From The Atlantic:
Instagram memers have had enough.
They generate the engagement that helps keep Instagram growing—but, they argue, the multibillion-dollar platform doesn’t pay them for their work, or give them any control. So they’re fighting back. And before you write off IG Meme Union Local 69-420 as a joke, the organizers of the collective would like you to know that they are very serious.
“Solidarity actions with memers. Memers of the world unite,” the Instagram page for the union reads, encouraging followers to “seize the memes of production.”
The IG Meme Union will probably never be recognized by the National Labor Relations Board, but organizers say it can still act as a union for all intents and purposes. “We’re calling it a union and doing union-organizing tactics,” Paul Praindo, a representative of the organizing committee, told me. “We stand in firm support of others who are working to organize anti-labor industries. We think these movements mark the beginning of a labor renaissance.” Some other “unions” function this way: The Freelancers Union, for instance, doesn’t have a formal management structure to negotiate with, but does advocate collectively for independent workers.
Similarly, the IG Meme Union, which is currently taking applications through an online form, hopes to negotiate better working conditions for memers who say they have been exploited by Instagram and other tech platforms for too long. “People are doing a lot of work, doing it for free or little compensation, or not recognized for the work they’re doing,” Praindo said. “All these people are bringing revenue to Instagram, producing this major profit margin for this
. . . .
“We as content creators want to have worker protections,” Praindo said. “Even if you’re producing funny pictures of Shrek, that should not determine whether you’re taken seriously as a creator or your livelihood is imperiled at the drop of a hat … We are a meme union; the whole point of it is to work for protections for other content creators.”
. . . .
A few things the IG Meme Union wants: a more open and transparent appeals process for account bans; a direct line of support with Instagram, or a dedicated liaison to the meme community; and a better way to ensure that original content isn’t monetized by someone else. “Having a public and clear appeal process is a big thing,” Praindo said. “People appeal now and get turned down, and they won’t know why.
. . . .
Memers represent a burgeoning sector of the labor force that currently has no job security or formal protection. “If you’re spending all your time as a Twitch broadcaster or creating memes, that is work,” says John Ahlquist, an associate professor at the University of San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, who has done research on the changing nature of work. “People that are trying to earn a living on these platforms are recognizing how vulnerable they are on an individual basis with respect to the platform, and so they’re turning to this tried-and-true model of collective action.”
Link to the rest at The Atlantic
PG is not an expert on labor law, but he wonders if there is any real solution residing in a labor union when so many people are willing to post to Instagram with no financial compensation.
If the Memers want to organize, offering to their collective talents elsewhere (PG doesn’t know enough about Instagram’s competitors – if any, to point out a possible alternative) or setting up a competing meme/image site (he understands you don’t recreate Instagram overnight) might be a more effective response.
Another question popped into PG’s mind – Is Patreon a possibility for Instagram stars?
I am pleased to announce that I don’t know what Instagram is, and I don’t care enough to look it up…
Like those ‘twit’ people, I’ve heard mention of them but never bothered looking into it or getting an account.
These guys sound as if they’re using Instagram in a very different way than I understood professionals to use it. Yes, there are the people who want you to see their food for some reason. And then — and I thought this was actually the point — there are people who use Instagram as a form of promotion, often to direct you elsewhere. The meme makers in this OP don’t even sound as if they’re “influencers,” so I’m puzzled.
Disclaimer: I only posted once on Instagram, when someone was paying me to do it, i.e., my day job. I delegated the task to someone else 9 times out of 10. Because you really can’t pay me to care about Instagram 🙂
But if these meme makers are keen to get paid, could they not use their posts as a portfolio to get someone else to pay them? Soooo many companies want social media ninjas, that I’d figure the meme makers could just show how many hits their memes were getting, or how many followers they have. They could use those metrics to get someone to pay them for their mad meme skillz.
Although, to be honest, I’m not sure how successful even that tactic would be if the meme makers aren’t incorporating that task in a package of more valuable activities. I taught some intern how to use Photoshop to make memes, but memes were a small slice of the kid’s day. He spent more time doing heavy lifting on other editorial tasks. Tasks he was paid to do (paid internships for the win).
They’re also using the term “union” wrong.
As pointed out, they’re not Instagram employees. Probably not contractors, either. Labor law almost certainly doesn’t apply.
What they really want is to create a media syndicate.
Or they honestly have no idea what a union is or how it works.
Which makes me wonder what else they mouth off about without a clue … 😉
To your question, PG: your post about Terms of Service and Patreon’s ability to use your IP forever for any reason, and Kris Rusch’s statement that she never posts fiction for that same reason, have kept Patreon from being a viable platform for me forever (until they change to your suggested wording from their rights-grabbing one).
I’m just pondering how to leave nothing behind when I leave, and have posted nothing there since your informative blog post.
They’re also not useful in helping you find fans, but that’s another whole diatribe.
I’ve never done Instagram.
Another downside is there may be a lot of people following/watching you when it’s ‘free’ that won’t think you’re worth paying for – as some people I know found out when they tried Patreon. (and yeah, no one’s going to pay to ‘discover’ random artist they’ve never seen before.)
Anyone know what these people do? Do they get paid now? How? Who pays them?
Is there some specific way to identify who is a IG meemer?
“Is there some specific way to identify who is a IG meemer?”
The better to avoid them in public? 😛
“Instagram memers have had enough.”
Obviously not if they’re still doing it for free.
“They generate the engagement that helps keep Instagram growing—but, they argue, the multibillion-dollar platform doesn’t pay them for their work, or give them any control.”
Why would they think their up to this point free ‘labor’ would suddenly become worth paying for? As for ‘control’, why would any company trust random noise generators with control over anything?
“So they’re fighting back.”
Is that what they’re calling it? Okaaaay …
“And before you write off IG Meme Union Local 69-420 as a joke, the organizers of the collective would like you to know that they are very serious.”
Obviously not, though they missed April 1st for airing this.
As they aren’t employees, there’s not much Instagram has to do. They have a union ‘sit out’? There will be plenty of non-union memers willing to cross the electronic picket lines and post their own memes.
Just like every time we hear someone claiming that if Amazon doesn’t do/fix something they’re going to pull their stuff out – my thoughts are ‘Great! More for the rest of us!’ 😉
The union movement: Bravely driving in 21st-century screws with 19th-century hammers.
Guys? Why not take your memes elsewhere?
Or, if there’s enough of you to organize, why not organize your own website?
Just sayin’.
Cut out the middleman and pocket all that money you create.
The word of the decade is: DISINTERMEDIATION.
“Guys? Why not take your memes elsewhere?
Or, if there’s enough of you to organize, why not organize your own website?”
For the very same reason we hear the whining about KU but they won’t vote with their wallets and pull out – They think/fear there’ll be even less money in it for them if they do (and this way they have someone else to blame for any problems! 😉 )
More to the point, the “memers” have the same problem as do (most) freelance authors:
By definition, they’re not employees. And under U.S. law, that means they cannot be treated collectively as a “union” that is exempt from antitrust law.
The irony that scriptwriters (but not playwrights!) ARE employees, and therefore can unionize only to run into problems with their agents turning into producers (see, e.g., a piece that barely scratches the surface of the current dispute), is not very far off what has historically happened in the dotcom age to many other innovations and innovators… just ask any of the developers of videoconferencing…