Nov 23, 2009 Posted by denice johnson on Nov 23, 2009 in life, mind | 0 comments

twitter killed the paparazzi star

Celebrities seem to be beating the paparazzi to the punch these days. As more and more of the famous (and infamous) join the Twitter Revolution the role of the paparazzi is starting to look obsolete.

Admittedly, that probably wasn’t the intention but it’s beginning to seem like the happy result. With celebrities offering daily and sometimes hourly updates (often with photos), tabloid editors should be trying to figure out how to stay ahead of the business of Twitter. There won’t be much to expose if the celebrities are going to expose it all themselves.

Celebrities using Twitter are creating a following unlike any generation before them. While clearly remaining on their privileged pedestals they also manage to connect with the public in a new way. They poke their heads out of the fishbowl a little while letting the rest of us peek in.

Mass media has long been the ruler of who is and who is not worthy of our adoration and attention. The public is fed an ongoing buffet of both celebrity fantasy and horror at which we dive with near fanaticism. Some celebrities can see that they have the power to be master of how they are perceived, when they are perceived and how much of themselves they want to share. Twitter gives them that power.

Some are good at this, others are not. But those who fail on Twitter are shooting themselves in the foot rather than falling victim to a guy hanging from a tree in the bushes outside their Malibu retreat snapping photos of them taking out the garbage with messy hair and unbrushed teeth. At least if they fail on Twitter they can do so in their pajamas with a cup of coffee and, after taking a brief hiatus to regroup, they have the option of coming back and doing better. The public is incredibly forgiving. Just post a few pictures of your cat curled up on a blanket at the end of the bed and it’s all good, you’re back in our good graces. And better you do it than wait for that guy in the bushes to improve your image.

It’s unlikely the paparazzi are going away any time soon but there is a chance that they’re having to reconsider their role in celebrity obsession. Maybe the intensity will come down a notch now that celebrities are a little more accessible. Maybe the need for carloads of photographers chasing after the latest sensation will die down because we already know where he’s going, he told us. We already know who he’s with, he told us. We already know he’ll post pictures from the event, he always does. And they’ll be far more personal and interesting than the ones the guys cashing after him could get anyway.

The future of the paparazzi is shifting and while they won’t go quickly or quietly, it appears as though microblogging will have some affect on their eventual outcome.