Some interesting events going down once again in the world of Twitter this week, as US rapper 50 Cent recently let slip that the content of his Tweets is not actually written by him – but – (wait for it…) instead by his web specialist PR agent(!).
Now many of Fiddy’s fans were obviously shocked at having been slightly duped to buying into the psuedo-intimate fakery of his Twitter feed, though if one thinks about it – it is surprising that they actually believed it was genuine in the first place.
After all, when one gets the latest e-mail from fansite for a global film star, or a sports icon do we really believe it was lovingly crafted by the object of our affections? Would A-list Hollywood celebs really have the time to spend hours at the computer sending out updates of where they are and what they’re doing?
Further when we see 50 Cent’s website do we think it was crafted by the man himself? (maybe he is a closet html expert – but I wouldn’t put money on it…) When the man is on tour does he fly his own plane? We are pretty safe to assume that the multi-national brand of Fiddy has highly-paid experts taking care of most aspects of his business. So why not the Twitter feed?
Perhaps it is that many celebrities do write their own Tweets and perhaps as a result we extend this to everybody when maybe we should be a bit more careful. As the Guardian article points out, when 50 Cent tweets the following – “My ambition leads me through a tunnel that never ends” – then things are probably not what they seem…
At the end of the day it matters little whether a Tweet is ghost written or not, since we need only believe it not to be for it to work.
What I mean to say is that such things function to raise web visibility and maintain the celeb tweeter in the fans’ consciousness. They are not designed for spreading ideas – only raising profiles. The actual content is largely irrelevant as long as it followed by as many users as possible, who will of course only do so for as long as they believe it to be the authentic word of God… sorry I meant 50 Cent there…
Take for example Stephen Fry’s twitter feed. Now I am quite the fan of Stephen Fry, both as an entertaining and erudite TV presenter, a competent actor and finally a great technology writer (as seen in many of his Guardian pieces). However having tried following his tweets (which are surely among the most followed of any UK celeb) I was left slightly bemused by it all.
Ultimately, no matter how much I like S.F. (or any other celeb – I tested this with quite a few), there is not much that he can provide within the space of 20 or so words (his typical tweet length), three or four times a day, that I find at all interesting. Perhaps only the wider conclusion that it is amazing that celebs who never get featured in the glossies are actually now being able to nurture their own celeb status in ways unseen before.
However for me, it is one thing to like Stephen Fry because he is funny/intelligent/whatever. But it is a whole different kettle of celeb status when one likes his twitter not for its content – but because it’s Stephen Fry(!). Sometimes even celebs just watch crap on telly for a bit, or feel jetlagged or get an early night. I for one don’t find it any more interesting than if a non-celeb were doing it.
Judging by the number of new celeb twitters springing up and attracting followers by the day though, I’m clearly in a rapidly shrinking web-minority of celeb Twitter-sceptics. Maybe it’s time to take another look and see if I missed something – after all these things are spreading quicker than I can type ‘i’m just finishing another article for etondigital, after which i’ll have lunch – salad today!’ (fascinating isn’t it?)
Dejan Levi
