Traditional celebrities increasingly extend personas across social platforms
Evidence
British talk show host James Corden runs a popular segment on television in which he carpools and sings with notable musicians. These clips are then uploaded onto YouTube, where his videos often go viral. Armenian-American reality TV family, the Kardashian-Jenners, profit from social media through sponsored advertisements; they use the internet to promote their cosmetic and fashion brands and selectively post self-branded content to catch their followers’ attention in a feedback loop that channels viewership back to their traditional media estates. Black American Hollywood actress Chrissy Teigen is prolific for live-tweeting about her personal life and marriage to singer-songwriter John Legend, breaking down the long-established boundaries and distance between fans and traditional celebrities, and even calling upon social media followers for highly documented personal favors. But public figures outside the entertainment industry are doing it too. Singaporean Member of Parliament Baey Yam Keng has been branded by the press as a “selfie king” for using his highly curated Instagram selfies to engage with his younger populace, and French presidential candidates in the 2017 elections have used Snapchat and its comedic filters to portray a lighter side of their public personae while campaigning. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 97
Categorization
- XREF: The examples (Kardashians, James Corden) illustrate the platform-layering and cross-media audience strategy theme; the Singaporean MP case is a good micro-example of political persona management. — connects to: The Influencer is one prominent type within a broader internet celebrity category — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 61; Traditional celebrities now blend social and legacy media in feedback loops
- CANDY: Light, tweetable anecdotes: Singaporean MP branded ‘selfie king’ for Instagram engagement; French candidates used Snapchat comedy filters while campaigning.