Unlike radio, TV, print media & outdoor, internet is the only mass medium in the world that offers two-way communication. In the others, the sender (media) broadcasts a message and the receiver (viewer/listener/reader) receives it. In traditional media such as print & television, the media channel that’s broadcasting a celebrity’s interview or statement acts as a ‘gatekeeper’. They decide which statement of a particular actor goes on air and what doesn’t. This gives them control over how they want to project the celebrity. Many times, celebrities have complained that they were misquoted in press or that their words have been twisted out of the context by the journalist.
With the advent of internet, especially web 2.0 – celebrities don’t need the media to do the gatekeeping anymore. They can directly interact with the end-user using social media platforms like blogs, Facebook fan pages or Twitter accounts. In many controversies, people involved complain of ‘trial by media’ – a phrase to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person’s reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt regardless of any verdict in a court of law. In the times of crisis, social media genuinely gives the celebrity a chance to defend himself and clarify.
Social media presents the opportunity for celebrities to update with fans & moviegoers about their work and personal life, eliminating traditional media as a channel all together. Karan Johar recently hit out Priyadarshan on Twitter for calling the MNIK-Shivsena tussle a publicity stunt. He dint need to invite the media on a press conference specifically to let them know his reaction on this issue. He just posted it on Twitter and the media picked it up. Every time Aamir Khan or Amitabh Bachchan post something on their blog, it becomes national headlines. They cannot be misquoted, as everybody can see what they had to say on their blogs.
Recently, when a reputed business newspaper approached me, enquiring about Magadheera’s Hindi remake – I said we’re considering (not approached) some A-list actors in Bollywood, as only big stars can do justice to it. I don’t know how & why, but the next day – I read a report where I was quoted that Hrithik Roshan is going to play Charan’s role and Aamir Khan in Srihari’s role! I was misquoted, and this article spread far as it was reported by a credible newspaper and created so much confusion in the market about our movie. But thanks to social-media, though I am no celebrity I was able to clarify about the issue using Twitter and my blog to some extent.
Initially I wanted to get my family members and other from the industry on Twitter. It’s the new ‘it-thing’. So many Hollywood and Hindi film celebrities are on it. But after being on Twitter for the last 10 months, I feel it’s not the only & best social-media platform for celebrities to interact with the public. My argument is more-so for South Indian celebrities, whose situation is a little unique from the rest. While I am all in support of social-media, I feel an official website or blog might be a better platform. Here’s my take :
Fan Rivalries & Hate mail: South India has one of the most intense fan rivalries in the world. It’s not unusual to see people come to blows when defending their favorite actor. I myself am guilty of doing it in school. The fact that a certain celebrity is easy accessible will motivate fans of rival actors to post hate messages on Twitter. Irrespective of whether the star reacts to hate mail or not, the poster knows that his message will reach the star. Since real identities can be masked in twitter, it makes it more simple to write offensive tweets. Most people don’t express dislike or hate in real life even if the celebrity is accessible to them.
Also, on Twitter – the celebrity does not have the access/rights to delete defamatory tweets made on him, where as if it’s a blog – that certain comment will not be approved and visible for public to read. Recently, Chetan Bhagat – the author of ‘Five Point Someone’ was annoyed that a cartoonist was poking fun of him on Twitter. He couldn’t do much – where as if it were his blog, he could simply make sure the comment doesn’t show up. Movie buffs like me use movie collections as a metric to show popular or big a star is. A lot of people use the the numbers of ‘followers’ on Twitter as a metric to measure popularity which isn’t the case. Priyanka Chopra has more followers than Shah Rukh Khan where as politician Shashi Tharoor has 500% more followers than SRK! But, it’s undeniable that Shah Rukh is more famous than the other two.
Too much answerability to Gossip: Traditional media like newspapers, TV stations are legal identities that are answerable to the celebrities and law. Recently, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie have sued Britain’s News of the World newspaper for triggering off rumors of their alleged divorce. Preity Zinta sued Mumbai tabloid Mid-day for printing transcripts of a so-called leaked CBI tapes which had unpleasant things said about her. Traditional media can’t say anything about a star and get away with it.
There are a lot of popular websites that exist only virtually, without legal real-life identities. They’re virtually untraceable. The identities of the owners and editors of traditional media have to be made public for them to operate. Blogs or websites can be started by anyone. They don’t require credentials or large capital. Most websites that publish gossip lack real-life legal identities and are virtually untraceable. That gives them courage to write anything, most times creating something out of thin air to get readers excited. The comic below aptly summarizes how gossip travels in today’s social-media era. The amount gossip around a celebrity today is way more than what it was earlier. When it comes to gossip many people have a ‘No fire, no smoke’ attitude, thinking its partly true. But trust me, most times gossip is somebody’s imagination and not even remotely close to reality.
After reading such gossip, the anxious reader would immediately tweet to the star asking him to clarify about gossip/rumors. It’s impractical and unreasonable for an actor to keep defending and clarifying gossip about him all the time. Even if the celebrity choses to be silent its hard, as they’re always pestered to clarify. The celebrity is expected to address by every gossip, everytime it’s asked – which is impractical – and again do it only in 140 characters! For ex : I clarified on Twitter that Geetha Arts never considered remaking 3 Idiots in telugu. But I get kept asking the same question over & again. If the celeb has an official website or blog, they can just post the clarification, in detail with images or video if required and just once for everyone to see. If he chooses to remain silent, he wouldn’t just blog about it.
Frequent Updation & Limitations: The very way in which Twitter operates is that, it’s expected to be updated frequently. Many celebrities update it multiple times a day. Good for those who are doing it, but the ones who don’t are expected to post something often. Most people who update regularly on Twitter, post trivial stuff about their personal life. Also, they have to post something only in 140 characters. On a blog, they can write more freely, update it less frequently – only when they have something useful to say, insert pictures or video. It is uncensored and as immediate as Twitter. Also it gives the celeb more control over what is being said by them and about them.
Surprisingly, even Twitter is trying to move away from its celebrity culture and offer more value beyond following celebrities. Reach the article on CNN. Popular celebrities on twitter post personal information like what they’re doing at present, where they are currently. And other celebrities too are expected to do the same. A lot of celebs value their privacy hence, have avoided this all together. Some of them like Kanye West, Zac Efron, Beyonce Knowles and Drew Barrymore are vocal on why they are not on Twitter. They either feel its intrusive, limiting in expression or find it too demanding. Most of the top Hollywood names like Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie & Megan Fox are not on Twitter. A lot of celebs have official websites, blogs and Facebook presence, but have decided to give Twitter a miss. Also, due to the sheer volume of communication and time required to maintain it a lot of celebrities don’t handle their twitter account themselves but have PR team in place. Its not ‘personal’ anymore. Most celebs who do this are even open about it. Social media offers various platforms like Orkut, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn and so on. Last known there are 50 such platforms on which a person or celebrity can be on. A celebrity need not be on all platforms, but choose the right one to be present in. Due to the reasons cited above I feel Twitter is not the best platforms for celebs, especially Southern movie stars to interact with fans and audience. An official website or blog is a better way to communicate.
PS : By the way you can follow my tweets @ http://www.twitter.com/allusirish.
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