Tweeting with the Stars
Oct 27th
buy levitra vardenafil alt=”kanye-west-taylor-swift” width=”290″ height=”411″ />
Generation Y Twitter users connect to their favorite celebrities by following their tweets.
Lashing Out Against Kanye
Jaws dropped and boos ensued when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech at the Video Music Awards last month. From A-listers sitting in the audience to the millions of viewers watching at home, the venting began immediately, many channeling their anger via Twitter.
Katy Perry, who was nominated for the same award that Taylor won, instantly tweeted from her cell phone: “F- U KANYE. IT’S LIKE U STEPPED 0N A KITTEN.” Pop star Pink, another nominee, also condemned Kanye with a cell phone tweet. Within seconds, their words were received by millions of followers, many of whom were also online typing similar updates.
“Everyone tweeted about it,” says Austin Vanaria, a 20-year-old Tufts student who had received Perry’s update when writing his own, directing his flared temper into 140 characters. Twitter forges connections between celebrities and regular people, creating an intimacy and immediacy that makes these untouchables become touchable. This unprecedented connection is the reason that Gen Y is flocking to Twitter—to follow their favorite celebrities whether it’s Jimmy Fallon or Lindsay Lohan. “It makes you feel connected to celebrities and other people in real time, even if you’re not with them,” says Vanaria.
Tear Down this Cyber Wall
According to a Quantcast Corporation study, almost half of Twitter users today are Gen Yers between the ages of 18 and 34. “It’s the newest medium that introduces the feeling of getting closer, and creates this sense that direct communication [with celebrities] is possible,” says Lisa Gitelman, a media historian and communications professor at NYU Steinhardt. “By paring it down to 140 characters, you feel like you stripped away all the pretenses.”
Facebook Fatigue: Is Gen Y Over It?
Oct 27th
Now that everyone (and their mother) is on Facebook, some of the site’s first users are beginning to step away
Facebook fatigue has hit college students.
NYU senior Shalin Patel, 21, plans to deactivate his account while he applies to medical school. Patel says that he uses Facebook a few times a week, but mostly to talk to acquaintances. “A lot of my close friends I call and text message, even e-mail,” he says. “I know I’m going to give it up eventually. I don’t even need it. I’m just on it to be on it.”
Since 2004, Generation Y college students have chatted, procrastinated and broken up on Facebook. So much that five years later, some students have lost interest in the site, deactivated their accounts, and moved on.
Beyond the “Novelty Effect”
The “novelty effect” of Facebook has worn off. “Whenever a new medium emerges, people get fascinated, but after a couple of years it drops off,” says JoEllen Fisherkeller, an NYU associate professor of culture and communication. “People realize the limitations of the medium.”
The Electronic Umbilical Cord: A New Way to Keep In Touch
Oct 27th
Constant text messaging keeps Gen Y and their parents connected
“Straight to boogie and tequila.”
Farrah Aldjufrie, a senior at the University of Southern California, received that text message last week from her father who lives in Bali.
“He speaks broken English because he’s Indonesian,” Aldjufrie says. “He was asking me about my birthday, and I told him I was going out with some friends. That was his response.”
Aldjufrie, like many in Generation Y, constantly contacts her parents through text messaging, about five times a day to her mom, and every other day to her dad.
“It’s the easiest way to keep in contact with my dad because he lives so far away. I can send him a text message, and if it’s really late on his time, he can write me back when he gets up,” she says.
Lights, Camera, YouTube: Changing Celebrity for the Web
Oct 27th
Since its advent in 2005, YouTube has bred a new kind of celebrity. But, can these online personalities compete with tried and true Hollywood stars?
| TOP 10 YOUTUBE VIDEOS:
1. Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne – over 125,428,485 views 2. Evolution of Dance – 126,311,388 views 3. Charlie Bit My Finger – 121,186,703 views 4. Don’t Stop the Music by Rihanna – 98,199,012 views 5. With You by Chris Brown – 97,863,761 views 6. Achmed the Dead Terrorist by Jeff Dunham – 95,082,506 views 7. Hahaha – 91,672,741 views 8. Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis – 89,575,443 views 9. No One by Alicia Keys – 83,413,733 views 10. Apologize by Timbaland ft. OneRepublic – 77,611,669 views |
In 1968, Walter Cronkite spoke out against the Vietnam War on CBS. “It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate,” he told America. As a result of Cronkite’s address, American opinion of the war shifted overnight. Lyndon Johnson is rumored to have said, “I’ve lost Middle America.”
For millions of baby boomers and their parents Cronkite was considered an influential celebrity; someone who because of his years as a journalist could be trusted. As media continues to democratize, generation Y’s concept of celebrity continues to change. Today, with the advent of YouTube, becoming a celebrity is easier than ever. YouTube not only promotes existing celebrities, but it also breeds its own stars.
Although YouTube makes it easier to develop a fan base, no modern celebrity matches the authority had by Walter Cronkite. “Our concept of ‘celebrity’ has become so diluted,” said Adam Penenberg, a journalist and author whose book, “The Viral Loop,” examines companies that survive by going viral. “Today, there is no one celebrity that has this kind of power.”
From Backyard Blogging to Front Row at Fashion Week
Oct 27th
Fashion Bloggers Break Down Traditional Obstacles
Tavi Gevinson, from Illinois, describes herself as “a tiny 13-year-old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats.” Proud of her unique style, she instructs others to “dress however you please and embrace rude stares.” Last year Gevinson launched Style Rookie, a blog devoted to fashion. A few months later, she sat in the front row at Mercedes Benz fashion week, alongside Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, celebrity fashion icon Victoria Beckham, and actress turned designer Sienna Miller.
As one of Gen Y’s creative and techni-saavy bloggers, Gevinson used her blog to land among fashion’s elite. While Gevinson’s case is quite extreme, she is not alone. This year blogging is the new black, and more teen bloggers are gaining opportunities and visibility in the fashion world.