Yesterday morning when I checked my email, I was inundated with news about rapper/producer Kanye West joining Twitter and performing an impromptu “concert” for Facebook staffers. I really didn’t think this was news per-se; celebrities have been on Twitter since its beginning and Facebook has seen it’s share of stars come through their doors (such as Ashton Kutcher, etc.). Why was this news? Then people began to tweet and discuss Kanye’s Twitter follower numbers at length (which were at 50,000 in just three hours after he had joined—he’s now at over 200,000— and he follows no one womp womp) and a recording of his freestyle appearance at Facebook surfaced on YouTube. It got me to thinking: are celebrities taking over social networks? And secondly, are they ruining our social networking experience?
I really began to question this a few weeks ago when LeBron James joined Twitter, and held everyone captive for three days while he made his big announcement about leaving the Cavaliers to go play with the Miami Heat. People thought that LeBron was going to make his announcement on his Twitter page, so there was a rush of people following him so they could be the “first” to learn about where he was going to go team-wise. My Twitter and Facebook stream seemed to all be discussing LeBron and the “decision” at length, so much so that I didn’t even want to log on. Is this LeBron’s fault?—of course not. But doesn’t the experience of getting to know people through social networking get singed when the discussion begins to turn to celebs and celebs only?
All of this is just food for thought, mind you, but I could care less what LeBron or Kanye tweets about. I love what they do on the court and in the recording studio, but they don’t give a damn about me or my tweets (because they do not tweet or follow us “regular” folk), so why should I bother? I don’t follow many celebs, and the ones I do (i.e. Holly Robinson Peete, Tionna Smalls, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Wil Wheaton, etc.) tweet back and regularly engage with their followers.
LeBron and Kanye aren’t on Twitter to engage. They are on there to shamelessly plug and create publicity for their brands. New album coming out? Get on Twitter. Need to create a stir about your next move? Use social media of course and let it work it’s magic!
And let’s not talk about the psuedo celebrities (Kat Stacks, Natalie Nunn, et al) who are so desperate to be somebody, that tweeting gives them celebrity status even though they ain’t famous in the real world. And what about the stars who tweet some random stuff that can be considered offensive (see Chris Brown or Asher Roth) just to delete it like it didn’t exist? Of course there are screen caps of the tweet, so the covering up of some things are non-existent.
I enjoy Twitter because of the engaging conversations I have with folk. I do not want to send a tweet to a celebrity unless I know they are known to engage back and reciprocate. If I want to read about their lives, I will go to the gossip blogs. And I find that most celebs are boring Tweeters.
Maybe that is why Kanye is already at the number of followers he has—because we are all waiting for him to have another MTV Awards moment. Maybe he should tweet while drinking some Hennessy.
What do you think of celebrities and their usage of social networks? Is it overkill? Or do you feel like they enhance your social networking experience? Feedback please.
Photo and video from Sandra Rose Blog
Article by Danyelle Little
The Cubicle Chick embodies independence, confidence, style, pizazz, and has a giving heart, while being fabulous doing so. As an independent mother of two myself, I’ve learned a thing or two when it comes to getting the most out of life! Beauty and fashion as well as workplace etiquette and do’s and dont’s are my forte, and I share my knowledge with my readers. I also try new looks in terms of make-up trends and I am open to critique from my readers whom I call Cubicle Chicks.I am a mother of two children. I work in the real estate industry. I am a decent cook, aspiring writer, best friend, daughter, granddaughter, Godmother, niece, cousin, lover, and sometime vixen.Simply put, I am EVERY woman.
Danyelle has written 27 article(s) for us.
Senor_H_El_Jefe (24)
bitter black dude (15)
Abdul Wilson (12)
JG* RunsTheKitchen (12)
the uppity negro (12)
J Mark (11)
Idu Charles (10)
true2me (9)
E. Reed (7)
R0cktheMike (6)
Yvonne (6)
Ashleigh L. A. (5)
blackchild (5)
Garfield (5)
Diggame (4)
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
FRESH: Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting to know people… http://bit.ly/9NftJC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Social networks are a business now. It’s another form of strategic communications.
It’s amazing really, I had a meeting with a client on social networking this week.They have a 50 page manual on how to use Facebook.
Twitter’s manual has 30 pages.
Most of the time, celebs and companies just use it as another form of publicity. What better way than to make your product more accessible than to have them communicate using the joe schmoe methods?
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience? http://tinyurl.com/273vbxk
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
I don’t see how they ruin Twitter. Or Facebook. Perhaps the people you follow are the ones ruining your experience since…they’re the ones tweeting about it. *Shrugs*
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting to know people throug… http://bit.ly/cMAh3j
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Honestly, who cares if a celebrity tweets back because nine times out of ten they wouldn’t speak to half the average joe’s they tweet to, and really there life is just that boring anyway…they use stuff like twitter to keep loyality (from fans) going in there favor when it comes to making money and that’s it..
i tried twitter and couldnt stand it. too much random bullshit i dont give a damn about. anyway, i really like e badu and tried to follow her. it was around that window seat video. she was so negative, paranoid, and defensive i am no longer a fan. go figure.
“she was so negative, paranoid, and defensive i am no longer a fan. go figure.”
LOL…..and they wonder why they get negative labels…
seriously. I had a man crush on badu for the longest. her music has inspired me at different points in my life. “Times a Wastin” on the mommas gun joint was in constant rotation.
so maybe i had this unfair image of how she would be. when i started reading her feeds i was so turned off, i cant even take her music seriously anymore. it was really dissapointing. dont think ive gotten over it.
Ya Erika’s a bird, I peeped that a really long time ago. Lots of artists are, that’s why its better to not get so close to these people’s personal lives. Art is art, if you love the illusion her sound brings then you should still listen to her music. Amy Winehouse is a hot mess and a permanent case of erectile dysfunction to look at, but damn it if I don’t love her 2 albums. Love the music not the bird singing it.
Amy Winehouse is a hot mess and a permanent case of erectile dysfunction to look at…
*Ditto on that statement*…LOL..
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting t… http://bit.ly/aF5DiF & artimpactnetpr.com
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting t… http://bit.ly/bSfYIY & artimpactnetpr.com
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting t… http://bit.ly/9zTYfC & artimpactnetpr.com
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting t… http://bit.ly/c1oBEL & artimpactnetpr.com
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: http://url4.eu/6bVqI
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting to know people throug… http://bit.ly/9Dye00
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
FRESH: Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience?: Doesn’t the experience of getting to know people… http://bit.ly/9NftJC
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
blogs Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience? http://bit.ly/bvozdr
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
I don’t think it’s celebs who ruin twitter, it’s the groupy-types who worship them. I’ve only been on twitter for a few weeks and don’t log on very often, because I see the same stuff. I understand why the RT option is there, but it’s like certain celebs will say 1 thing and thousands of people will RT as if what was said is the gospel truth or something mind-blowing. For example, Kanye West tweeted “life is awesome” and it was on my page 13 times when I logged on. I mean, really? People RT Rev Run all day and the dude has yet to say something I haven’t heard before smh
So for me, I think Twitter is all in who you follow and you tweet to. If you don’t speak or if they don’t respond, why follow? And for celebrities, I think it just cuts down the cost of having a publicist. That’s a few grand that they can now spend on bottles or Gucci sunglasses or whatever
Are Celebrities Ruining Our Social Networking Experience? http://bit.ly/9eNhT7 (via @theFreshXpress)
This comment was originally posted on Twitter