Buenos Aires, Argentina: How a virtual tribe went urban

Floggers parties at the Mall

Argentina has 2 million Floggers (people who have a fotolog). This figure is quite a lot considering that it has 40 million people, from which only 17 use the internet. In that South-American country, fotolog.com is the 3rd most visited site, coming only after Google and windowslive.com. Again: quite impressive, if we consider that facebook.com ranks 32nd and myspace.com 33rd.
http://geo.fotolog.com/directory?country=AR

Argentinean Floggers are middle class teens who have account to upload their pictures and videos to then get as much comments and visits as possible. This is key because in this way they might achieve a Gold status, which will prove how popular they are, and, that is the main goal of having a fotoblog.





Cumbio, a girl that through her fotoblog became almost a mediatic starlet. http://www.fotolog.com/gommzza/24750786




Four months ago in a spontaneous fashion, some Floggers decided to organize a “real” get-together for people who knew each other only through their fotologs. The day? A Wednesday. The place? The Abasto Shopping Mall in central Buenos Aires. The event was a success. The news spread like a virus and these meetings became weekly attracting more and more Floggers each week.

Currently, hundreds of Floggers between 12 and 18 get together every Wednesday evening at the Abasto Shopping Mall to continue sharing the interests that, when surfing each other’s pages, they have discovered they shared: techno-music, fashion and “themselves”. They dance techno-music on the slippery waxed floor, take pictures and shoot videos that they later upload into their fotologs .













And, just like this, in four months, a virtual tribe acquired the status of urban tribe.

The Floggers, like any other urban tribe (Goths, Darks, or the very Argentinean “Rollingas”) started expressing and recognizing themselves (in the real world) through a very specific look: strident skinny jeans, wristbands, huge t-shirts spunky hairstyles and aviator sunglasses (even indoors!).








Suddenly, they are visible and identifiable , they have become a cultural reference to the whole Buenos Aires society.

Virtual can go real. Real can go virtual. But, some needs (like people’s need to create communities) don’t change. We all need to belong to something and have symbols that will make us similar to some and different to many. Brands can’t force this process, but can use the cyberspace to become meaningful facilitators.