Celebrities Latest Must-Have: Twitter!

 By: Kimberly Macaraig

Have we forgotten how extraordinary our lives have been?  Jack Dorsey, creator of Twitter, had these thoughts as he was in the processes of creating Twitter, “What if you have LiveJournal, (blogs, journals, and diaries), but you just make it more live? You have these people watching your journal, but it all happens in real time, and you can update it from anywhere.” Twitter is just one of many growing social networks in our time, but have we actually realized and have we taken it to heart how amazing it really is?  We are able to write our lives on air with it being followed by others at that very same time as we are doing it!  Moments with our friends that are captured in pictures and right there and then we have the power in our hands to make it instantly available for the world to see, and that’s when we say “thank God for Facebook!”  That technology is in these social networks and it holds countless of benefits.  We have seen it and I believe that we can all say that social networking is the new way and has become the top way to publicized.

 Celebrities constantly need and want publicity, and they’ve figured the easiest way to that – by joining these social networks.  There’s no need to pay million of dollars on sponsors anymore, they can expose and advertise themselves all on their own.  This is where we come in; we the fans are the reasons why they do this and why we keep anticipating what they will do next.  “Fans’ attachments to celebrities play primary and secondary roles in the developmental stages of adulthood and transitions between those stages. Celebrities are role models for adults, and attachment develops in much the same way it develops in face-to-face relationships, e.g. through proximity and familiarity with the face, voice, and manner of the celebrity.”  We, the people who give them such power to be who they are, have to remember that the most important thing of this matter is that they are not this huge, unreachable, out of our league individuals anymore, through this way, we can now feel very much connected to them, following them, as if we can, not pretending, but actually feel befriended by them.  These social networks gives us the chance to actually have contact with the celebrities we love, and because of this we can say that it’s amazing that they know we exist now!

Take note of this, at a young age of 17, Justin Bieber who is already well known, not just for his talents but as well as for his hair, has given everyone the “Bieber fever,” making everyone Beliebers!  Bieber’s amazing story started by simply uploading his videos through a social media, YouTube, and started building a fan base of his own.  Bieber is phenomenal and a talented musician, well only for some of us, although I cannot help but think that if it had not been for his use of social networking, he would not have been discovered or would be taking over the world, as he is now.  He has also blessed his presence on Twitter which has made many girls go gaga,  @ImaBeleeber: tweeted this on Twitter’s 4^th year anniversary,“#thankstwitter4 for letting me feel that much closer to Justin Bieber <3."  Online magazine, South Source, had written an article by Megan Donley explaining twitter and advising fans “the latest way to keep up and connect with their favorite celebrities is on Twitter.”  Tweeting for celebrities, is allowing them to communicate with fans like never before.  According to Twitaholic.com, the most followed is Lady Gaga with 8,642,532 followers and under her is Justin Bieber with 7,943,157 followers.  That is more than the followers of our own President Barack Obama, which has 6,877,541 followers!



Just this past month, one of the most awaited events happened, for all and especially for the celebrities -- the Oscars!  The Oscars Facebook status was “Did you follow the Oscars on Twitter?”  Even the Oscars have a twitter!  We're given the opportunity to live it or relive it through their eyes!  Along with other celebs, this year's host, James Franco not only tweeted during the Oscars, but also tweeted while on stage.  This connection almost blew my mind on how amazing our technology has evolved too!  "In the opening moments of the show, this photo led to this video http://say.ly/BNqa5c," It's amazing and this is what we want to see!



http://www.media.twitter.com/



Celebrities’ lives are in the spotlights and their reputation is everything.  The entertainment industry is a competitive place and everyone wants to get to the top.  Who you are spending time with, or seen with, even for just a second, is all put into consideration.  What you may or may be doing, if you are caught, regardless if it true or not, such things can turn your world upside down.  These are the things that celebrities hold on to, they don’t want to get their pictures taken when they don’t have make up, or when they are taking a smoke break.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, and these are some of the reasons why we buy the tabloids and read US Weekly.  In the article, Twittering Celebrities Take Fans Backstage in Their Lives, Jenny Wortham writes “Paparazzi, eat your hearts out: Celebrities are now taking their own candid photos of themselves and putting them on the Web.” 

All these social networks are a great use, and there are numerous ways to use these connections on our behalf, that is, if they're used correctly.  Such celebrities may use it to promote their latest movie or show, or use it to get awareness and help raise money for charity.  However, just like with everything, social networks don’t always favor us.  Social networks have caused problems not only for some of the celebrities using it, but as well as Senators.  “Facebook profiles have already had political ramifications; one caused a minor scandal in the 2006 U.S. Senate election of Bob Corker when the press discovered photos of the conservative Republican’s daughter kissing another woman at a party (In the Face of Danger).”  Numerous times we've heard a leaked photo or video scandal of a celeb and guess what do they afterwards; they tweet about it.  They go on twitter to apologize and we long to see their response.  They may have been hacked but they still took them. Some stars such as Haley Williams, and Rihanna, and Miley Cyrus are just some who we seen topless photos of on their twitter.  It's a shame, but they will do whatever to get themselves to get to the top.  Privacy is easy to have but impossible for a celebrity.  For these reasons, we are all reminded why we must be careful on we post on these social networks because as we all know everyone can see it all.

From the words of the infamous Mark Zuckerberg, “people want to go online and check out their friends, so why not build a website that offers that?  Friends, pictures, profiles, whatever you can visit, browse around, maybe it's someone you just met at a party…  I'm not talking about a dating site, I'm talking about taking the entire social experience of college and putting it online (Social Network).”  These are the things we take interests in; this is what we live for!  It certainly not only for college students, hence that is why our parents have Facebook, too!  This is what makes our lives interesting and exciting.  The best part is that celebrities are in it, too.  Technology has made our dreams come true, and we can actually say we’re friends with Aston Kutcher, (just not literally.)  At the end, I think we must take time to notice these gifted and talented creators of these social networks.  We owe them our gratitude, for our world would have never been same without them.

Works Cited

Donley, Megan. "Fans Connect with Celebrities on Twitter." South Source A Publication of South University. 18 Feb. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://source.southuniversity.edu/ fans-connect-with-celebrities-on-twitter-32784.aspx>.

Lau, Kristie. "Celebrities | Twitter | Hollywood." Sydney Morning Herald - Business & World News Australia | Smh.com.au. 25 May 2009. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. <http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/celebrity-twitter-20090525-bjut.html>.

"In the Face of Danger: Facial Recognition and the Limits of Privacy Law." Harvard Law Review. Vol. 120 No. 7. 1874-875. JSTOR. The Harvard Law Review Association, May 2007. Web. 03 Mar. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40042639>.

Sarno, David. "Twitter Creator Jack Dorsey Illuminates the Site's Founding Document. Part I | Technology | Los Angeles Times." Editorial. Los Angeles Times. 18 Feb. 2009. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/twitter-creator.html>.

Sloan, Robin. "Your View from the #Oscars Stage." Twitter Media. 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. <http://media.twitter.com/>.

The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Esse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara, Bryan Barter. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Film.

Twitter. "Tracking the Most Popular Users of a Certain Microblogging/Social Networking Tool." Twitaholic. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://twitaholic.com/>.

Wortham, Jenna. "Twittering Celebrities Take Fans Backstage in Their Lives - NYTimes.com." Technology - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com. 23 Feb. 2009. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/twittering-celebrities-take-fans-backstage-in-their-lives/>.



What Are You Doing?

          Do you follow your favorite celebrity daily? We love our celebs. And love to find out where they are so we can meet them. With today’s technology that is possible. We all started out with our Myspace accounts, then came Facebook, and finally there is Twitter. All these social networks have one thing in common: repeating the concept of allowing their users to express how they feel. This process is called Remediation. Twitter is an example of immediacy because sometimes you are so into the celebs. Tweets you forget what you are doing. You get excited that you are following celebs. And you can spend hours on this network simply tweeting and checking out where your favorite celeb. Is going to be.  There are no limits on Twitter and you can tweet about anything to the celebs. You are following. On the other hand, the hpermediacy is constantly reminding you that you are on the computer on a social network following people. “Along with immediacy and hypermediacy, remediation is one of the three traits of our genealogy of new media.” (Bolter, 273) Celebs once used myspace as their form of social networking, then came facebook, and finally there is twitter. This is an example of the process of remediation. Remediation is when something feeds off something else and something new is made. Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter all have the same base idea but with new ideas and concepts. Myspace was more of a middle school trend, Facebook is more of a mature college student network and Twitter is a way of advertisment. Remediation is “The formal logic by which new media refashion prior media forms.” (Bolter,273) You basically have one thing and you use the same concept and make something new with the same basic concept but with new possibilities. I believe that Twitter was remediated of Facebook and Facebook was remediating off of Myspace. They all have the same concept but with something different or new you can do. This helps the celebrities out by allowing them to post about their new movie, show, or event that is happening. Our favorite celebrities can advertise through these social networks and we can see as users and fans where to be. 

          Immediacy is defined as “a style of visual representation whose goal is to make the viewer forget the presence of the medium.” (Bolter,272) In this case the medium is the social network. When we use these social networks we are on them for hours and tend to forget to realize what we are really doing. For example, I find myself on Facebook without realizing that I am going on the website because I am so into finding out what my friends posted . All these social networks want you to get attached to their sites so you can always visit them. One way I think they use to make that happen is allowing the celebrities to join and making it available for fans to be their friends and follow them. That makes us as fans want to visit these sites again  and again just so we don’t miss a tweet about where our favorite celeb. Is eating for example. 

          Opposite of Immediacy, there is hypermediacy which is “a style of visual representation whose goal is to remind the viewer of the medium.” (Bolter,272) With these social networks we are reminded that they are limited and can only do so many things. You begin to remember that you are using a social network when there are restrictions on what you can do. This helps celebs. by making sure there is no "stalking" or harrasment going on as much. According to Lance Ulanoff, he belives that these social networks make a celeb. selfish "While numerous celebrities can be found on Twitter, most employ handlers and sycophants to post updates, and virtually all of them are pointless or full of self-promotion." With this in mind users are reminded that they are simply reading day to day posts about what is going on in celebrities lifes. 

              Celebrities use their money to do good at times and they use social networks to publicize this to be known. Therefore they get more famous with their  fans. Celebs are who they are not only because they are great actors or great singers...a big part of it is from us as their fans. We follow our favorite celebs on twitter and support everything they do. We watch them grow in a way. We follow their every move and are up to date with the next big thing they are doing. I believe that fans are what make a celebrity . That's another reason why they must be careful on what they post to these social networks because as we all know everyone can see anything and everything on the internet. With all these social networks celebrities can either make themselves look good or bad. They can use their accounts to promote good things or they can simply post what is their upcoming movie.Ulanoff states the true meaning of being involved in a social network and using it in its correct manner; "If you are a celebrity, athlete, politician or public figure, with Facebook public profiles, you can create an authentic connection with millions of fans and supporters on Facebook by communicating with your real voice and participating in the conversations already happening about you online." Celebs. often tend to feel the need to post or tweet about causes that are happening all over the world because they know they have many fans and those fans visit their profile frequently. For example, during the revolution in Egypt many celebrities used their Twitter accounts for good. They tweeted daily about this cause and would make their fans aware of the cause. I believe that social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are a great way for fans and celebs. to connect and communicate with things they both love to do. 

The Governator

By: Jackie Merkle

The Governator

            The first person that comes to one’s mind when they hear the word governator thinks of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  This actor has not only blown us away with all of his incredible works in the film industry creating movies such as; The Terminator 1, 2 and 3, Kindergarten Cop, and Junior. But also has taken over as the Governor of California in 2003.  One of our very own presidents has been in the acting business.  Ronald Reagan, who was the 40^th president of these United States.  Politicians are starting to get their own shows on TV and actors are starting to make their way into the political branches.  Would you ever think that maybe some of these celebrities get that position because the movies they are in or because they would actually do a quality job in office? Not only are celebs trying to use these social sites to get political spots but also more superficial things like ‘who wore what to the red carpet?’ Some would disagree that celebrities use such medias as TV, movies, radios, and networking sites to get the publicity they need. I believe it is actually a very ingenious way to psychologically get through to people, which in the end help the celebrity get what they want.

Anthony Elliot, a journalist helped me to understand more about why these celebs act the way they do. He talks about how they must know how and when to act as a celebrity. He mentions “But to underscore the increasing importance of celebrity to processes to self-formation, self-construction, and self-reflection is, certainly, to grasp the fundamental political importance of the mass media to individuals today…”(Elliot 836).   This quote really made me think about why they act the way they do.  When you think of the word celebrity you think; poise, fashionable, rich, exciting, and you think that they can do it all. So when these celebs get noticed for all the charities and all the hard work they do it looks good. We then all believe that these celebs can handle anything especially run states and even countries.

            Now I’m not saying they can’t, but maybe we need to rethink our values as to why and if they are running for the right reasons.  One guy Darrell West talks about how celebrities can run for these positions.  He states, “The television era advantages celebrities because these individuals are adept at using the medium, are photogenic, and are very good at attracting media coverage.” This is very true and people see these famous people’s lives all over these social networking sites, which makes it easier for us to compare to them. They are all over TV, in pictures, movies, and it makes us think that they can handle anything especially their busy schedules. So obviously they can handle being the next governor, right?  He also mentions, “celebrities are perfectly matched for the contemporary political era because of their wealth and fundraising capacity. With the high cost of political races and the large amount of money required to broadcast ads, fundraising is vital to electoral success” (West). This also brings up a very important point on how celebs can give lots of money away which makes them look like a savior to us who can give that much away. It’s great that they do that also, but money is not the answer to everything and money is just going to make everything bad disappear.

            There are over 500 celebrities on twitter today.  Not to mention the other social network sites but over 500 is an incredible amount.  Celebs young and old all keep the public updated with what they do. I also was looking on my twitter account and saw 3 different pictures of celebs posting themselves and what they are doing. They want to keep connected with their fans in some way.  They will do this whether or not they want to, but mostly because they know that there fans are the ones that keep them in the business.  Without all of the support from loving fans they would have nothing.  That is what is most important to remember though, because we can do just as much as them. So when we support them online it’s just like supporting them by voting for them.  You can see how all of these connect.

            Not all celebrities use their fame for political uses it could also be for such things as winning in a, ‘who wore it better contest.’  The New York Times, talks about the red carpet events and how men and women definitely dress to impress.  It’s interesting to think that celebs post on their social networking sites like twitter, and brag about what designer they will be wearing for the night.  It will then make those people who obsessively watched vote for our favorite celebrity or our favorite designer.  "The stakes for designers and actresses are high: wearing a lavender dress attributed to the house; or Michelle Williams saying goodbye to “Dawson’s Creek” forever in 2006 with a deeply V-necked, ruffled Vera Wang marigold frock she wore to that year’s Oscars."  Yes the stakes are high for the designers but they are also necessary to get publicity to themselves. The celeb is getting publicity for being at the awards and the designer is hopefully getting good results from the celebutante wearing the dress/tux. They even talk about how grueling the process is for these celebs that are trying so hard to get their name out there.

            Whether a celebrity is running for office or running to win the next spot in American Idol, they all need the love and support from fans.  We are the ones that keep them going.  They use their publicity to get into bigger and better parts.  Or even running for candidacy they use these social networking sites, such as twitter, to get all the help from us.  They may look responsible and acceptable to people to run this country but we have to think, that just because they are on these sites doesn’t mean they can do everything, especially take care of all of us.

Works Cited

Elliot, Anthony. "Political Psychology." Celebrity and Political Psychology:  Remembering Lennon 19.4 (1998): 833-52. JSTOR. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.  http://www.jstor.org/stable/3791877seq=4&Search=yes&searchText=Celebrity&searchText=politics&list=hide&searchUri=/action/doAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3DCelebrity%2B%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3Dpolitics%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26ar%3Don%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D%26dc.Psychology%3DPsychology%26dc.Statistics3DStatistics26Search3DSearch&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=18&returnArtcleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null.>

Malle, Chloe. "The Last Red Carpet." New York Times. 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/fashion/27RED.html?_r=1&ref=celebrities>.
West, Darrell M. "“Arnold Schwarzenegger and Celebrity Politics”." Inside Politics –     Your Guide to National and State Politics by Darrell West of the Brookings Institution. 2003. Web. 09 Mar. 2011.  <http://www.insidepolitics.org/heard/westreport903.html.>

"Who Has the Most Followers on Twitter? (Top 700) | Twitaholic.com." Top Twitter    
  User Rankings & Stats | Twitaholic.com. Web. 09 Mar.2011.<http://twitaholic.com/top700/followers/>.