Introduction
Tugce Bidav and Smith Mehta
Chapter 1
Rural Creators, Digital Labour, and Platform Visibility in South India
Srikanth Nayaka
Chapter 2
The Relational Work of Turkish Youtubers: Negotiating Money and Affective Bonding with the Audience
Elif Birced
Chapter 3
Engagement Campaigns in Brazil: Digital Influencers and Visibility Labour on Instagram
Issaaf Karwahi
Chapter 4
Creators at Work: Navigating Dual Careers in the Chilean Platform Economy
Karis K. Wilson and Arturo Arriagada
Chapter 5
From TV to Online Freelancing: Pakistani Creator Labour at the Intersection of Mass Media and Platform Cultures
Elliot Montpellier
Chapter 6
From Fraught Politics to Influencer Ethics: Patriotism, Spirituality, and Survival in Nigerian Creator Cultures
Jaana Serres
Chapter 7
Feminist Activist-Creator Practices of Exposing: Navigating Gender Hate, Algorithmic Moderation, and State Regulation in Hong Kong
Cecilia Ka Hei Wong
Chapter 8
When Platform Becomes Landlords: Algorithmic Gentrification and the Structural Displacement of Kuaishou's Jiazu Creators
Xiaoting Yu
Conclusion
Tugce Bidav and Smith Mehta
Biography
Tugce Bidav is Lecturer in Digital Labour and Marketing in the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London, UK. She holds a PhD in Media Studies from Maynooth University, Ireland (2023). Her research interests include platforms and cultural production, media and creative labour, and platform work. She has published on issues related to creator cultures in leading journals such as Social Media + Society and International Journal of Cultural Studies. She is on the founding editorial board of Sage’s new journal Platforms & Society.
Smith Mehta is Assistant Professor in the Center for Media and Journalism Studies at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He holds a PhD in Creative Industries from Queensland University of Technology, Australia (2021). He is the author of the book The New Screen Ecology in India (2023) and has published on issues related to creative labour in leading international peer-reviewed journals. Smith has previously worked at Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd as a content development executive.
This book brings together a robust body of empirical work by scholars committed to making Global South creator cultures more visible, while at the same time unsettling dominant assumptions and pluralising narratives about the creator economy. Crucially, the collection advances a much-needed conceptual vocabulary that enriches ongoing debates and theoretical conversations, making it an invaluable resource for scholars and students alike.
- Soriano, Cheryll Ruth R.
Professor of Communication, Department of Communications, De La Salle University (DLSU)
