Associate Professor Nicholas Carah
School of Communication and Arts
Researcher biography
Nicholas Carah is a Associate Professor in the School of Communication and Arts and Director of Digital Cultures & Societies at The University of Queensland. His research examines the algorithmic and participatory advertising model of digital media platforms, with a focus on the digital alcohol marketing. He is the author of Media and Society: Power, Platforms & Participation (2021), Brand Machines, Sensory Media and Calculative Culture (2016), Media and Society: production, content and participation (2015), Pop Brands: branding, popular music and young people (2010). He is the co-editor of Digital Intimate Publics and Social Media (2018). He has also been involved in research projects on alcohol-related harms and nightlife culture and the use of digital media in fostering cultural change in drinking culture. He is an Associate Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. He is a Chief Investigator on ARC Discovery and Linkage projects. He is a director of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.
Publications
Books
Brodmerkel, Sven and Carah, Nicholas (2016). Brand machines, sensory media and calculative culture. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave MacMillan. doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-49656-0
Louw, Eric and Carah, Nicholas (2015). Media and society: production, content and participation. London, United Kingdom: Sage.
Carah, Nicholas (2010). Pop Brands: Branding, popular music and young people. New York, U.S.A.: Peter Lang.
Book Chapters
Arden, Holly and Carah, Nicholas (2022). Cloud, breath, bling, exhaust: an introduction. Conflict in my outlook. (pp. 6-13) edited by Anna Briers, Nicholas Carah and Holly Arden. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Perimeter Editions.
Carah, Nicholas and Brodmerkel, Sven (2022). Regulating platforms’ algorithmic brand culture: the instructive case of alcohol marketers on social media. Digital platform regulation global perspectives on internet governance. (pp. 111-130) edited by Terry Flew and Fiona R. Martin. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-95220-4_6
Carah, Nicholas (2020). Mobile marketing. The Oxford handbook of mobile communication and society. (pp. 324-338) edited by Rich Ling, Leopoldina Fortunati, Gerard Goggin, Sun Sun Lim and Yuling Li. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190864385.013.22
Dobson, Amy Shields, Carah, Nicholas and Robards, Brady (2018). Digital intimate publics and social media: towards theorising public lives on private platforms. Digital intimate publics and social media. (pp. 3-27) edited by Amy Shields Dobson, Brady Robards and Nicholas Carah. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-97607-5_1
Carah, Nicholas (2018). Commercial media platforms and the challenges to public expression and scrutiny. Public interest communication: critical debates and global contexts. (pp. 92-110) edited by Jane Johnston and Magda Piecska. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315185521-6
Carah, Nicholas (2017). Alcohol corporations and marketing in social media. Youth drinking cultures in a digital world: alcohol, social media and cultures of intoxication. (pp. 115-131) edited by Antonia C. Lyons, Tim McCreanor, Ian Goodwin and Helen Moewaka Barnes. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315660844-8
Cherrier, Helene, Carah, Nicholas and Meurk, Carla (2017). Social media affordances for curbing alcohol consumption: insights from Hello Sunday Morning blog posts. Youth drinking cultures in a digital world: alcohol, social media and cultures of intoxication. (pp. 167-184) edited by Antonia C. Lyons, Tim McCreanor, Ian Goodwin and Helen Moewaka Barnes. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315660844-11
Carah, Nicholas (2016). 'Enjoy responsibly!': young people as brand co-creators. The mediated youth reader. (pp. 153-167) edited by Sharon R. Mazzarella. New York, NY, United States: Peter Lang. doi: 10.3726/978-1-4539-1780-0
Carah, Nicholas and Louw, Paul Eric (2015). The apologetic brand: building Australia's brand on a postcolonial apology. Commercial nationalism: selling the nation and nationalizing the sell. (pp. 27-45) edited by Zala Volcic and Mark Andrejevic. New York, NY, United States: Palgrave Macmillan.
Carah, Nicholas (2012). Are you a musician? The rock ideology and the construction of authenticity on Australian idol. Adapting idols: authenticity, identity and performance in a global television format. (pp. 169-180) edited by Koos Zwaan and Joost de Bruin. Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom: Ashgate. doi: 10.4324/9781315565620-23
Carah, N. (2010). New technologies, the individual and social change. An introduction to communication and social change. (pp. 109-119) edited by Pradip Thomas and Michael Bromley. St. Lucia , Qld, Australia: University of Queensland Press.
Journal Articles
Lyons, Antonia C., Goodwin, Ian, Carah, Nicholas, Young, Jessica, Moewaka Barnes, Angela and McCreanor, Timothy (2022). Limbic platform capitalism: understanding the contemporary marketing of health-demoting products on social media. Addiction Research and Theory, 1-6. doi: 10.1080/16066359.2022.2124976
Carah, Nicholas, Brown, Maria-Gemma and Hickman, Sarah (2022). Optimizing looking and buying on Instagram: tracing the platformization of advertising and retail on mobile social media. Television and New Media, 152747642211230. doi: 10.1177/15274764221123033
Brooks, Ruby, Christidis, Rebecca, Carah, Nicholas, Kelly, Bridget, Martino, Florentine and Backholer, Kathryn (2022). Turning users into ‘unofficial brand ambassadors’: marketing of unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages on TikTok. BMJ Global Health, 7 (6) e009112, 1-9. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009112
Carah, Nicholas, Angus, Daniel and Burgess, Jean (2022). Tuning machines: an approach to exploring how Instagram’s machine vision operates on and through digital media’s participatory visual cultures. Cultural Studies, 37 (1), 1-26. doi: 10.1080/09502386.2022.2042578
O’Regan, Tom and Carah, Nicholas (2021). The promotional culture of social media and search platforms: an original article by Tom O’Regan and a commentary by Nicholas Carah. Media International Australia, 180 (1), 64-82. doi: 10.1177/1329878x211010784
Miller, Peter G., Coomber, Kerri, de Andrade, Dominique, Livingston, Michael, Puljević, Cheneal, Vakidis, Thea, Carah, Nicholas, Taylor, Nicholas, Burn, Michele, Curtis, Ashlee, Chikritzhs, Tanya, Room, Robin, Clough, Alan, Najman, Jake, Scott, Debbie, Mayshak, Richelle and Ferris, Jason (2021). Queensland Alcohol-related violence and Night-time Economy Monitoring (QUANTEM): rationale and overview. Drug and Alcohol Review, 40 (5) dar.13270, 1-5. doi: 10.1111/dar.13270
Miller, Peter G., Coomber, Kerri, de Andrade, Dominique, Livingston, Michael, Puljević, Cheneal, Vakidis, Thea, Carah, Nicholas, Taylor, Nicholas, Burn, Michele, Curtis, Ashlee, Room, Robin, Clough, Alan, Najman, Jake, Scott, Debbie, Mayshak, Richelle and Ferris, Jason (2021). Summarising the impacts of the Queensland Alcohol-related violence and Night-Time Economy (QUANTEM) project. Drug and Alcohol Review, 40 (5) dar.13272, 755-760. doi: 10.1111/dar.13272
Ferris, Jason, PuljeviĆ, Cheneal, Taylor, Nicholas, De Andrade, Dominique, Carah, Nicholas, Coomber, Kerri, Mayshak, Richelle, Grant, Kristy and Miller, Peter G. (2021). The impact of Queensland's Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence Policy on nightlife and business trade. Drug and Alcohol Review, 40 (5) dar.13271, 1-9. doi: 10.1111/dar.13271
Puljević, Cheneal, Carah, Nicholas, Miller, Peter G., Wood, Barbara, MacFarlane, Callum, Kilpatrick, Emily, Goold, Lachlan, Regan, Scott and Ferris, Jason (2021). The impact of the Queensland Government's Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence Policy on live music performances in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia. Drug and Alcohol Review, 40 (5) dar.13274, 1-8. doi: 10.1111/dar.13274
Norman, Thomas, Bonela, Abraham Albert, He, Zhen, Angus, Daniel, Carah, Nicholas and Kuntsche, Emmanuel (2021). Connected and consuming: applying a deep learning algorithm to quantify alcoholic beverage prevalence in user-generated instagram images. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 29 (5), 1-8. doi: 10.1080/09687637.2021.1915249
Martino, Florentine, Brooks, Ruby, Browne, Jennifer, Carah, Nicholas, Zorbas, Christina, Corben, Kirstan, Saleeba, Emma, Martin, Jane, Peeters, Anna and Backholer, Kathryn (2021). The Nature and Extent of Online Marketing by Big Food and Big Alcohol During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: Content Analysis Study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 7 (3) e25202, 1-16. doi: 10.2196/25202
Carah, Nicholas and Brodmerkel, Sven (2021). Alcohol marketing in the era of digital media platforms. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 82 (1), 18-27. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2021.82.18
Carah, Nicholas, Regan, Scott, Goold, Lachlan, Rangiah, Lillian, Miller, Peter and Ferris, Jason (2021). Original live music venues in hyper-commercialised nightlife precincts: exploring how venue owners and managers navigate cultural, commercial and regulatory forces. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 27 (5), 621-635. doi: 10.1080/10286632.2020.1830979
Hawker, Kiah and Carah, Nicholas (2020). Snapchat’s augmented reality brand culture: sponsored filters and lenses as digital piecework. Continuum, 35 (1), 1-18. doi: 10.1080/10304312.2020.1827370
Carah, Nicholas (2020). What do participants on digital media platforms produce? Tracking the development of Hello Sunday Morning from a blog, to a social network, to a self-tracking app. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 23 (4), 136787791989996-530. doi: 10.1177/1367877919899963
Carah, Nicholas and Brodmerkel, Sven (2020). Critical perspectives on brand culture in the era of participatory and algorithmic media. Sociology Compass, 14 (2) e12752, e12752. doi: 10.1111/soc4.12752
Carah, Nicholas and Angus, Daniel (2018). Algorithmic brand culture: participatory labour, machine learning and branding on social media. Media, Culture & Society, 40 (2), 178-194. doi: 10.1177/0163443718754648
Miller, Peter, Ferris, Jason, Coomber, Kerri, Zahnow, Renee, Carah, Nicholas, Jiang, Heng, Kypri, Kypros, Chikritzhs, Tanya, Clough, Alan, Livingston, Michael, de Andrade, Dominique, Room, Robin, Callinan, Sarah, Curtis, Ashlee, Mayshak, Richelle, Droste, Nicolas, Lloyd, Belinda, Matthews, Sharon, Taylor, Nicholas, Crane, Meredythe, Thorn, Michael and Najman, Jake (2017). Queensland Alcohol-related violence and Night Time Economy Monitoring project (QUANTEM): a study protocol. BMC Public Health, 17 (789) 789, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4811-9
Carah, Nicholas, Meurk, Carla, Males, Matthew and Brown, Jennifer (2017). Emerging social media ‘platform’ approaches to alcohol marketing: a comparative analysis of the activity of the top 20 Australian alcohol brands on Facebook (2012-2014). Critical Public Health, 28 (1), 1-11. doi: 10.1080/09581596.2017.1282154
Carah, Nicholas and Meurk, Carla (2016). We need a media platform perspective on alcohol marketing: a reply to Lobstein et al.. Addiction, 112 (2), 370-370. doi: 10.1111/add.13599
Carah, Nicholas and Dobson, Amy (2016). Algorithmic hotness: young women’s “promotion” and “reconnaissance” work via social media body images. Social Media and Society, 2 (4), 1-10. doi: 10.1177/2056305116672885
Carah, Nicholas (2016). Book review: "Landscape and branding: the promotion and production of place", by Nicole Porter. Consumption, Markets & Culture, 21 (3), 290-293. doi: 10.1080/10253866.2016.1225328
Carah, Nicholas and Shaul, Michelle (2016). Brands and Instagram: Point, tap, swipe, glance. Mobile Media and Communication, 4 (1), 69-84. doi: 10.1177/2050157915598180
Carah, Nicholas (2015). Algorithmic brands: a decade of brand experiments with mobile and social media. New Media and Society, 19 (3), 1-17. doi: 10.1177/1461444815605463
Carah, Nicholas, Meurk, Carla and Angus, Daniel (2015). Online self-expression and experimentation as ‘reflectivism’: using text analytics to examine the participatory forum Hello Sunday Morning. Health: an interdisciplinary journal for the social study of health, illness and medicine, 21 (2), 1-17. doi: 10.1177/1363459315596799
Meurk, Carla, Whiteford, Harvey, Head, Brian, Hall, Wayne and Carah, Nicholas (2015). Media and evidence-informed policy development: the case of mental health in Australia. Contemporary Social Science, 10 (2), 160-170. doi: 10.1080/21582041.2015.1053970
Carah, Nicholas, Carla Meurk and Hall, Wayne Denis (2015). Profiling Hello Sunday Morning: who are the participants?. International Journal of Drug Policy, 26 (2), 214-216. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.07.019
Carah, Nicholas, Brodmerkel, Sven and Hernandez, Lorena (2014). Brands and sociality: alcohol branding, drinking culture and Facebook. Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 20 (3), 259-275. doi: 10.1177/1354856514531531
Carah, Nicholas (2014). Curators of databases: circulating images, managing attention and making value on social media. Media International Australia, 150 (150), 137-142. doi: 10.1177/1329878x1415000125
Carah, Nicholas (2014). Watching nightlife: affective labor, social media and surveillance. Television and New Media, 15 (3), 250-265. doi: 10.1177/1527476413498121
Carah, Nicholas (2014). Brand value: how affective labour helps create brands. Consumption, Markets and Culture, 17 (3-4), 346-366. doi: 10.1080/10253866.2013.847435
Brodmerkel, Sven and Carah, Nicholas (2013). Alcohol brands on Facebook: the challenges of regulating brands on social media. Journal of Public Affairs, 13 (3), 272-281. doi: 10.1002/pa.1466
Carah, Nicholas and Shaul, Michelle (2013). Leveraging social media. Prevention Research, 1-25.
Carah, Nicholas and Brodmerkel, Sven (2012). The Gruen Transfer: the paradoxical ritual of advertisers exposing advertising. Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture, 3 (3), 345-360. doi: 10.1386/iscc.3.3.345_1
Carah, Nicholas and Louw, Eric (2012). Inundated by the audience: Journalism, audience participation and the 2011 Brisbane flood. Media International Australia, 144 (144), 137-145. doi: 10.1177/1329878x1214400118
Nicholas Carah, Brodmerkel, Sven and Knaggs, Angie (2012). Gruen Nation: Dissecting the show, not the business. Communication, Politics and Culture, 45 (1), 60-77.
Carah, Nicholas and van Horen, Andrew (2011). DrinkWise, enjoy responsibly: News frames, branding and alcohol. Media International Australia Incorporating Culture and Policy, 141 (141), 5-16. doi: 10.1177/1329878x1114100103
Carah, Nicholas (2011). Breaking into The Bubble: Brand-building labour and 'getting in' to the culture industry. Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, 25 (3), 427-438. doi: 10.1080/10304312.2011.565869
Conference Papers
Goold, Lachlan, Carah, Nicholas, Regan, Scott, Ferris, Jason, Puljevic, Cheneal and Miller, Peter (2019). Queensland alcohol-related violence legislation and its effect on original live music venues in Fortitude Valley. Sydney Institute of Music and Sound Research, Sydney, NSW Australia, 3 July 2019.
Puljević, Cheneal, Carah, Nicholas, Miller, Peter, Wood, Barbara, Goold, Lachlan, Regan, Scott and Ferris, Jason (2019). The impact of the Queensland Government’s Alcohol-Fuelled Violence Policy on live music performances in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia. 45th Annual Alcohol Epidemiology Symposium of the Kettil Bruun Society, Utrecht, Netherlands, 3-7 June 2019.
Ferris, Jason, Zahnow, Renee, Miller, Peter G., Coomber, Kerri, Carah, Nicholas, Goold, Lachlan and Regan, Scotty (2017). Queensland Government's tackling alcohol-fuelled violence policy: A graphical display of administrative data. APSAD 2017 Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 12–15 November 2017. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley.
Stephens, Ray, Barratt, Monica J., Carah, Nicholas and Aiken, Paul (2013). Advocacy, Research, Treatment: the Art of Harnessing Web-Based Approaches to Improve Aod Policy and Practice. The Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 24 -27 November 2013. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. doi: 10.1111/dar.12077
Nicholas Carah (2009). Enjoying Virgin's V festival. ANZCA 2009, QUT, Brisbane, 8-10 July 2009. Brisbane, Australia: QUT.
Carah, Nicholas (2008). Fake or Real!!?? Have your say!!!: Negotiating authenticity on Australian Idol. Power and Place: Australian and New Zealand Communications Association Conference, Wellington NZ, 9-11 July 2008. Wellington ,NZ: Massey University.
Carah, N. (2007). Are you all coked out? Global corporations, music culture and young Australians. ICA2007: Creating Communication: Content, Control & Critique, San Francisco, USA, 24-28 May 2007. Online, www.icahdq.org: International Communications Association.
Carah, N. C. (2004). Youth rights to re-pirating originality. Intellectual Property Rights, Communication, and the Public Domain in the Asia-Pacific Region, UQ, Brisbane, 14th - 17th December, 2004. The University of Queensland, Brisbane: WACC, School of Journalism and Communication.
Arnold, N. and Carah, N. C. (2004). Globalizing cultures challenge: The ethics, strategy and outcomes of research processes defining IPR. Intellectual property rights, communication and the public domain in Asia-Pacific Region, UQ, Brisbane, 14th - 17th December, 2004. The University of Queensland, Brisbane: WACC, School of Journalism and Communication.
Data Collection
Brown, Maria-Gemma, Hickman, Sarah and Carah, Nicholas (2022). Timeline of the development of Instagram's promotional culture and advertising model (2010-2020). The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/7c94074
Thesis
Nicholas Carah (2008). Empowerment within the brandscapes of popular music culture. PhD Thesis, School of Journalism and Communication, The University of Queensland.
Research Reports
Hayden, Lauren, Brownbill, Aimee, Angus, Daniel, Carah, Nicholas, Tan, Xue Ying, Hawker, Kiah, Dobson, Amy and Robards, Brady (2023). Alcohol advertising on social media platforms – A 1-year snapshot. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.
Brady Robards, Nicholas Carah, Lillian Rangiah, Steven Roberts, Chiara De Lazzari, Maria-Gemma Brown, Karla Elliott, Claire Tanner, Michael Savic and Amy Dobson (2023). The Social Media & Unhealthy Marketing Project: Final Report. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Monash University, The University of Queensland & Vichealth.
Hawker, Kiah, Carah, Nicholas, Angus, Daniel, Brownbill, Aimee, Tan, Xue Ying (Jane), Dobson, Amy and Robards, Brady (2022). Advertisements on digital platforms: how transparent and observable are they?. Canberra, ACT, United States: Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.
Miller, Peter, Coomber, Kerri, Ferris, Jason, Burn, Michelle, Vakidis, Thea, Livingston, Michael, Droste, Nicholas, Taylor, Nicholas, Puljevic, Cheneal, de Andrade, Dominique, Curtis, Ashlee, Grant, Kristy, Moayeri, Foruhar, Carah, Nicholas, Jiang. Jason, Wood, Barbara, Mayshak, Richelle, Zahnow, Renee, Room, Robin, Scott, Debbie, Cook, Steffi, Towle, Simon, Regan, Scott, Goold, Lachlan, Mount, David, Rangiah, Lillian, Boubouras, Lauren, Nixon, Bowman, Vayne, Brooke ... Najman, Jake (2019). QUeensland Alcohol-related violence and Night Time Economy Monitoring (QUANTEM): Final Report (April 2019). Geelong, VIC, Australia: Deakin University.
Miller, Peter, Coomber, Kerri, Ferris, Jason, Burn, Michelle, Vakidis, Thea, Livingston, Michael, Droste, Nicholas, Taylor, Nicholas, Puljevic, Cheneal, De Andrade, Dominque, Curtis, Ashlee, Grant, Kristy, Moayeri, Foruhar, Carah, Nicholas, Jiang, Jason, Wood, Barbara, Mayshak, Richelle, Zahnow, Renee, Room, Robin, Scott, Debbie, Cook, Steffi, Towle, Simon, Regan, Scott, Goold, Lachlan, Mount, David, Rangiah, Lillian, Boubouras, Lauren, Nixon, Bowman, Vayne, Brooke ... Najman, Jake (2018). QUeensland Alcohol-related violence and Night Time Economy Monitoring (QUANTEM): Interim report. Geelong, VIC, Australia: Deakin University.
Carah, Nicholas (2014). Like, comment, share: alcohol brand activity on Facebook. Deakin, ACT, Australia: Foundation for Alcohol Research & Education.
Hamley, Ben and Carah, Nicholas (2012). One Sunday at a time: Evaluating Hello Sunday Morning. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE).
Newspaper Articles
Carah, Nicholas, Ferris, Jason, Goold, Lachlan and Regan, Scott (2019, 08 15). Tighter alcohol licensing hasn’t killed live music, but it’s harder for emerging artists The Conversation