This book uses the roles of celebrities in society to frame discussions about digital culture in the platform era and helps us see how we have evolved online in our communication and cultural creations. Focusing on the modern types of Internet celebrities (influencers, opinion leaders, nanocelebrities, and platform superstars) allows us to discuss their online practices and how their work has significantly changed the ways we define our communities within increasingly fragmented digital audiences and platform users.
Through an exploration of the impact of social media and online communication, the book highlights how we are impacted by those who dominate these platforms. It identifies three essential components of digital celebrity culture: personality, reach, and content, while also providing an in-depth analysis of the psychological profiles of four types of celebrities and their connection to audiences. Internet celebrities can show us how to make our relationships more meaningful online by focusing on those communication practices that we learned in public speaking, with a focus on informing, persuading, and inspiring. This understanding of purposeful content empowers the average Internet user to build authentic connections in an interconnected digital landscape.
Celebrities are finally models of good practices when it comes to how they reach their audience. Their direct messaging tends to mimic the personal conversations that they have with friends, group chats are likely part of the celebrity's inter circle, public postings on social media become their announcements to the general public, and streaming replicates the standards of traditional media broadcasts.
Examining these dynamics of personalities, content, and reach gives us valuable insights into how we can effectively navigate digital interactions and ensure that we can craft online works that resonate with the people that we care about. This book gives us the model to use practical communication techniques to be more meaningful online.
Shane Tilton is the Irene Casteel Endowed Chair for Education, Professional, and Social Sciences and an Associate Professor of Multimedia Journalism at the Ohio Northern University, USA. His book Meme Life was awarded the 2023 Top Book Award from the National Communication Association's Human Communication and Technology interest division.
