How teenagers handle the web's instant fame(nytimes.com)
nytimes.com
How teenagers handle the web's instant fame
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/fashion/how-teenagers-handle-the-webs-instant-fame.html?pagewanted=all
3 comments
Along these same lines, I'd like to quote another fan of Cinkle's from Metafilter:
"The thing about this that fascinates me is there is no pose here, no ego and none of those horrendous qualities that you see in a lot of the young people who seek out attention on the Internet. She was never supposed to be famous. Cinkle was just a friend of Black's who was invited to be in the video, and given practically no direction. When all of this unearned and decidedly negative attention crashed down on her, she turned it into something entirely positive -- most of her FB and Tumblr followers are people who started out making fun of her (myself included). How many people could manage to do that at any age?
I was won over when someone asked her 'Why are you so awkward??' and she responded:'Um, because I'm 13 (:'"
posted by hermitosis at 3:34 PM on June 25 http://www.metafilter.com/104932/The-REAL-Queen-of-the-Inter...
"The thing about this that fascinates me is there is no pose here, no ego and none of those horrendous qualities that you see in a lot of the young people who seek out attention on the Internet. She was never supposed to be famous. Cinkle was just a friend of Black's who was invited to be in the video, and given practically no direction. When all of this unearned and decidedly negative attention crashed down on her, she turned it into something entirely positive -- most of her FB and Tumblr followers are people who started out making fun of her (myself included). How many people could manage to do that at any age?
I was won over when someone asked her 'Why are you so awkward??' and she responded:'Um, because I'm 13 (:'"
posted by hermitosis at 3:34 PM on June 25 http://www.metafilter.com/104932/The-REAL-Queen-of-the-Inter...
When I read this line: "..even began offering her own Internet Survival Guide, free to download after submitting your e-mail address."
She gained my respect, it's basic marketing 101 but even grown adults trying to market a company often don't have this type of intuition to capture marketing/relationship leads whilst the buzz is still hot.
She gained my respect, it's basic marketing 101 but even grown adults trying to market a company often don't have this type of intuition to capture marketing/relationship leads whilst the buzz is still hot.
« In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes. »
Andy Warhol was right, and here we are.
Indeed, capitalising on those 15 minutes, and making money out of it while you can is a good idea.
Andy Warhol was right, and here we are.
Indeed, capitalising on those 15 minutes, and making money out of it while you can is a good idea.
The phenomenon of kids becoming famous very young isn't new. If anything, kids are older now when they become famous. Michael Jackson's career started at five -- this didn't have a very good outcome for his psyche later in life, but the point stands.
Maybe not, but the phenomenon of kids managing their own image, brand, and marketing is pretty unusual. Michael Jackson et al never did that.
For all Michael Jackson's issues, he was undeniably talented, extremely talented. And even if you have examples from a while ago of not particularly talented child celebrities (modern example, somebody like Miley Cyrus), at least they're becoming famous for doing something.
What is really new is that people can become celebrities just by deciding they want to (or sometimes without even that), it doesn't neccesarily require marketing, TV exposure, etc.
What is really new is that people can become celebrities just by deciding they want to (or sometimes without even that), it doesn't neccesarily require marketing, TV exposure, etc.
Phenomenon itself isn't new, but surely rate of incidence is, right? However meaningless it all is.
Not so sure that's fair: I see this a lot with young 'stars' being 'talentless', in this case, being smart enough (both to use it for a good cause and to be able to use it in this way) to capitalize on her 'fame' "to generate money and attention for earthquake relief for Japan" or raise money "for Cystic Fibrosis Walk" is pretty impressive, and remember, she is 14 years old; I don't think most in her situation wouldn't be capable of doing that.
EDIT: I just felt like adding this because I see this sort of thing a lot, sure, she may not have demonstrated talent in the video but what she's done afterwards has definitely demonstrated that she's a smart kid, and, 'sly bashing' like that is so unnecessary (and prevalent).