Like It Or Not, Schapelle Corby’s Instagram Says A Lot About Celebrity Culture And Our Society
Could Schapelle be an influencer? Is she even trying to be?
Is Schapelle Corby news? Does anyone really care about her? Or are we just being fed a non-story by media outlets obsessed with the thrill of a tabloid-style chase?
Here are the facts: most of the Australian media went absolutely wild for Corby coverage over the past few days, and the public were into it, at least to some extent. Corby was the number one trending topic on Twitter over the weekend, and she’s still trending on Facebook today. That means that despite the suggestion “No one cares! Stop covering it!”, plenty of people did care enough to read and share stories about Corby’s release and arrival in Australia.
And 175,000 Australians care enough about Corby enough to follow her on Instagram.
While sections of the media self-flagellate over how much Corby is too much (in some instances the same networks that ran non-stop Corby coverage are now arguing it’s all gone too far), Schapelle herself is obviously aware of the public interest in her case and the huge, and very weird, amount coverage she is receiving.
Corby has so far refused to speak directly to the media, and her entourage is doing a good job of keeping things under wraps, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t taken full advantage of the circus around her. She’s managed to convert the media focus into the most valuable currency of our time: a huge social media presence.
Her simple yet ruthlessly calculated approach says a lot about what we value as a society and the changing nature of celebrity, as well how best to cash in on your 15 minutes (or 15 years) of fame.
The Money Problem
The challenge for Corby is that the previously most common path for Australians experiencing similarly intense periods of fame is blocked to her. She can’t leverage her time in the spotlight into a multi-million dollar interview with 60 Minutes thanks to a pesky little thing called the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The law prevents Corby from profiting off any “notoriety” she may have gained as a result of her crime. She’s actually run into the law before, in 2009, when she had to pay back $128,000 from the sale of her book.
It’s not a super clear cut law, however, and there’s speculation that Corby might be receiving in-kind benefits, such as the use of a security service, in exchange for spilling to the gossip mags. But the traditional cash-for-interview avenue is out of her reach.
So if she can’t convert her notoriety into hard currency, what options does she have? Instagram, of course. Corby, or whoever is advising her, has made a genius move. Fame is fleeting. Even if she was able to cash in by offering up an exclusive interview, that would likely be the end of it. Media outlets are very unlikely to keep offering up big sums of money for time with Schapelle, year in and year out.
Instead, Corby has managed to turn this burst of fame and attention into something with potentially much more longevity: an incredibly popular Instagram account. Not only does this sort of tool allow her to tell her side of the sorry without the filter of a commercial media company, it could also provide an ongoing revenue source.
Schapelle The Influencer?
You might not like it, but we live in the age of the influencer. To be honest, I don’t really like it either. The ‘influencers’ I know are quite nice people. They work with brands and organisations to get out a message or campaign because they’re trusted by their fans and followers. But lately we’ve seen that influencer culture, taken to its extreme, can lead to absolute chaos. Think Fyre Festival: the perfect example of what happens when we put our faith in “brand ambassadors” that have zero connection to what they’e promoting, but instead wield enormous Instagram followings.
Schapelle is no Kendall Jenner (yet), but she’s obviously smart enough to understand the benefit of a huge amount of social media followers. In just three days she’s overtaken Roxy Jacenko, the so-called “queen of PR”. There are a lot of things you can do with nearly 200,000 followers, and making money is one of the them.
To find out whether Schapelle could potentially make a living off her Instagram fame I got in touch with a number of the biggest PR and talent management agencies in Australia. Most wouldn’t comment on the record, because they didn’t want to actually be associated with Corby (which suggests a potential hurdle in itself).
“No one is going to want to work with her.”
Natalie Giddings from The Remarkables Group told me that Corby falls under the definition of a “macro-celebrity”. “Macro-celebrities are people like TV personalities or models who have converted their popularity into a digital presence. Think of someone like Rebecca Judd, a celebrity who has transitioned to having legitimate authority in issues like interior design and parenting,” Giddings said.
Brands are definitely interested in working with these kinds of people, because of their enormous reach, but there are risks. Firstly, there’s no guarantee that the people who follow them on Instagram will actually take their advice when it comes to buying a certain product. And secondly, they might not have any particular authority in a certain brand area.
Schapelle faces both of these challenges, according to Giddings. “We just don’t know what she’s going to say. If we’re six months in and there’s a real theme to her online presence, and, for example, it’s about self-reflection and being raw and honest, then maybe. But right now it’s just too early,” she said.
Another senior PR industry source had a harsher view. “She should use that platform for the greater good because no one is going to want to work with her,” they said, suggesting she was just too controversial.
Another source said they were deliberately staying away from Corby because of the chance that potential brand partnerships could still fall foul of proceeds of crime legislation. It’s uncharted waters, but it’s possible that if Corby’s Instagram presence was built up off the back of her criminal “notoriety” she might not be able to profit from it.
Despite the murkinesss, it’s still a smart play from Corby. With just 12 posts, she’s managed to build up a huge direct speaking directly to a mass audience. Even if she doesn’t cash in, it’s still a powerful tool.
The Kardashian Effect
The Corbys have already been compared to a “more garish” version of the Kardashians. On first glance, this is a pretty lazy analogy that seems to rest entirely on the fact that Schapelle and Mercedes are sisters who are both on social media.
But it is worth thinking about the comparison, in a less superficial way. Over the past few years, Kim Kardashian has used her insight into the contemporary media landscape to perfectly manage her public profile. Through her reality TV show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and her Instagram and Snapchat accounts, Kim K has perfected the art of representation.
This was most obvious last July when Kardashian used a highly strategic Snapchat post to basically accuse Taylor Swift of being a liar and back her husband, Kanye West, in his ongoing feud with the pop singer.
Schapelle is no Kim Kardashian but, like her, she can obviously see the benefit in controlling her own message. Why sit down for exclusive media interviews with a commercial network who will edit it to suit their own agenda? Why give yourself up to the mercies of tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines so they can profit off your story?
Instead, Schapelle has built a channel that allows her to speak directly with the public. Kardashian might be the undisputed master of the tactic, but it’s something a number of celebrities harness because of the clear benefits compared to micro-managing selective leaks to websites like TMZ.
In a meta-twist, the Corbys are using their Instagram accounts to deliberately troll the media over their completely over-the-top coverage:
Not only is the media not getting the scoop, the Corby’s are using Instagram — their channel for bypassing the media — to rub it in.
What Does This Have To Do With Society?
In hindsight, it seems obvious Schapelle would become a huge Instagram celeb. In 2017 it’s the best thing you can do with this kind of burst of fame and attention. The fact that she’s on track for nearly 200,000 followers suggests that, despite some media commentary, there are plenty of people out there very interested in her story and what she gets up to next.
But more importantly, this is an insight into broader contemporary celebrity culture. The role of the media as gatekeepers is substantially weakened. Celebrities no longer have to rely on commercial TV networks and magazines to get out their stories. The smartest ones cultivate their own channels so they can control the message.
It actually doesn’t matter if Schapelle ends up using her Instagram account to make money as an influencer. She’s already won the most important battle: demonstrating that people do care, and she doesn’t need 60 Minutes to prove it.
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Osman Faruqi is Junkee’s News and Politics Editor. He tweets at @oz_f.