Celebrity No. 4: Joe Sugg
There was a lot of talk when social media influencer Joe Sugg, aka ThatcherJoe, was announced as the forth celebrity to be participating in this year's Strictly. There was a lot of debate around whether someone who is not known from traditional 'celebrity' should be invited to take part.
I'll admit that I was as ignorant as most people about who he is. I have heard of about three 'YouTubers', and he wasn't among them.
The whole thing made me think about the nature of social media influencers.
Bloggers were once considered to be social media influencers. I set up my blog in the spring before Series 4. I was a member of four or five forums (remember those?) during Series 3, but became tired of giving the same opinions in multiple places. So I decided I could put all my opinions about Strictly into a blog, and people could come to my page if they wanted to read them. And to my surprise, they did. But it was only ever intended to be a labour of love.
I started to get requests to review books, DVDs and theatre shows. I was approached to talk about Strictly on radio and even on TV. Of course, I took those opportunities (and still do).
If anyone had asked me to appear on Strictly, I'd have jumped at the chance. But I'm not media-ready in the same way as someone like Joe.
I thought briefly about vlogging, but I didn't fancy seeing videos of myself, let alone sharing them with anyone else. I didn't want to put myself out there in that way. I wanted to keep a degree of anonymity. I thought about podcasting too, but I didn't have the time to learn the technical skills needed to produce something that sounds professional.
Digital natives like Joe already have those skills in their wheelhouse. Joe's videos look professional. Many YouTubers have already made the leap from internet to TV. They are self-taught presenters, so the leap to TV is straightforward.
I'll reserve my judgement for Joe's dancing. I don't judge how he has generated his fame. If people can be 'famous' for living in a certain county, for taking their clothes off for newspapers, for being the partner of the former England football manager, why can't they be famous for posting videos online?
I'll admit that I was as ignorant as most people about who he is. I have heard of about three 'YouTubers', and he wasn't among them.
The whole thing made me think about the nature of social media influencers.
Bloggers were once considered to be social media influencers. I set up my blog in the spring before Series 4. I was a member of four or five forums (remember those?) during Series 3, but became tired of giving the same opinions in multiple places. So I decided I could put all my opinions about Strictly into a blog, and people could come to my page if they wanted to read them. And to my surprise, they did. But it was only ever intended to be a labour of love.
I started to get requests to review books, DVDs and theatre shows. I was approached to talk about Strictly on radio and even on TV. Of course, I took those opportunities (and still do).
If anyone had asked me to appear on Strictly, I'd have jumped at the chance. But I'm not media-ready in the same way as someone like Joe.
I thought briefly about vlogging, but I didn't fancy seeing videos of myself, let alone sharing them with anyone else. I didn't want to put myself out there in that way. I wanted to keep a degree of anonymity. I thought about podcasting too, but I didn't have the time to learn the technical skills needed to produce something that sounds professional.
Digital natives like Joe already have those skills in their wheelhouse. Joe's videos look professional. Many YouTubers have already made the leap from internet to TV. They are self-taught presenters, so the leap to TV is straightforward.
I'll reserve my judgement for Joe's dancing. I don't judge how he has generated his fame. If people can be 'famous' for living in a certain county, for taking their clothes off for newspapers, for being the partner of the former England football manager, why can't they be famous for posting videos online?
posted by Loulabelle44 @ 10:21 pm
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