Make Me Like Mike
In their article, "To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter," authors Marwick and Boyd argue that celebrity is just a set of circulated strategies and practices that place fame on a continuum. This argument embodies the idea that "celebrity" has become just a facade, a mask that can be placed on the face of any one person that possesses such strategies and practices. In no one world is the mask of celebrity more obtainable than in the world of social media. Social media sites allow for common people to gain popularity through their talents and mold that popularity into the facade that is "celebrity." Through social media celebrity becomes much more obtaining, by all people, because it provides a commonality amongst individuals. This means that as soon as one person creates an account, whether it be a twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, that person shares something in common with a celebrity and that person is one step closer to the facade of celebrity. Going a step beyond the likens of twitter and Facebook, author Senft allows us to understand the importance of social media sites such as Vine and Youtube. Senft discusses the work of the web in the digital age. Explaining how digital technologies allow us to display ourselves as copies. Through Vine and Youtube not only is authenticity enhanced but replication is as well. The facade of celebrity is more obtainable and the ability to become your image of your favorite celebrity presents itself. Although the ability to obtain such an image is enhanced, there is still work that is required in order to reach the status of "celebrity." In his reading, "profile Picture, Right Here, Right Now," author Sarachan discusses the expectations of social media users. Sarachan makes it clear that in order to gain followers one can not simply exist on social networks. You must possess an identity and do certain things to maintain that identity. This, in turn, is yet another connection to celebrities due to the fact that celebrities possess identities whether it be performance identities or online personas. This is how regular people build fan bases on social networks, by fulfilling the expectations of their followers.Β
