Microfamous
Josh Sprague - June 26th, 2008
Rex Sorgatz, a blogger Garrison Keillor tried to sue for printing t-shirts parodying A Prairie Home Companion, has written a nice article on micro-fame at New York Magazine. He uses microfame to describe people who, for a moment, are suddenly a big deal due to the nature of the online world. In the article, he lists eight steps to achieving said microfame. The analysis seems sound.
Step 5, Ally, offers some useful thoughts to those moving from reporters for an institution to free agents:
Microfame is an ecosystem, a collection of fans who contribute and invest themselves in the brand called you. The best current example of this esprit de corps in action is the diaspora of former Gawker editors who have picked up microblogging. Alex, Doree, Choire, Jess, Elizabeth, Emily, and Josh each have their own sites, but their cross-references and incestuous linking have created a blogger's version of Entourage.
Another section hits on the phenomenon of personalities behind the startups. These niche celebs sometimes eclipse their company or the reason they're known at all:
While some people quickly fade from public consciousness, another kind of person seems to mysteriously—sometimes frustratingly—persist. Jakob Lodwick called these people fameballs, "individuals whose fame snowballs because journalists cover what they think other people want them to cover." Lodwick himself is a good example. Though he probably wants to be known for his entrepreneurial efforts, like co-founding Vimeo and Normative, he's probably best known as Julia Allison's ex-boyfriend.
The entire article is definitely worth the read.
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