As you may guess from the header there, I'm likely to come off seeming hypocritical here as I feel like ranting about internet fame and the lengths people go for it. Having a blog kinda leaves me open to apparently going for internet fame, but well you can either go and call me a hypocrite which is perfectly correct - I am a hypocrite when it comes to many things - but I don't pander to an audience or do anything to get attention. I just happen to write in a style that implies I think people actually read this..and to be honest thats just my natural writing style - to write like I'm talking.
Anyway I believe youtube illustrates this more than anything, after successes of numa numa guy, star wars kid who've been featured on the real news and in other tv shows. Another one that is hard to escape is Chris Crocker I believe the name is? The annoying leave britney alone guy who has been one of the actually successful stars having been parodied in that *oh so funny* (note the sarcasm please) film meet the spartans and being used as an 'internet correspondent' on a show or 2. So following in the footsteps of these 'stars' we get a new generation of people willing to go to any lengths for the same level or at least a taste of the same level of fame.
This was an example I came across when I was finding out who the hell chris crocker was after hearing the name so many god damn times. Anyway I found an example that illustrates this point perfectly. This girl was claiming to be the female Chris Crocker, and she posts this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBxYhovsUjE in short having seen another - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH0i-xPuQ7E video either on an advertised place on youtube or due to having a couple of thousand hits she just copies her. They're both videos of girls pieing themselves in the face, just to get attention. It worked for one on a small scale so the other follows suit hoping to get the same glamour or whatever that apparently comes with website/youtube hits.
Now many people will think whats the big deal? Its attention seeking and its kinda stupid/funny whatever. But what does this fame bring? Well unless you're incredibly successful money definately doesn't enter the equation, even with the google advertising monster powering it. These videos by now, 6 months to a year on after posting are hovering around the 20-25k mark this actually might qualify for some kind of monetary reward if you agree to the advertising deal I've heard about on youtube - this could be rubbish as I only watch videos so feel free to correct me - but it took so long , much longer than our internet generation demand. If anything is to be gained it needs to be almost immediate for them ,and in a way still me, to be deemed any form of success. Slow burners, to coin a sales term, aren't of interest.
But eitherway just a scroll down the comments on these videos reveals a worrying erm, thing. I mean it starts off with a weird face, and replied to by the author with a hopeful 'subscribe to me'. But scroll further and further down and you start seeing weirder comments like "Ha,, this is the way to get subscribers... if you pie yourself with an entire can of shaving cream and cover your entire face...I guarantee I will get you at least 70 subscribers today!! " - "Lol. Thanks I think? You should subscribe if you havent.
Next week I think im gonna melt chocolate and pour it on my head. ". I mean if you like to do that kinda thing, sure go ahead, but otherwise for 70 subscribers? big deal. They don't actually do anything, but more on that tangent in a minute. But why do something to placate an audience you get nothing from if its something you don't wanna do? The majority of the comments continue in such a way, and theres a follow up where she just goes straight into something messy, in my opinion just to placate the fans. She called this one pie in face or whatever she actually did to hook people, but placed it at the end video with the idea she'd do what she'd normally do with this as a hook to increase viewers at the end - a typical tv trick, but already the next day she was giving in and just going straight to the apparently viewer high segment.
Now you may be wondering why the hell I give a damn about stuff like this. Well that is a very good question and I often say that people will be dumb regardless of what you or I do. However this is actually an area in which I have a bit of experience. Rewind the clock 5 or so and I used to run a yahoo group which is still about, but unfortunately I'm locked out of any admin controls for. Anyway it was something I used to give back to a community I took a lot from and felt I should give something back. At its height it had 5000+ members which you might think is pretty cool, and at the time it was rather an ego boost for me and the other person involved. However 5000 members really means diddly squat if no one contributes and to be honest there were less than 10 people who contributed, whether it be photos, videos, stories or even comments on material. When you take that into account, and to an extent blame lays with me for not getting the community more involved, you begin to realise how meaningless that number is, sure its people looking at whatever you're doing, accessing your material but you get fuck all for it. Excuse me, I don't like swearing even when I'm typing but to an extent it does annoy me that much. Its just a community that'll take all it can and give nothing in return.
Obviously a group site and a yahoo vlog or whatever you wanna call it is different but in my opinion viewers/site members/hits are equally meaningless as at the end of the day you get nothing from them. I believe in this post I've proved an old saying, you are what you drink, and I'm a bitter and stout man in both senses of the word. But fyi no alcohol was consumed in the makings of this rant, even if it should've been to distract me from making it, Dork out