Microfame is a participatory celebrity co-created by its audience.
Evidence
“When we say ‘microfamous,’ our inclination is to imagine a smaller form of celebrity, a lower life-form striving to become a mammal—the macrofamous or suprafamous, perhaps,” Sorgatz wrote with his accustomed wit. “But microfame is its own distinct species of celebrity, one in which both the subject and the ‘fans’ participate directly in the celebrity’s creation. Microfame extends beyond a creator’s body of work to include a community that leaves comments, publishes reaction videos, sends e-mails, and builds Internet reputations with links.” — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1022
Categorization
- DEFINE: Rigorous early definition of microfame as participatory, co-created celebrity distinct from scaled-down traditional fame.
- SEED: Good anchor for an essay on how audience co-creation of celebrity anticipated influencer economics.
- XREF: connects to: Microfame, distinct from traditional celebrity, drove New York tech culture. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1021; Ascribed micro-celebrity is granted through media attention and audience distance — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 276; Micro-celebrity replaces the illusion of access with direct two-way fan interaction — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 279 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Ascribed micro-celebrity is granted through media attention and audience distance
#qualifies(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 276 - Micro-celebrity replaces the illusion of access with direct two-way fan interaction
#expands(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 279 - Ongoing direct fan interaction is what sustains a micro-celebrity’s relatability and viewership
#expands(0.80) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 280 - Microfame, distinct from traditional celebrity, drove New York tech culture.
#corroborates(0.75) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1021