In my conference project, I am centering my work on an increasingly recognized phenomenon in media studies, what I refer to as “microcelebrity.” This term has yet to be formally defined—the only dictionary that mentions the term is the World English Dictionary, which characterizes a microcelebrity as “a celebrity whose fame is relatively narrow in scope and likely to be transient.” To me, this definition says everything and nothing, which is why I aim to expand upon it by building a glossary through case study and observational analysis.
Though microcelebrity is not a widely used word, the concept is not foreign to most Internet users. Microcelebrities exist in virtually all spheres of online activity. These are the users that exercise influence over an audience through one or more online platforms using carefully crafted personas. Microcelebrities have used social media to change how we understand and describe fame in a web 2.0 environment.
While microcelebrities may be renowned in non-virtual environments, such as viral web stars like Chris Crocker whose “Leave Britney Alone” video earned him a guest spot on multiple talk shows, they are primarily recognized for their online identities. Traditionally, we have understood celebrities as those who gained prominence from their professions, but microcelebrities earn fame for their unique voices and viewpoints. Many microcelebrities use their online social capital to promote their business endeavors, but it is not professional prestige that creates and defines microcelebrity. Here, persona authenticity, social popularity, and command of social media outlets take precedence over professional talent. Social media influence is what inherently categorizes microcelebrities.
Furthermore, celebrity has been quantified by prevalence in mass media in the past. Mainstream media coverage is often irrelevant in the realm of microcelebrity: this type of fame is not determined by mentions in mass media news sources. The most important factor becomes how many followers, likes, retweets, and comments the users content has. Microcelebrities are unique in that have become influential simply from command of media. They ride the waves of popular culture while generating content that will appeal to their specific audiences, proliferating ideas that those audiences absorb and spread. Microcelebrities not only aim to discover what is trendy, but often set the trends.
This unofficial definition from UrbanDictionary.com, a site where users can post their own definitions for colloquialized terms without any editing, defines microcelebrity as “one who gains a cult or mainstream following due to viral internet distribution. Does not refer to those who have gained limited or cult followings through traditional media. Does not refer to has-beens or "B-list" celebrities.” Though Urban Dictionary is not academically verifiable by any means, it maintains an element of honesty that is hard to ignore. This definition identifies the pervasive quality of microcelebrities: they command social influence within some subculture, whether niche or more widespread. Interestingly enough, this definition was posted in 2006, long before microcelebrity became a regularly used term in scholarly writings.
I was inspired to explore this topic by one of my favorite cyber-personas and content creators, a blogger who goes by Molly Soda. Soda originally amassed a vast following on her Tumblr page, mollysoda.tumblr.com, but whose influence now spans, many platforms. Her blog can be best described as “cyber trash,” a style that glorifies the aesthetic of early Internet animation. Soda’s artistic preferences are very clear and attention grabbing. She draws inspiration from the “seapunk,” “vaporwave,” and “cyberpunk” digital youth subcultures. Her art references the deepest, darkest recesses of the internet, presented primarily as augmented self-taken photographs.
Soda heavily participated in the beginning of the trend of taking “selfies”, making satirical commentary on how individuals portray themselves online. She achieved internet-renown by posting hundreds of selfies featuring her armpit hair. In others, poses with her pet rat in public, poking fun at people who take embarrassing selfies in public spaces. Her ironic and sometimes off-putting attitude is her trademark.
Soda is brilliant in that she posts on each medium in a way that maximizes the medium’s capabilities. Her Tumblr is very visual, featuring artwork and aesthetic inspirations. She tweets various crude jokes and TMI? posts textually adds to her dialogue on social media culture. Her Instagram is filled with blurry selfies on public transportation and at parties. She knows what kind of content will be best received by her audience on each specific medium. Despite how different the content on each medium is, one can still see the same persona that Soda has crafted on each one just from differing viewpoints.
At first Soda was just posting her artwork—grainy Photo Booth pictures of herself with random, moving Blingee graphics overlaying them—on her Tumblr page, but then expanded and categorized her different projects on a separate, professional blog page. Here, she promotes her self-made art zines as well as digital content that she has created. This is what differentiates her from what one would consider a “traditional” celebrity. Soda first gained prolificacy as a blogger and social media user, not as an artist. Her artistic enterprises burgeoned from the social capital that she accumulated from commanding media to her advantage. Now, Soda hosts exhibitions of her art work in various cities around the country and has been recognized by some big names on the internet. Essentially, Soda is bona fide Internet royalty.
Soda is especially inspiring to me because she redefines what can be considered performance art. Instead of putting on a live show, Soda performs on social platforms by exaggerating how the average young adult uses social media. On the surface, Soda appears vapid, contrarian, and strange, but all of this is embedded in the persona that she has created. Not only does her audience not know her real name, but they definitely do not know the real her. She is an iconic example of persona development on the Internet. Soda offers vague details of her real world circumstances. What we do know about Soda is that she grew up in an unspecified mid-western college town where her parents taught. She attended New York University from 2007-2011. Now, she lives in the Chicago area and works a retail job during the day.
Soda is the perfect example of microcelebrity because her influence is visible in her following. She inspires a new group of cyber trash artists and is regularly on the beat of fashion trends, Her septum piercing, 90’s-inspired looks, and multi-colored hairdo’s are immediately identifiable and regularly replicated. She has redefined a subset of feminism for young women, and curated an aesthetic niche culture. She is almost never mentioned by traditional media sources, yet still has massive influence and respect from her huge following.
Soda is a launching point for me—a shining example of an un-quantified and un-qualified by social media researchers that drives me to learn more. My work is especially important because microcelebrities’ influence is growing as more and social media culture is also becoming more pervasive. How does one become a microcelebrity? What goes in to maintaining an online identity with a mass following? What does it mean to be authentic and how do we as authenticity? These are all questions that I will explore in two microcelebrity case studies.
As of now, there is no Wikipedia entry on microcelebrity. After interviewing two microcelebrities that I happen to be acquainted with (fashion blogger ArtinourBlood and tumblr user UnsuccessfulMetalBenders), I will use my blog to explore how they have amassed a following and how they use media platforms to influence and inspire their audiences. These case studies will help to qualify and contextualize microcelebrity, but will not comprise the entirety of my project. These studies will help to provide a framework for a new, or rather first, official encyclopedic definition for microcelebrity. By the end I will hopefully be able to write a first-draft Wikipedia entry that will legitimize further study and exploration of the topic. I hope to help promote a universal understanding of the concept that can be used by all and other social media researchers will further expand upon.
A few informal references for context:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-12/st_thompson
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=microcelebrity
http://bigthink.com/harpys-review/the-rise-of-the-micro-celebrity
http://mollysoda.tumblr.com/
http://mollysoda.biz/
https://twitter.com/BOYTWEETSWORLDX
http://klout.com/corp/about
http://www.forbes.com/sites/reuvencohen/2012/05/11/social-media-clout-the-rise-of-micro-celebrity-endorsements/