Micro-celebrity status requires achievements, not just self-promotion

Evidence

Those who are ascribed micro-celebrity are rewarded in this way for their accomplishments, not their practices. Moreover, there is an assumption that those who are aggressively pursuing internet fame for its own sake have nothing to back it up; the practice is dismissively referred to as “famewhoring” or “fameballing,” terms that are usually applied to people without any particular skill or accomplishment that might earn their fame. The very highest status is still reserved for those who are well known for their achievements rather than for just their name recognition. For example, Jakob Lodwick, the co-founder of College Humor, posts deeply personal information and peculiar homemade videos online, but his seeming drive to court attention is forgiven because of his significant accomplishments (and wealth). By contrast, Nick Starr, an out gay man and Apple fanboy who posts constant updates on his sex life and weight loss (even tweeting his liposuction), is considered by many to be desperate for attention. There is a distinction made between “celebrity,” or fame for fame’s sake, versus fame based on high-status business practice. … This distaste means that a successful micro-celebrity practitioner must walk an extremely thin line between maintaining high status in the community through achievements and self-promotion, and going overboard to the point where he or she is mocked or ridiculed. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 335

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes ascribed vs achieved micro-celebrity status and introduces the famewhoring stigma
• XREF: Connects to Bourdieu’s distinction between cultural capital (accomplishment) and mere visibility, and to Weberian status hierarchies — connects to: Micro-celebrities face scrutiny if they seek attention without commensurate achievement — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 269; Micro-celebrity is a practice, not a status — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 274; Micro-celebrity is a learned status practice rooted in Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial values — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 314 (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• Micro-celebrity status can be imposed by media regardless of self-presentation #complicates (0.85) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 345
• Achieved micro-celebrity is a deliberate self-presentation strategy, not a social position #contradicts (0.85) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 277
• Ascribed micro-celebrity is granted through media attention and audience distance #contradicts (0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 276