 133-151

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