Internet Celebrities
Wikipedia
Quick Teen Reads
Internet celebrity
An Internet celebrity, blogebrity, cyberstar, online celebrity, micro-celebrity, Internet personality, or influencer is someone who has become famous by means of the Internet. The advent of social media has helped people increase their outreach to a global audience. Internet celebrities may be targeted by companies who would like them to advertise products to their fans and followers on their platforms. Internet celebrities often function as lifestyle gurus who promote a particular lifestyle or attitude. In this role they may be crucial influencers / multipliers for trends in fashion, technology, gaming, political, entertainment, and other genres.
History
The first social media platform SixDegrees.com, launched in 1997. Users were able to upload a profile and make friends with other users. Since then, social media has become a central part of not only communication, but social life, businesses, and news publishing. Some of the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, WeChat, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter.
Self-branding
Self-branding, also known as personal branding, describes development of a public image for commercial gain or social/cultural capital. The rise of social media today has been exploited by individuals seeking personal fame and product sales. Platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Vsco are the most common social media outlets on which online influencers try to build a following. Fame can sometimes be attained through modeling, arts, humor, podcasts and other media forms . Experts on marketing have concluded that "No longer does a person need to be familiar with complex coding languages or other technicalities to build Web sites, because virtually anyone can upload text, pictures and video instantly to a site from a personal computer or phone. With technological barriers crumbling and its near ubiquity, the Web has become the perfect platform for personal branding"
Types
Depending on what has caused an Internet celebrity to become famous, they may reach their audience in very different ways. Millions of people write online journals or weblogs, but not all become internet celebrities. In many cases, this content does not reach a large audience; in fact, it may be intended for a small audience with a specific interest. But sometimes if the author has or develops a distinctive personality, they may gain notoriety more for their personality than for the content of their blog.
In some cases, people might rise to fame through a single event or video that goes viral. The Internet allows videos, news articles, and jokes to spread very quickly. Depending on its reach, the content may become considered an "Internet meme" and, thus, the content creator may achieve a level of fame. For example, Zach Anner, an Austin, Texas-based comedian, gained worldwide attention after submitting a video to Oprah Winfrey's "Search for the Next TV Star" competition.
The concept of web celebrity brings to mind Andy Warhol's famous quote about 15 minutes of fame. A more recent adaptation of Warhol's quote, possibly prompted by the rise of online social networking, blogging, and similar online phenomena, is the claim that "In the future, everyone will be famous to fifteen people" or, in some renditions, "On the Web, everyone will be famous to fifteen people". This quote, though attributed to David Weinberger, was said to have originated with the Scottish artist Momus.
The YouTube phenomenon and "vlogging"
YouTube has risen as one of the biggest platforms for launching Internet celebrities. YouTube allows individual users to record their daily lives for the whole world to see. This activity is called video blogging, or vlogging. YouTubers today, regardless of genres and types of videos they make, have created an industry that can generate revenue from greater amounts of views and higher popularity. One good example is YouTuber gamer and streamer PewDiePie, who live streams gameplay footage on YouTube, with around 95 million subscribers as of May 2019. He has regained his status as having the YouTube channel with the largest following.
300 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, with 5 billion videos watched every day. Individuals are creating videos, sketches and uploading them onto social media platforms, such as YouTube, in return for income. Variety published an article in August 2014 that stated that YouTube stars are more popular than mainstream celebrities among U.S. teens. Advertisers, in an effort to reach teenagers and millennials who were not watching regular television and movies started contacting Internet celebrities. YouTube now has 1.5 billion monthly active users, and many YouTubers have millions of subscribers.
YouTube stars appear to have a greater influence on the millennial population than traditional celebrities of the past. One of the main reasons behind this is that the majority of millennials do not watch TV. They prefer to use their handheld devices, easily accessing internet platforms that feature non-traditional celebrities. 70% of subscribers say that YouTube personalities change and shape the pop culture and 60% of them say they would make buying decisions based on the recommendation of their favorite YouTube star over the recommendation of a TV or movie star.
Income
Different types of online celebrities make money in varying ways, but most make money from endorsements. Online celebrities use their fame to promote products or experiences to their followers. Celebrities are thought to give credibility to products. For example, YouTube celebrities can make money directly through their YouTube channel by using ads or by sponsoring products. YouTube has a program, called Adsense that allows YouTubers to gain revenue from ads and views. In order to generate income using Adsense, YouTubers must fulfill some requirements: they have more than 1,000 subscribers, live in an eligible country, and have more than 4,000 with hours of content per year. YouTube can be a lucrative platform for YouTube celebrities like PewDiePie who made US$15.5 million in 2018.
Youtubers can also expand their source of revenue by creating their own products or merchandise to sell. Similarly, fashion bloggers and Instagram celebrities can earn money by promoting brands on their platforms and by developing their own brands. Bloggers can feature sponsored posts in social media to make profits. For instance, fashion blogger turned businesswoman, Chiara Ferragni started off as an online blogger and then gained millions of followers on Instagram. She later created her own brand, the Chiara Ferragni Collection. She like many other Instagram influencers started off by charging per post for promoting brands. She now gets paid a large but undisclosed amount of money per Instagram post and also earns revenue from the sale of her products.
An Internet celebrity, blogebrity, cyberstar, online celebrity, micro-celebrity, Internet personality, or influencer is someone who has become famous by means of the Internet. The advent of social media has helped people increase their outreach to a global audience. Internet celebrities may be targeted by companies who would like them to advertise products to their fans and followers on their platforms. Internet celebrities often function as lifestyle gurus who promote a particular lifestyle or attitude. In this role they may be crucial influencers / multipliers for trends in fashion, technology, gaming, political, entertainment, and other genres.
History
The first social media platform SixDegrees.com, launched in 1997. Users were able to upload a profile and make friends with other users. Since then, social media has become a central part of not only communication, but social life, businesses, and news publishing. Some of the most popular social media platforms are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, WeChat, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter.
Self-branding
Self-branding, also known as personal branding, describes development of a public image for commercial gain or social/cultural capital. The rise of social media today has been exploited by individuals seeking personal fame and product sales. Platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Vsco are the most common social media outlets on which online influencers try to build a following. Fame can sometimes be attained through modeling, arts, humor, podcasts and other media forms . Experts on marketing have concluded that "No longer does a person need to be familiar with complex coding languages or other technicalities to build Web sites, because virtually anyone can upload text, pictures and video instantly to a site from a personal computer or phone. With technological barriers crumbling and its near ubiquity, the Web has become the perfect platform for personal branding"
Types
Depending on what has caused an Internet celebrity to become famous, they may reach their audience in very different ways. Millions of people write online journals or weblogs, but not all become internet celebrities. In many cases, this content does not reach a large audience; in fact, it may be intended for a small audience with a specific interest. But sometimes if the author has or develops a distinctive personality, they may gain notoriety more for their personality than for the content of their blog.
In some cases, people might rise to fame through a single event or video that goes viral. The Internet allows videos, news articles, and jokes to spread very quickly. Depending on its reach, the content may become considered an "Internet meme" and, thus, the content creator may achieve a level of fame. For example, Zach Anner, an Austin, Texas-based comedian, gained worldwide attention after submitting a video to Oprah Winfrey's "Search for the Next TV Star" competition.
The concept of web celebrity brings to mind Andy Warhol's famous quote about 15 minutes of fame. A more recent adaptation of Warhol's quote, possibly prompted by the rise of online social networking, blogging, and similar online phenomena, is the claim that "In the future, everyone will be famous to fifteen people" or, in some renditions, "On the Web, everyone will be famous to fifteen people". This quote, though attributed to David Weinberger, was said to have originated with the Scottish artist Momus.
The YouTube phenomenon and "vlogging"
YouTube has risen as one of the biggest platforms for launching Internet celebrities. YouTube allows individual users to record their daily lives for the whole world to see. This activity is called video blogging, or vlogging. YouTubers today, regardless of genres and types of videos they make, have created an industry that can generate revenue from greater amounts of views and higher popularity. One good example is YouTuber gamer and streamer PewDiePie, who live streams gameplay footage on YouTube, with around 95 million subscribers as of May 2019. He has regained his status as having the YouTube channel with the largest following.
300 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, with 5 billion videos watched every day. Individuals are creating videos, sketches and uploading them onto social media platforms, such as YouTube, in return for income. Variety published an article in August 2014 that stated that YouTube stars are more popular than mainstream celebrities among U.S. teens. Advertisers, in an effort to reach teenagers and millennials who were not watching regular television and movies started contacting Internet celebrities. YouTube now has 1.5 billion monthly active users, and many YouTubers have millions of subscribers.
YouTube stars appear to have a greater influence on the millennial population than traditional celebrities of the past. One of the main reasons behind this is that the majority of millennials do not watch TV. They prefer to use their handheld devices, easily accessing internet platforms that feature non-traditional celebrities. 70% of subscribers say that YouTube personalities change and shape the pop culture and 60% of them say they would make buying decisions based on the recommendation of their favorite YouTube star over the recommendation of a TV or movie star.
Income
Different types of online celebrities make money in varying ways, but most make money from endorsements. Online celebrities use their fame to promote products or experiences to their followers. Celebrities are thought to give credibility to products. For example, YouTube celebrities can make money directly through their YouTube channel by using ads or by sponsoring products. YouTube has a program, called Adsense that allows YouTubers to gain revenue from ads and views. In order to generate income using Adsense, YouTubers must fulfill some requirements: they have more than 1,000 subscribers, live in an eligible country, and have more than 4,000 with hours of content per year. YouTube can be a lucrative platform for YouTube celebrities like PewDiePie who made US$15.5 million in 2018.
Youtubers can also expand their source of revenue by creating their own products or merchandise to sell. Similarly, fashion bloggers and Instagram celebrities can earn money by promoting brands on their platforms and by developing their own brands. Bloggers can feature sponsored posts in social media to make profits. For instance, fashion blogger turned businesswoman, Chiara Ferragni started off as an online blogger and then gained millions of followers on Instagram. She later created her own brand, the Chiara Ferragni Collection. She like many other Instagram influencers started off by charging per post for promoting brands. She now gets paid a large but undisclosed amount of money per Instagram post and also earns revenue from the sale of her products.