Celebrities
The idea of celebrity is not a new one. There have been famous philosophers, artists, writers, musicians, politicians and capitalists for centuries now. However, the concept of a "nouveau-celebrity" has only been developed since the dawn of the internet.
First we had blogs, these outlets allowed people to post about things they thought were important. Like LJ, it was a place where you could write your private (or not so private thoughts). Thus creating a permanent online record of your presence. It was like Journal 2.0 or having your own editorial column. People could find these blogs and comment on them, making you feel like you existence was being justified. This was just the start of the addiction
Now with rapidly growing social media and networking sites it is easier to post about what your cat did to your bed this morning or why you think the Tea Party is a load of crock. With the over abundance of information that can be found on the internet, its amazing that people find anything worthwhile at all. And some would say that we dont.
Instead we find the anecdotes of a girl in her twenties who draws stick figures to illustrate her amusing stories (see: Hyperbole and a Half). Or you are on twitter reading about what your friend did last night at the bar with the guy she met because he was drinking an Appletini. The information overload has not stopped our on-going search for the interesting and relevant. Instead, our society has grown hungrier for more instantaneous news about people - people who for no reason whatsoever - have become a noteworthy. A nouveau-celebrity.
We are in a never ending whirlpool of information, driven by this new idea that anyone can become famous. Frank Warren asked people to send him postcards. He posted about it on the internet and suddenly he's giving talks across the country, has released several books that were technically written by other people and has people checking his website (see: postsecret) every Sunday for a new update like he is the new flavor of crack.
That being said; no matter how cynical you might be about reality t.v. stars, bloggers, web comic artists/cartoonists, twitterers, or even that little kid dancing on YouTube, you wish you were them.
We all want to be recognized for some accomplishment in our life. For celebrities, they have fame and fortune. Our society has always given due dilligence or some sort of hero worship to those who make it to the mainstream media outlets or to your local movie theatre. But until today, that same notoriety and fame were an unattainable feat for the average man. Now, he simply has to faceplant into a wall while doing a parkour and as long as his friends videotaped his injury - it will be #1 on Break.com the next day. He's now an instant star! Let the royalties start rolling in (or not).
The people who care about Snooki or Spencer and Heidi think that it proves that any person can become famous for doing nothing. Well not nothing - you just get MTV to give you a script and you fake your way through several seasons of "reality" tv. The point being that if you could get famous for doing nothing - why aren't we all famous? Can I be famous for watching all the seasons of Supernatural, Dexter, True Blood,
and Buffy concurrently? Probably not, but the internet tells me I can!
So I suppose the point of this piece is to say that the internet is apparently not just for porn anymore -- its for making people famous. Is this post an attempt for me to prove that theory? Perhaps, but much like The Abbot of Sponheim, Johannes Trithemius, did in 1492 when he used a printing press to publish a treatise called "De Laude Scriptorum" (In Praise of Scribes), I am using the internet appeal to the masses quickly and efficiently.
The "nouveau celebrities" of our world today are internet junkies, analyzing every Facebook pic or Twitter post in an attempt to harness the energy of the social media outlets to further their own 15 minutes, or to propel themselves into the limelight. Few are the celebrities who were revered for their talent and their work for bettering the common good. Instead we find ourselves faced with people like us, who are vying for the foot in the door, the record deal or the tv spot and the chance to attain what was, simply put, truly unattainable only a few years ago.
Thank god for the internet
First we had blogs, these outlets allowed people to post about things they thought were important. Like LJ, it was a place where you could write your private (or not so private thoughts). Thus creating a permanent online record of your presence. It was like Journal 2.0 or having your own editorial column. People could find these blogs and comment on them, making you feel like you existence was being justified. This was just the start of the addiction
Now with rapidly growing social media and networking sites it is easier to post about what your cat did to your bed this morning or why you think the Tea Party is a load of crock. With the over abundance of information that can be found on the internet, its amazing that people find anything worthwhile at all. And some would say that we dont.
Instead we find the anecdotes of a girl in her twenties who draws stick figures to illustrate her amusing stories (see: Hyperbole and a Half). Or you are on twitter reading about what your friend did last night at the bar with the guy she met because he was drinking an Appletini. The information overload has not stopped our on-going search for the interesting and relevant. Instead, our society has grown hungrier for more instantaneous news about people - people who for no reason whatsoever - have become a noteworthy. A nouveau-celebrity.
We are in a never ending whirlpool of information, driven by this new idea that anyone can become famous. Frank Warren asked people to send him postcards. He posted about it on the internet and suddenly he's giving talks across the country, has released several books that were technically written by other people and has people checking his website (see: postsecret) every Sunday for a new update like he is the new flavor of crack.
That being said; no matter how cynical you might be about reality t.v. stars, bloggers, web comic artists/cartoonists, twitterers, or even that little kid dancing on YouTube, you wish you were them.
We all want to be recognized for some accomplishment in our life. For celebrities, they have fame and fortune. Our society has always given due dilligence or some sort of hero worship to those who make it to the mainstream media outlets or to your local movie theatre. But until today, that same notoriety and fame were an unattainable feat for the average man. Now, he simply has to faceplant into a wall while doing a parkour and as long as his friends videotaped his injury - it will be #1 on Break.com the next day. He's now an instant star! Let the royalties start rolling in (or not).
The people who care about Snooki or Spencer and Heidi think that it proves that any person can become famous for doing nothing. Well not nothing - you just get MTV to give you a script and you fake your way through several seasons of "reality" tv. The point being that if you could get famous for doing nothing - why aren't we all famous? Can I be famous for watching all the seasons of Supernatural, Dexter, True Blood,
and Buffy concurrently? Probably not, but the internet tells me I can!
So I suppose the point of this piece is to say that the internet is apparently not just for porn anymore -- its for making people famous. Is this post an attempt for me to prove that theory? Perhaps, but much like The Abbot of Sponheim, Johannes Trithemius, did in 1492 when he used a printing press to publish a treatise called "De Laude Scriptorum" (In Praise of Scribes), I am using the internet appeal to the masses quickly and efficiently.
The "nouveau celebrities" of our world today are internet junkies, analyzing every Facebook pic or Twitter post in an attempt to harness the energy of the social media outlets to further their own 15 minutes, or to propel themselves into the limelight. Few are the celebrities who were revered for their talent and their work for bettering the common good. Instead we find ourselves faced with people like us, who are vying for the foot in the door, the record deal or the tv spot and the chance to attain what was, simply put, truly unattainable only a few years ago.
Thank god for the internet