Now everyone’s a celebrity online

It appears the late Andy Warhol was not so much an artist as a prophet.

It was he who suggested, way back in 1968, that media developments would ensure that in the future everyone would be world-famous for 15 minutes.
But I suspect that even he would not have guessed just how significant his prediction would become.

Because social networking has ensured that fame is now easier to achieve than ever before as gossips, mirror-gazers and even the odd talent can now reach their audiences with nothing but a PC (or more likely a Mac), some online tools and an internet connection – thereby cutting out the media middleman they were once reliant upon.

In the not so distant past, this was impossible without this intermediary. It took a journalist, a producer or a talent scout to guide you from obscurity to fame.

But now you have direct access to a market hungry for something vaguely interesting to tweet, email, blog or otherwise post on a swag of online outlets.

And unlike previous media, there is no single formula for achieving newfound fame. Here are some famous examples of the different social networking paths to fame.

MySpace > SMS > Television

Like most suburban teenagers, Corey Worthington thought he would take advantage of his parents absence by inviting a few friends over for a get together. The problem was that his medium for such an invite was MySpace, which in turn was spread via SMS to more than 500 teenagers who stormed his parents home. The ‘teen riot’ didn’t take long to attract television cameras and instant notoriety online and off.

YouTube > Television

You don’t even have to have been online to witness the video of a 30-something guy performing a hokey yet compelling dance in front of some of the world’s most famous landmarks. Because since posting his video on YouTube, the traditional media has come a running to find out more about Matt Harding and his story. Truth is, there’s not much more to the story than that, but it makes interesting viewing on demand – and now he’s reaping the rewards including documentaries, TV ads and books, all spawned from the lark.

Blog > Twitter > Speaking

Melbourne photographer and ‘Problogger’ Darren Rowse is one of the more famous examples of a simple blog not only allowing him to make a living but create passive income streams from a combination of book sales, advertising and a consulting business. After starting out writing a blog about photography, the blog became so popular that he was soon in demand to write and speak on blogging itself, which in turn became bigger than his original raison d’être.

Television > YouTube > Twitter

There is no great example of the power of combining traditional with new media than Susan Boyle. As if television alone wasn’t powerful enough, its combination with the power of social networking created what is likely to be the fastest rise to fame in history. Once the video of her maiden performance on Britain’s Got Talent was posted on YouTube, the more immediate and viral Twitter and its ilk soon spread the word of the phenomenon. For the first time ever, the term ‘overnight sensation’ became a reality.

While these are more famous examples, the fact remains that the average person can now reach more people simultaneously than ever before.

For example, each Twitter user is reported to have an average of 126 followers. And each Facebook member has 130 friends.

When in history has it been possible for the average person to communicate with 130-odd people within seconds?

Not to mention the knock-on effect of re-tweeting, commenting, texting and even good old email.

This has led to an unprecedented twist on Andy Warhol’s prediction – worldwide fame within 15 minutes.

Implications for business

So what does all this overnight success mean for business? Plenty actually.

First, it means that opinion leaders are no longer high-net worth, out of reach individuals, but ordinary people with a Facebook profile and a respectable following.

Given that the average Twitter user has 126 followers, it stands to reason that there’s a substantial number of Twitterers with more than 1,000 followers.

To draw a comparison to the old days, that’s like millions of announcers with their own public radio show.

These popular networkers are a force to be reckoned with.

If they are unhappy with your service or product, it won’t take long to spread the word of your business failure faster than wildfire. Or conversely and ideally, your business success.

Like most social networking trends, they should be ignored at your peril.
As to how to achieve it, there is no better place to start than this website.
So if you’re not already, start experimenting with social networking to find that sweet spot between waste of time and positive ROI.

Better still, provide products and services that are so good that they create their own 15 minutes of fame.

For more Internet Secrets, click here.

Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in Melbourne and beyond.