As a long time Twitter fan, I’ve had the hunch that all Twitter needed to break out of the technology niche and into the mainstream was a “Perez Hilton” of the world to become an evangelist. Now that he (and other similar celebrity bloggers) have joined, I wonder if going mainstream actually brings down the street cred for the earlier adopters (I am not an early adopter but an earlier one than most)
To demonstrate my point, here are some quality [insert sarcasm here] Twitter posts from @PerezHilton
- Homewrecker LeAnn Rimes speaks!!! Click here to read her statement: http://tinyurl.com/cn9tsl
- @leannrimes I feel bad for your gay husband! How could you do that to him???
- Before the year is over, I’d love to report “Miley Cyrus is pregnant!” What headline would U like to see????
I want to make it clear, Twitter is just a tool for expressing oneself. Most of us try to join and contribute to the conversation while most of the “Twitterazzi” tend to go for the shock factor. I don’t have a problem with the shock factor but I hope that the goal is to contribute to the conversation while the mention about Miley Cyrus doesn’t really provide any value. I would hope that the same level of quality journalism is expected across genre.
In addition, when it comes to breaking a story, I do think it’s important to confirm facts before pushing them out on Twitter or otherwise. For example, with the recent death of Natasha Richardson, @PerezHilton was quick to push out the news a full 24 hours before the official announcement was made. This was one of the many factors that contributed to the confusion around her condition.
I do love celebrity gossip but I do believe that certain lines are being crossed when rude comments are made about a minor or sensitive matters are posted before they should be. The plus with the growing popularity in celebrity culture is that a bunch of celebrities are now on Twitter. Find your favorite celebrities on Twitter at: http://www.celebritytweet.com/
The fact remains that following someone is optional not required.
