Susan Boyle, Esmee Denters, & Jessica Rose – The Social Media Celebrities

Never in a million years did Susan Boyle walk onto the stage of Britain’s Got Talent and think that she was going to walk off the stage an international super star.  However, even more astonishing is the story of Esmee Denters, the Dutch volalist who’s career went from YouTube straight to Hollywood.  And who can forget Jessica Rose (lonelygirl15), an instant (staged) star of YouTube only to become propelled to primetime television, win a webby, and become a legitimate actress.  Though, Rose had the help of being a trained actress and Boyle the help of a popular UK television show, their talents would remain largely unknown if it weren’t for social media.

To fully understand how powerful the internet really is take this example.  On the best night ever of Britain’s Got Talent, the show netted 11.2 million viewers.  That in and of itself is enough to propel someone toward their 15 minutes of fame.  However, when her clip alone was posted onto YouTube, it netted over 60 million viewers in just over a month, making it one of the top videos ever to be viewed on the site. Esmee Denters, 20 million viewers.  Jessica Rose, one of the most popular vblogs of all times.

Malcom Gladwell’s notorious book, The Tipping Point, speaks to the moment when momentum becomes unstoppable and the scales “tip.”  In his trademark style, Gladwell uses countless examples of how the tipping point has been reached in various moments in society with products like Hush Puppy shoes, to Sesame Street, the television show.  However, I would argue that the internet is changing the tipping point to the “launching point.”  For Gladwell’s momentum to be achieved on the internet, it requires a very small leap of faith and the right mix of social media.  Now of course, there are some things that are just worth forwarding, but the rate to which they pick up in the email chains, the twitter replies, and the facebook posts can be alarming, especially if it is related to YOU.

Yup, you guessed it, this was another cheap shot example at why you need to monitor it.  As much as social media can create stars, it can also create disasters such as the Shamwow or JetBlue.  Monitor your Cheese and you could watch a rising star rise, or, well end up like the Slap Chop guy.