What’s common between Ellen DeGeneres, Brittney Spears, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, and Oprah Winfrey? They all have between 2 million to over 3 million Twitter followers and staggering number of online fan followers. The celebrities and social networking relationship is making news headlines more frequently now, with Ashton Kutcher’s antics on Twitter, or some other celebrity taking swipes at their peers through their blogs.
Social networking and community software has been the technology foundation for a lot of PR companies and fan bases for popular movies, bands, artists, and celebrities … and this trend is simply going strong. Well known personalities who were once “access restricted” now “more human” and reachable through their community sites, blogs, or micro-blogging accounts. Social networks are now places where the bodyguards, PR agents, and entourage surrounding these stars seem to fall away. And celebrities have a place where they can just be themselves and freely exchange conversations with fans, while still having the physical security of knowing they won’t be mobbed while at their keyboards or iPhones. To them, these social software platforms are a great way to communicate with their audiences and reach out to them with the ever-so-important personal touch, while still keeping a safe distance.
To the fans and the audiences, this offers an experience like never before. It offers a chance to freely communicate or connect with their favorite personalities and makes them accessible like any other person on a social network. How else would we imagine being able to know what David Beckham has to say, get to comment on Fred Durst’s blog to kick start a discussion, or actually get Donald Trump to hear someone else’s opinion for once. Communicating with the famous has never been easier!
The social networking technology and social software platforms have become the PR agents of the online world, and provide a way for the stars to build stronger, more personal relationships with their fans. It’s lending a human touch to a space where it was badly needed and somewhat lacking. It brings together people with a common interest in a celebrity, a movie, a band, or person they admire and includes that entity in the conversation, giving everyone what they need. For those who have a fan base and don’t have or use the technology to back it, they may just be missing out on the new era.
