Becoming a viable internet celebrity from a viral meme is rare and luck-driven
Evidence
“Meme personalities” considers how ordinary people can be (unwittingly) captured in compromising circumstances or with notable expressions or gestures and become iconized as memes. Despite their image being in high circulation, the journey from meme as one-off virality to sustained and viable internet celebrity is long, arduous, and oft-times based on luck. Some of them attempt to move into the traditional media industries after attaining sufficient momentum and continued interest on social media. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 162
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Successful online content creators become instructional models for aspiring imitators — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 40; Meme celebrities institutionalize their viral fame into sustained commercial businesses. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 172; Viral fame monetized through podcasting, casino appearances, and meme coins — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 815 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Web fame cannot create traditional celebrity but produces a distinct micro-celebrity instead
#qualifies(0.90) — Theresa M. Senft, Camgirls, 194 - Meme celebrities institutionalize their viral fame into sustained commercial businesses.
#qualifies(0.85) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 172 - Meme virality can generate sustainable income for owners within days.
#contradicts(0.85) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 173 - Viral fame monetized through podcasting, casino appearances, and meme coins
#expands(0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 815 - Some viral meme figures decline to extend or monetize their transient fame
#corroborates(0.80) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 165 - Supposed grassroots virality was often orchestrated celebrity marketing
#complicates(0.80) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 293 - A viral sexual innuendo clip could convert a drunken stranger into a cross-platform celebrity
#exemplifies(0.75) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 813