online celebrity

THE FUTURE OF THE ONLINE CELEBRITY

By: Nosheen Asjad, Ashley Pieterse and Syed Bukhari

A New Form of Media

The 21st century brought with it a new found sense of democracy…it

brought Web 2.0 and the power of social media and social networking.

It’s now so much easier for people promote themselves and their talents

online for all to see.

Traditional Fame

The traditional way of seeking out fame can in some cases be a grueling process with endless auditions and interviews, and waiting to be discovered and

hoping for that “big break”…

Internet Fame

There are many ways to become well-known and famous online these days. There are so many

platforms available to promote yourself.In a lot of cases, the online celebrity’s fame will transfer

into “real world” fame. …

The internet allows us the freedom to either just to be ourselves or to take on a role of a different version of

ourselves.

The fame gained on the internet, however, isn’t always positive and can lead to the “dark

sides” of the being a celebrity.

Social MediaSimilarly to traditional media outlets;

such as newspapers, magazines, television and radio; social media

provides the tools needed to reach a world-wide audience, but

it does so in a much less expensive and therefore a much

more accessible way!

Social Media Websites:

The front-runners in the social media industry are Facebook and MySpace (social networking

sites), Twitter (a micro-blogging site), Blogger., LiveJournal., and Tumblr (all of which are free

blogging platforms), and finally YouTube (used for video). These social media platforms are each

suited for different areas of fame.

The most popular video-sharing site and the most powerful platform is YouTube. Users will create a

“channel” and they use it to broadcast and promote their videos and essentially themselves.

YouTube

YouTube helped these young celebrities kick-start their careers…

My space

MySpace is a Social Networking site that allows you to create a profile for yourself. It is a great site to

promote yourself and many musicians get discovered through MySpace.

These online celebrities were discovered through MySpace.

Twitter

A micro-blogging website that many celebrities use on regular basis. It is a great way to connect with their

fans by send “tweets” to keep them updated.

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking site that many celebrities use. It’s another great way to connect with fans and promote their movies, albums and

other products.

Many celebrities, however, find Facebook invasive and lacking in adequate privacy and have publicly boycotted the site. Such celebrities include, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore, Kristen Stewart and Jennifer Aniston, just to

name a few…

Not only has Justin Bieber

successfully made the transition from internet celebrity to “real

world” celebrity, but he is currently the world’s

biggest pop star!

The World’s Current Biggest Pop Star was discovered on YouTube

• In 2007 his mom posted videos on YouTube of him performing covers of various R&B songs.

• In 2008 he discovered by Scooter Braun, who arranged for him to meet with Usher.

• He was then signed by Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG) and then to a recording contract with Island Records.

• Now in 2010, Justin’s career is well on it’s way and statistics show he is the most searched for celebrity on the Internet.

• Results include 19 MILLION photos on “Google Image”, his YouTube videos receive BILLIONS of views, he accounts for 3% of all traffic on Twitter with 4.5 million follower of whom he regularly interacts with.

Here are some more examples of online celebrities who continue to be successful…

He promoted his music video “Crank That” on YouTube and is currently an R & B Artist.

His online fame transform into real world fame.

Soulja Boy

Jessica initially gained her online fame by creating the character lonelygirl15 on YouTube.

Her fame from her character on YouTube parlayed itself into a proffessional acting career when she was signed by United Talent Agency and cast in the ABC series “Greek”.

Jessica Rose

Lucas also gained his vast popularity and fame by creating a character he called “Fred Figglehorn” on his YouTube channel “Fred”

By 2009, his channel had over one million subscribers and was the most subscribed channel of the time.

By the end of 2009, he had filmed “Fred: The Movie” and it aired on Nickelodeon in 2010.

Lucas Cruikshank

Kate is a singer/songwriter and actor who was discovered and signed

by MySpace Records in 2006

Kate Voegele

Jon Lajoie is an actor, comedian and musician who first gained popularity through a series of comedic music videos he posted on the internet.

His videos have received millions of views on several different social media websites.

He currently has a role on a TV series “The League” on the FX Network.

Jon Lajoie

Perez Hilton is a blogger and television personality who became famous for covering celebrity gossip and posting tabloid photos to his website.

perezhilton.com has grossed over 8.82 million views within a 24 hour period which shows that he’s definitely keeping his audience intrigued…

Perez Hilton

The “Dark Side” of Fame

Even success like Justin Bieber’s comes with a few snags and security issues.

For as many fans there may be just as many “haters”…

Justin Beiber has been a victim to online bullying through negative blogging and comments to his videos.

Perez Hilton is quite unpopular with other celebrities because of he tends to poke fun at their expense and many times “crosses the line”.

Sometimes people gain exposure and fame when they weren’t necessarily seeking it…

That was the case of the “Star Wars Kid”….

Negative Fame

Ghyslain Raza was a victim of cyber-bullying.

In 2002, he had recorded himself swinging a golf ball retriever, mimicking Darth Maul from Star Wars.

The tape was retrieved a few months later by a classmate and was put on the internet for all to see.

Ghyslain has been mocked and harassed for years; he dropped out of school and was diagnosed with depression…and his parents sued the classmates for 250,000USD.

“Star Wars Kid”

The future of the online Celebrity

As we have seen, “internet fame” has been on the rise for the last

several years and that doesn’t seem like it’s going to change anytime

soon.

We live in a time when everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame and

it’s just becoming increasingly easier to get that with Web 2.0 and all

the social media platforms out there…

We’ve examined what it takes to become an online celebrity, the good and the bad aspects of fame and we’ve provided many examples of

successful celebrities that got their start from online resources…all of this proves that if you have a will,

there’s definitely a way…

Get out there and broadcast what you’ve got!

Here are some links to the videos and web pages that contributed to the fame of

current online celebrities:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQOFRZ1wNLw –Justin Bieber http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0RzrmyIsZY –Soulja Boy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-goXKtd6cPo – lonelygirl15 http://www.youtube.com/user/Fred?blend=7&ob=1#p/u/81/_

DL7zP7Da1o –Fred Figglehorn http://www.myspace.com/katevoegele -Kate Voegele http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc –Chris Crocker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PsnxDQvQpw –Jon Lajoie http://perezhilton.com –Perez Hilton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPj6viIBmU – Star Wars Kid http://www.myspace.com/colbiecaillat -Colbie Caillet