14:59 down, 01 to go for social media celebrity

 Celebrity these days can be obtained fairly easily. Do you have a social media account? If yes, do you have a webcam? If yes, do you have a verified account? Well, then you are somewhat halfway there. Now, are you thinking about being the star of your own account? If yes, do you post at least on a weekly basis? If yes, are you posing for consumer products now and then? Have you got any endorsement deals? Are these companies known to most or just your online subscription members? Are you charging for content? If yes to any of that, you may well be a social media celebrity.

With that said, do I know you? More often than not, I may not be familiar with the person that is given the title of a social media influencer. Maybe this is due to my age and my interests being more established and worldly. Perhaps it is because I am not much of a gamer these days, or back when I was younger people like me were called squares. And probably it seems that there is a pathway upon becoming an influencer that will end up with more negativity than expected. It just seems rather confusing and odd to me as to how notoriety can be put at random to anyone seeking it. The artist and New York icon Andy Warhol (1928-1987) had once mentioned that in the ways and media of his time, any person could get famous for at least 15 minutes. Sometime after the ubiquitous impact of MTV, then founder and Warner Amex (later Paramount) executive Bob Pittman would later shorten the length to 5 minutes of fame, since more face time could occur with the advent of cable. Nowadays, it seems more like anyone that has posted a video on YouTube or Facebook/Instagram or even Twitter can achieve at least a few seconds of fame. Doubly so if something you did on camera can turn into a meme. Is it though worth the trouble? 

I had thought for years that social media influencers would be more focused on political, economic and social issues we are experiencing in this world. At least, my engagement with people on Facebook and other accounts had some personal content yet mainly had me discussing my opinions on life. It still can be for some people, though they tend to skew older. I just do not think any of us could think of doing something silly or vacuous and get a plethora of likes and comments. It makes me concerned that this form of influencing has started to branch out to other forms of current society. I see what is supposed to be the current US government leadership and the opposition and it is mainly now childish behavior online. Civility is to many an unknown concept. Will this change? Could artificial intelligence bring forth a permanent change in how we communicate with each other and could AI be integrated with social media to be a check on uncivil behaviors? It is difficult to say at this point, though there is an idea that I have which allows for greater regulation of social media. Of course, you might be thinking differently on this issue. Let me know in the comments below and also bring forth some suggestions as to what I should write about next. 

Talk to you soon,


Robert Kelly


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