Inside The Weird And Booming Industry Of Online Influence Wired

Paris Martineau writing for WIRED

Popular vendors like Cloud Socials and BoostUp Social charge fledgling influencers $35 to $799 a month for a steady stream of interactions from prominent Instagrammers. Or aspiring influencers can go full automatic: For $10 to $100 a month and your login, automation apps will send your social media profile into a frenzy of liking, commenting, and following other accounts en masse, in an attempt to snag you a follow back.

Think that post is popular? Think again. For $3 one can buy 1000 Instagram comments, or 1000 YouTube views.