I know I started out with my blog discussing celebrities...but I have more info to blog about alright?! If I was a famous actress, I too could have 38,919,023 followers on my famed Twitter or Plunk or Yammer or Friendfeed account! And I would use these too as a way of marketing my product, aka MYSELF! The paparazzi create their own type of status updates: where is Cristina Applegate feeding her pregnancy cravings today? How much legal trouble has Lindsey Lohan found her self in? If she even blinks, people think she is on heroine. Stars could use microblogging to create moments in time to counter the moments in time captured by the cameras bright flash, and the magnified lenses. With a good publicist, they can make even better choices, literally re-presenting themselves to their audience. Microblogging is just one way that celebrities, and important people today are changing their personas. Did you know there is a celebrity twitter internet site that gives ranking, mistakes, who is the most liked, etc. etc. etc?! It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that some of our most troubled, or enigmatic stars are ranked at the top--Lady Gaga and Britney Spears are the two most followed celebrities on Twitter (over 58 million followers.) Can you guess who ranks third and fourth? Thats right....Ashton Kutcher is third, followed by our countries leader at a mere 4th place! Maybe Lady Gaga should give our president some advice on fashion stir, or lyrics that craze millions because she obviously knows how to draw attention to herself! Maybe the president could shave his head with a lightning bolt down the back, or dress himself in plastic bubbles? Though these four have millions of followers, they are not necessarily the ones who tweet the most. Guy Kawasaki, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and Apple employee, has used Twitter 82 times today, and its only 1:55 in the afternoon. Similarly, the person who has posted the most photos today is also using Twitter as a marketing tool. June Ambrose, a celebrity stylist and author, posts pictures (8 today already) of outfits she has put together for clients, or what she considers to be the next 'hit' in the fashion world. Or how about last week on Jersey Shore when two of the guidos went to get their hair cut in a specific barber shop and allowed the hairdresser to take a pic, attracting more clients, and showing off the new hair style of Pauly D or the Situation. Stars are stars for the moment. Microblogs capture their moment to moment lifestyle, allowing the normal Dick's and Jane's of society to feel connected to the extreme lifestyle, the Hollywood wannabes. Microblogging allows stars, capitalists, the notorious, and the beloved to manipulate how their image is projected to the public. They are after all marketing an image, who am I to judge.
I loved your blog because honestly I don't know much about Twitter, let alone Plunk, Yammer or Friendfeed. But I do know people use them to "manipulate how their image is projected to the public" (just as you said). What made me laugh is your comment about Lindsay Lohan. Your right, one blink and people assume she's on heroine. But with microblogging, she can portray a better image and maybe even more with a great publicist. Bottom line, celebrities use it to market themselves, just like the celebrity wannabes. I could really care less about the Jersey Shore cast getting their hair done and I'm sure plenty of other people feel the same way. So why do I have to look at their face every time I open a magazine or turn the television channel. Hello, stop paying attention to their Twitter and what their doing everyday. We are making them get their second of fame, but like you said, who am I to judge.
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