T11 Group 4

Group: Gurjyot Bhatia, Nicole Hau, Julien Manac'h, Andrea Park, Melissa Tookey

Celebrity Blogging and Its Impact on Society

Group 4

Group Members

Andrea Park

Nikki Hau

Melissa Tookey

Gurjyot Bhatia

Julien Manac'h

Project Statement: Celebrity Blogging and Its Impact on Society

An number of celebrities own blogs, a trend that is currently rapidly increasing. Our group will look at the effects of celebrity blogging both on the celebrity and society, as well as a conclusion determining whether or not it is beneficial to our society.

What is a Celebrity Blog?

Contracted from the term "web log", a blog is a website usually maintained by an individual that incorporates commentaries, description of events, and may include other material such as pictures or videos. Usually, the blogger posts entries in reverse chronological order, and may emulate online diaries.

A celebrity blog is a blog maintained by a celebrity where they share their thoughts, writings, opinions, and looks at the Hollywood world. Some celebrities who partake in celebrity blogging are Kanye West, Paris Hilton, and Rosie O'Donnell. A branch out of celebrity blogging is celebrity gossip blogs. These are blogs maintained by regular people who feature stories about celebrities. Whether it is Paris’ jail stint, Britney’s custody battles, or their run-ins with the paparazzi, are Hollywood tabloid sites getting out of hand? Some examples of popular celebrity gossip blogs would be Perezhilton, TMZ and Pink is the new blog.

Background Information

The creation of the first web blog took its first step in 1994 by a student named Justin Hall. However, web blogging’s popularity was not significant until 1999. In 1995 Carolyn Burke launched diary.carolyn.org, regarded as the world’s first online diary. She began the journal because a long term relationship was ending and she needed someone to talk to (Podnieks, 2004). Word of Carolyn's online journal spread, which inspired other people to start blogs as well. This trend spread rapidly, as Carolyn witnessed as thousands of other online diarists gain a foothold in cyberspace (Podnieks, 2004). in 1999, Blogger.com became the first free blog creation service. Since then, the number of web bloggers grew dramatically and by 2005, one study found that 32 million Americans read blogs. After the Huffington Post, the fourth biggest blog service, launched in 2005, many celebrities, like George Clooney and Alec Baldwin, joined in to share their everyday lives with their fans. Podnieks believes the phenomenon shows no signs of dwindling, we can claim that we are "living in an era of computer mediated confession".

The Benefits of Celebrity Blogging

There are many benefits to celebrity blogging, both to the celebrity and society.

In terms of the celebrity, blogs are a very effective tool of advertising and promotion and can provide a direct access to the main pillars of a celebrity's career, their fans. This also allows celebrities to receive actions and replies from their fans directly. In today's day and age, online advertising has grown to be both popular and effective, due to its fast access and convenience.

In addition, celebrities can use their "online journals" to not only reinforce their status as established personalities, but it provides an "inside look" into the life of Hollywood's elite. Also, celebrities may take advantage of this exposure and can use their online journals to bring attention to that celebrity's current projects and causes.

Some celebrities are into blogging because they feel it is a way to connect and directly interact with their fans. They are able to publish what they want to say without having to go through a publicist. This convenience factor is definitely benefitial to both the celebrity and their fans.

Fourthly, there is a personal factor to blogs, so it is almost like the celebrity is talking to you. Some celebrities have web blogs to undo a lot of the misconceptions directed toward them. People can confuse the characters these actors play with the actual celebrity which can lead to negative views about the person.

Weblogs can introduce students firsthand to strategies for establishing their own network-based celebrity and personal style and developing a relationship with readers over time.

In a related issue, celebrity gossip blogs are also increasing in popularity. One reason for this would be celebrity gossip blogs can attract readers with stories that are much more risqué than anything published by traditional printed publications. Popbitch, a British weekly gossip email that goes out to 360,000 subscribers regularly contains information that could land a celebrity magazine in court. By using an email format, it is easier for its publishers to avoid being sued for libel as its content isn't archived or available online.

The Downside to Celebrity Blogging

On the negative side blogs are publicly available to everyone and can be used by tabloid type entertainment medias to attack celebrities. This was experienced by Wheaton. “The writer was snotty and dismissive and condescending…taking some quotes totally out of context, and portrayed me in a really negative light. In the grand scheme I could care less. It's just lazy journalism. But everyone in the entertainment industry read it. So perception is important." (Gilmore, 2004).

Another problem with celebrity blogging is that so-called “processed blogs” exist. These blogs are claimed to be written by celebrities, however, they turn out to be processed by someone else. For instance, a blog entry by George Clooney deceived many fans; the blog had been processed by a stranger, rather than George Clooney. The blog was full of “the handiwork of the Web site's namesake, Arianna Huffington, who had cobbled it together from previously published material.” (Zeller, 2006)Consequently, this “packaging” of celebrity blogs creates dishonesty between fans and celebrities, and may place honest celebrity blogs in question.

A recent analysis of celebrity blogs found a surprising amount of political messaging in them. Approximately 18 percent of all of blog posts analyzed from a sample of 47 celebrity bloggers contained political messages (Sweester and Kaid, 2008). These messages vary from obvious political statements such as endorsements of political candidates, to drawings by the celebrity making issue statements about the state of social welfare programs(Sweester and Kaid, 2008). These blogs contained under the radar political messaging, where the celebrity would wrap a political statement inside a very personalized story, making it seem more like a peek into the celebrity’s life and experiences (Sweester and Kaid, 2008). Considering that celebrities have a more substantial built-in audience for their blog than the average blogger, it is important to understand the impact that such political messages might have on celebrity blog readers (Sweester and Kaid, 2008). Readers of celebrity blogs are not accessing these pages for political information. They are seeking a way to connect directly with the celebrity and receive a first-person perspective of that person’s life. Messages about political issues by celebrity bloggers seem just as credible to young citizens as the same information in blogs by political leaders or independent groups(Sweester and Kaid, 2008).

A focus on blogging can remove individuals from‘real world’ investigations and steer them toward locating interesting hyperlinks(Oravec, 2003).

Why Blog?

Many of celebrity blog sites are outputs for celebrities to share their thoughts, opinions, ideals and views. Some celebrities are into blogging because they feel it is a way to connect and directly interact with their fans. They are able to publish what they want to say without having to go through a publicist (this is in regards to sites where a celebrity is actually blogging themselves). There are those out there who want to make a difference in the world by getting their word out and by speaking out against issues in society. But then there are celebrities who stay loyal to the title celebrity and solely blog for publicity and attention.

Also research shows that celebrities themselves recieve more publicity and coverage through the news and internet because the public is interested.

A third (32%) of the public says that the public itself is responsible for celebrity coverage, by paying so much attention towards scandals and celebrity stories.

The Effects of Celebrity Blogging On Youth

It is common for youngsters to look up to celebrities as role models and "heroes". In todays age of technology by using the internet, celebrities are able to communicate more with their fans and spread their views and ideals. This has the potential to be a positive for both society and the celebrity if the celebrity is trying raise awareness, such as a charity or a cause. However, for celebrities always involved in controversy, this can have an adverse affect on their young fans. For an example, tabloid websites such as TMZ frequently feature stories about celebrities going to rehab, or indulging in the world of drugs. There are celebritiess who talk about drug abuse and drug related charges and crimes so frequently that it desensitizes the topic of drug abuse to young fans who are unaware of the dangers of that lifestyle.

Blogging and the Relation to Celebrity Coverage

We have all heard the countless scandals and stories about celebrities in the news and media. Usually celebrities have publicists that give statements and try to explain the celebrities side of the story for what happened. However with blogging now more celebs can speak out and personally give their own side of the story.

For example: "Reality star Lauren Conrad of television show "The Hills" this month used her blog to dispute a newspaper story that she threw a fit at a New York airport." (Dobuzinskis, Alex. Yahoo News)

Internet websites hold 15% of celebrity coverage and are second to TV coverage

The Appeal of the Celebrity on Youth

Blogging websites are made so that the celebrity is able to connect to his fans. This can be good for a celebrity but could also pose problems of fans become obsessive about the certain celebrity and becoming to involved in the celebrity’s personal life. Following a celebrity closely can be a healthy pastime, checking up on their recent news or reading up on their life. But once your emotions begin swinging with a celebrity’s success or you worship the celebrity as a role model, someone you would like to model your life after, that begins to become more of an unhealthy habit. Many Americans (especially female) lay on this fine line of following a celebrity and becoming obsessed with them. Researchers say that this can also be the celebrity’s fault for talking too much about their personal lives on their blogs. They say that this could lead to individuals feeling a sense of personal connection with the celebrity and feeling emotionally attached to their problems such as heartbreak or failure. Ultimately it is up to the individual visiting blogging websites to remain aware of their own life and that of the celebrity’s, they must control their emotions and learn to realise that they are living their own life and that the celebrity’s problems are in no way related to theirs. Youth are becoming more and more exposed to celebrity blogs and celebrity news so it is up to them to maintain a healthy balance between their own lives and those of celebrity’s.

Conclusion

After analyzing both the negative and positive effects of celebrity blogging, we have determined that it is not beneficial to our society because the information is generally unreliable, and it also has adverse effects on our society by promoting unrealistic and unhealthy views of Hollywood's elite.

Examples:

http://perezhilton.com/

http://www.tmz.com/

http://www.jackiechan.com/messages

http://www.mary-kateandashley.com/blog/

http://www.myspace.com/parishilton

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.myspace.com/laurenconrad

References:

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Gimore, D. The Celebrity Blog. In We The Media. O'Reilly Media, Inc. 2004. Accessed November 30 at http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/0596007337/wemedia-CHP-4-SECT-3#X2ludGVybmFsX1NlY3Rpb25Db250ZW50P3htbGlkPTA1OTYwMDczMzcvd2VtZWRpYS1DSFAtNC1TRUNULTM=.

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