These days, with social media networks, it is becoming easier to track
your favorite celebrities. All you have to do is follow them on Twitter.
According to ABC News, as of November
2013, there are over 200 million active Twitter users. While there is no
official number of celebrities who have a Twitter account, there are 1.11
million verified Twitter users, according to Verified Accounts Twitter page,
@verified.
According to
Twitter they “concentrate on highly sought users in music, acting, fashion,
government, politics, religion, journalism, media, sports, business, and other
key interest areas” when it comes to verifying accounts. Among these are
celebrities like Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga who each hold a spot
in the current standings for most Twitter followers of 2014 ranking 1, 2, and 4
respectively (Respers France).
As the EW.com
article “Hollywood’s Twitter Jitters” points out, the most popular movie star
on Twitter, excluding what Markovitz refers to as “multitaskers” like Jennifer
Lopez and Ashton Kutcher, is Jim Carrey with 9.5 million followers. Is this
surprising? Since Twitter’s conception in 2009, it has been used as a marketing
tool for celebrities. However, the most popular celebrities on Twitter are
music or TV stars. Why is this? Markovitz argues that it is because it is
easier for these types of celebrities to post things like behind the scenes
photos and videos, but big name movie stars are often bound
to secrecy. So all they
really can do is publicity for things that are already released and most of
this publicity usually comes from a PR agent, not the celebrities themselves.
I think we can all
agree that we would much rather hear from the celebrities themselves, as it
gives us a peek into their personal lives. However, this is what can get them
into trouble.
In the December
2013 cover story of Esquire, George
Clooney addressed why he does not approve of Twitter and does not understand
why any famous person would join any social networking sight. He said the
people he admires most are those who are unavailable. He said, “First
of all, the worst thing you can do is make yourself more available, right?
Because you’re going to be available to everybody…or all the things you might
think in the quiet of your drunken evening are suddenly blasted around the entire
world before you wake up” (Junod).
Drunk tweeting comes with the
territory of being so attached to our phones. It happens to the best of us, but
when we do it, only our followers will see it, but obviously when celebrities
that have millions of followers slip up, the whole world will know by the next
morning.
Then there is the problem of
human error and I guess celebrities are just like us in that way. In 2011,
Ashton Kutcher became the focus of not one, but two Twitter mistakes, within
months of each other. According to The
Hollywood Reporter, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the actor
tweeted, "This without a doubt
the greatest day of the year! Hello football my old friend. Let's us mingle for
the next 5 months. TY #NFL TY #Jesus," in reference to September 11th
being the opening day of football season. After his followers pointed out that
this was bad timing, Kutcher deleted the tweet (however it remained on his
Facebook page) and later apologized saying “I got mad respect for the people
that suffered in 9/11. Pls don't twist my enthusiasm. / Hindsight...Yeah,
that was probably a poorly worded tweet.”
Two months later, he made
another error, this time as a result of being uninformed with the following
tweet: “How do you fire Jo
Pa? #insult #noclass as a Hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste," not
knowing the conditions of coach Joe Paterno’s firing and his involvement in a
child-abuse sex scandal. Shortly after, he admitted he did not know the entire
story before tweeting and was an advocate in the fight against child abuse. He
then followed up saying he was a taking temporary break from Twitter until he
could “find a way to properly
manage this feed.” (Nordyke).
But like we said last week
with Miley Cyrus, is any publicity good publicity? What do you think? Is having
a Twitter account beneficial or detrimental to a celebrity’s career?
Works Cited
- Junod, Tom. "George
Clooney's Rules for Living." Esquire., 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 05 Apr.
2014.
- Maas, Jennifer. "5
Celebrities Who Are Not on Twitter and Why." ABC News. ABC News
Network, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
-Markovitz, Adam. "Hollywood's Twitter Jitters."
Entertainment Weekly 7 Dec. 2012. Web.
- Nordyke, Kimberly. " Ashton Kutcher Called 'Idiot,' 'Ignorant' After Tweeting Joe Paterno's
Firing Was 'in Poor Taste'." The
Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
- Respers France, Lisa.
"Katy Perry Is the Most Followed on Twitter." CNN. Cable News
Network, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
- Splash News. "George
Clooney Will Never Join Twitter." YouTube. N.p., 11 Nov. 2013. Web.
05 Apr. 2014.
- Twitter.com
Maria, I had no idea that there was such a difference in music and TV stars compared to movie stars. It is interesting to see that music stars dominate the top 10 most followed accounts on Twitter while movie stars are far from the top. The fact Jim Carrey, with 9.5 million followers, has the most popular Twitter account excluding the "multitaskers," is mind blowing (Markovitz). I think this is applicable to the question you pose at the end of your blog regarding publicity. History has taught us that music stars are held to a much different standard than movie stars. The music industry has always pushed the boundaries, going from "sex, drugs, and rock & roll" to the rave era of the 1990s. The film industry has progressed much differently, as it has been continually been seen as "high class." For instance, look at the awards shows for both industries. The Oscars are looked at as the most formal awards ceremony while the Grammys are more relaxed.
ReplyDeleteSo, for the music industry, any publicity is generally good publicity. These celebrities benefit from being more controversial and risqué, as this puts them in the spotlight. Britney Spears and Madonna both brought their careers to the next level when they distanced themselves from being safe and took on the "bad girl" mantra. The same can be applied to Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. Both individuals were young stars who could do no wrong and had largely young fan basses. Cyrus and Bieber proceeded to go through a transformation that brought them into the realm of the highly controversial. From drugs to expertly planned publicity stunts, they have been able to dominate the media in recent times. However, many people believe that the reason these two stars are still relevant today, is because of that transformation they underwent. Stars, such as Hilary Duff, who never broke away from their childhood persona seem to fade into the archives.
I believe that whether or not having a Twitter account is detrimental or beneficial to a celebrity's career is completely up to the user. If Twitter is used by celebrities the way George Clooney sees it to post drunken escapades, then yes, the platform can most certainly be detrimental. But if the social network is used correctly, "it can allow celebrity practioners to create a sense of closeness and familiarity between themselves and their followers (Marwick and Boyd)." This is what is unique about Twitter, it creates an intimacy that is not attainable by any other form of media. Twitter personalizes the celebrity, allowing the fan to see aspects of their life and feel as though they are being directly communicated with. With the celebrities I follow on Twitter, I actually feel that I have a relationship with them that grows as their career moves forward. I know what they are doing throughout each day, hearing from them as they wake up in the morning and go to sleep at night. If Twitter is used the way Ashton Kutcher did or as Clooney states, then it will hurt a celebrity's career. If it used sincerely and correctly, then it can take a celebrity's career to the next level.
Works Cited
Markovitz, Adam. "Hollywood's Twitter Jitters." Entertainment Weekly 7 Dec. 2012. Web.
Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd, “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter,” Convergence 17.2 (2011): 139 – 158.
Like Dylan, I also found it intriguing that musicians take over the top 10 most followed accounts on Twitter. If I had to take a guess at the top movie star on Twitter excluding multitaskers like Ashton Kuthcer and Jennifer Lopez, I would assume it to be Leonardo Dicaprio or Jennifer Lawrence and definitely not Jim Carey with 9.5 million followers (Markovitz). Not only is it crazy that Jim Carrey has 9.5 million followers but Akon with 43 million is interesting to know as well. The vast amount of followers between musicians and actors is pretty big and reading Adam Markovitz’s article Hollywood’s Twitter Jitters brings up a valid point. According to Rick Sorkin, vice president of talent and strategy at WhoSay, “Fans gravitate toward stars who post authentic, behind-the-scenes photos and videos. And that’s easier for musicians and TV stars than for movie actors, who are often contractually bound to secrecy” (Markovitz).
ReplyDeleteI always found it funny how people can feel personally connected to famous celebs. I understand that average citizens want to see how the rich and famous live and what they do on a daily basis. But to me it just doesn’t feel genuine enough to say I can develop a personal connection with a celebrity who I would most likely never get the chance to see in person and actually have a conversation with them. “Part of the appeal of Twitter, as we will discuss is the perception of direct access to a famous person, particularly ‘insider’ information, first-person pictures, and opinionated statements” (Marwick and Boyd). The key word in there for me is perception. It gives you the idea that you are connecting with a celeb because they post a picture of them and their dog or some quote about accepting others for who they are and such but does that really mean you just personally connected with them? A person who went to your high school that you haven’t talked to in years can post a similar thing so does that mean you are personally connected to them as well? That’s my little tangent on that, but to answer your question Maria I believe Twitter can either be problematic or beneficial to the celeb depending on how they use the social platform.
Celebs like Charlie Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and now even James Franco should probably stay away from Twitter for a while. Twitter has become too much of a liability due to the suggestive remarks they made out in public. Alec Baldwin for example is not in good gracious of the public after is homophobic rant on Twitter toward UK Daily Mail reporter George Stark. Baldwin has apologized for his actions but activists requested for Capital One to drop him (Rivera). For some celebrities Twitter is a public debacle waiting to happen. It doesn’t matter to me if a celebrity has a Twitter or not since I don’t have one myself but George Clooney’s comment peaked my interest. Not wanting to be “available” to the public is fine with me, everyone actors are off acting, producing, and directing a bunch of movies a year so it can definitely be stressful and they just want privacy. But in his case, it seems like he’s more worried about what he would say whenever he gets drunk. Just leaves me curious of what he really thinks and feels when he is drunk. Tell us how you really feel Clooney. If used correctly Twitter can help a celebs status using it for self promotion, or even promoting a cause or charity. As long as celebs are politically correct in their tweets, they will be fine.
Markovitz, Adam. "Hollywood's Twitter Jitters." Entertainment Weekly 7 Dec. 2012. Web.
Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd, “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter,” Convergence 17.2 (2011): 139 – 158.
Rivera, Zayda. "Alec Baldwin's Gay Bashing Twitter Rant Has Conservative Activists Requesting Capital One Drop Him, Comparing Sanctions to Paula Deen's after Use of N-word." NY Daily News. N.p., 7 July 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Twitter is a great tool that is utilized by average people, magazines, celebrities, and companies all over the world. I never used to like Twitter, until I worked closely with it during my internship last year. I composed tweets for the RCA Records Promo twitter that linked videos, ticket sites, and articles about their artists. Only after researching and compiling all day, I realized that Twitter is a vital tool for any celebrities’ career.
ReplyDeleteWhen addressing the issue of movie stars and artists, though, musicians tend to have more followers. According to “Hollywood Twitter Jitters” by Adam Markovitz, “Fans gravitate toward stars who post authentic, behind-the-scenes photos and videos. And that’s easier for musicians and TV stars than for movie actors, who are often contractually bound to secrecy.” This links back to our discussion in class about feeling connected to our favorite celebrities. When celebrities post pictures with their family members or on the set of a shoot, we feel like we have the inside scoop to their lives in real-time. As social media continues to evolve and Twitter and Instagram users continue to rise, one tweet or picture could generate beneficial responses from fans.
Alice Marwick and Danah Boyd address celebrity culture and the mass media in their article “Celebrity Practice on Twitter.” They say, “While Twitter can be used as a broadcast medium, the dialogic nature of Twitter and its ability to facilitate conversation has contributed substantially to its popularity.” Although Twitter only allows for 140-character tweets, I think it is a better way to gain attention. As we’ve talked about all through the semester, our generation wants things fast and has a very short-term attention span. By giving the fans quality tweets with information they want (a picture of their day, their favorite outfit, their rehearsal, their appearance dates), could really impact the relationship a celebrity has with their fans.
I think Twitter is definitely beneficial for a celebrity’s career. We are in a world where everything is extremely high tech, and communication has been faster than ever. Followers can see a celebrity tweet at other celebrities, as well as fans, which makes the interaction more real. I also think that many verified Twitter accounts are managed by the celebrity personally. Being an avid Twitter user, I think it is pretty easy to tell when something is being tweeted by a PR team to promote the artist. Although it is used for both promotional and recreational purposes, I think it brings in the “real” factor which shows them doing things like us. Since Twitter is usually compiled of daily thoughts and woes, fans like to see what a celebrity is thinking and stay up- to-date on appearances and shows without have to search very far.
Works Cited
Markovitz, Adam. "Hollywood's Twitter Jitters." Entertainment Weekly 7 Dec. 2012. Web.
Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd, “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter,” Convergence 17.2 (2011): 139 – 158.
It’s definitely not a bad idea to be more accessible to your fans. As a celebrity, your career is fabricated from money. All it boils down to is whether or not you can get people, the fans, to pay for whatever service you have to offer. So I believe it definitely it’s a benefit to use Twitter. The level of exposure and engagement produced by Twitter only benefits the celebrity. However, in the case that the user is a detriment, why would anyone give him/her attention anyway?
ReplyDeleteGetting your picture taken sucking on stripper boobs, getting matching tattoos with Dad, yelling “Fuck Bill Clinton”. Bill Clinton? I can’t help but shake my head and wonder why Justin Bieber is making headlines every time he spits or punches somebody (EW) In the case that you are Justin Bieber, then having a Twitter is definitely a detriment to your image. Yes, any publicity is good publicity, but the fact that his antics are only helping him attention should something to be mindful about.
Looking at the top most followed on Twitter list, Justin Bieber (31 million) shares his seat at the top alongside Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, fellow pop-artists. but what drives people to want to follow Justin Bieber? If you look at users who generate the most followers, most of the time they are prominent figures in the entertainment industry. Ashton Kutcher, professional point-and-shooter in every Nikon commercial, and actor, has 13.1 million followers on Twitter ( Markowitz). Kutchers career, from TV-Sitcom goofball, to an not-bad movie star and celebrity endorser, is one that makes the most sense when you look at the amount of fans he has. Bieber’s music isn’t even good.
Having a celebrity endorser with a positive public image is beneficial not only to the product being endorsed, but also to the endorser. Having an accomplished celebrity endorser helps produce awareness among consumers, making them more likely to buy whatever is being endorsed because of the familiarity of the celebrities mug alongside the product (Schafer). Judging from the amount of experience Bieber has with pictures, I’d still trust the opinion of Kutchers over Bieber.
Works Cited
Markovitz, Adam. "Hollywood's Twitter Jitters." Entertainment Weekly 7 Dec. 2012. Web.
"The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." QScores.com 27 Jan. 2014. Web.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.