The Future of the Online Celebrity Social Media Final Project

1. The Future of the online celebrity By: NosheenAsjad, Ashley Pieterse and SyedBukhari

2. 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.

3. 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”…

4. 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. …

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

6. The fame gained on the internet, however, isn’t always positive and can lead to the “dark sides” of the being a celebrity.

7. Social Media Similarly 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!

8. 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.

9. YouTube 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.

10. YouTube helped these young celebrities kick-start their careers…

11. My space MySpace is a Social Networking sitethat allows you to create a profile for yourself. It is a great site to promote yourself and many musicians get discovered through MySpace.

12. These online celebrities were discovered through MySpace.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Many celebrities, however, find Facebookinvasive 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…

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

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

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

20. 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.

22. Soulja Boy Hepromoted his music video “Crank That” on YouTube and is currently an R & B Artist. His online fame transform into real world fame.

23. Jessica Rose 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”.

24. Lucas Cruikshank 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.

25. Kate Voegele Kate is a singer/songwriter and actor who was discovered and signed by MySpace Records in 2006

26. Jon Lajoie 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.

27. Perez Hilton 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…

28. The “Dark Side” of Fame Even success like Justin Bieber’scomes 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”.

29. Negative Fame Sometimes people gain exposure and fame when they weren’t necessarily seeking it… That was the case of the “Star Wars Kid”….

30. “Star Wars Kid” GhyslainRaza 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.

31. 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…

32. 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!

33. 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 –SouljaBoy 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 -ColbieCaillet