I don’t get it

Grump and I are looking for a way to take occasional vacations (we need time away a few times a year) and so I was researching rv finance when I got sidetracked (I think this is becoming typical of me). I saw an article dealing with certain web-celebs using ghost writers to update to Twitter for them. Apparently Guy Kawasaki and Britney Spears have other people post to their Twitter accounts for them. Because, well, apparently they’re very busy people (I actually had to google Kawasaki because I wasn’t entirely sure why he’s a web-celeb, but that’s another story). Now, keep in mind, this is probably old news, but I’m just getting wind of it so please bear with me.

There was some question of the ethics of using ghost writers for Twitter accounts. Especially if it’s not clearly disclosed (in the profile, I think, would be appropriate). Some people follow their favorite celebrities (whether they be geeky or entertainment based) hoping to get a view of their personality. So, when the person behind the tweets isn’t the person the follower wanted to hear from, that’s disappointing to them. When they’re following a “thought leader” (I hate, hate, hate that term) then they’re especially disappointed. Why? Why do they think these people really have time to engage with them? And if they do have the time, why do they think these “important” people want to engage with the soiled masses?

There are, of course, a few people that have thousands upon thousands of followers who will answer an occasional @reply. There are some that follow more than 10-50 other celebs (not many) and will actually read their timelines and even a very few who will take the time to retweet. But that’s not the norm with the “important” web-celeb folks. I’ve discovered that even the lowly person who just happened to hit it big one day and become a web-celeb will throw over their initial base when it comes to their stardom. It’s human nature to rise above the hoi polloi. What’s all the fuss about? If you’re following these folks in hopes that someday they’ll throw you a bone by noticing one of your tweets, you’ll be sadly disappointed anyway. Might as well be realistic. Your own influence will eventually grow (if you sow those seeds) and someday you too will be ignoring your lowly followers and hiring people to send out those mundane tweets for you. Isn’t that what you’re someday hoping to finally be able to do?

Ok, maybe not. Maybe you’re not hoping to get to where they’re at. Still, I don’t understand what the fuss is about, other than a bubble bursting. I no more trust the celeb tweets to be from them than I do that the toothfairy will actually visit my daughter. So when I find out that a celeb is sending out their own tweets, I’m either pleasantly surprised or just don’t believe it. Call me jaded, I guess, but I’m never really disappointed when I see these types of stories.

Also, I’m surprised that TechCrunch recently “exposed” a company for offering to hire people to go online and positively review the company products (the Apple iStore was mentioned). The TechCrunch writers, and in fact anyone that’s been online more than 5 years, should know by now that companies do that. It’s old news, guys. Why suddenly the renewed interest? I learned years ago to be wary of Amazon reviews because authors and other companies pay people to post positive things about them. Politicians have been known to hire bloggers to write positively about them during campaign season. It may not be ethical but it’s an old practice that probably isn’t going to die anytime soon. Was it a slow news day? And are there really people surprised by this practice? Again, I’m more apt to be surprised to hear that the use of hired reviewers was going by the wayside. Better to inform the newest members of the internets that these things have been happening for years than to make it sound like something that has just been instituted by this one company. Right?

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