Micro-celebrity

Marwick provides several explanations of what a micro-celebrity is, as she quotes several outsides sources that agree upon her description. A micro-celebrity is the state of a person who has reached online fame to a niche group of people by “creating a persona, producing content, and strategically appealing to online fans by being ‘authentic’.” (pg. 114). It is interesting because this is not fame that was discovered by a “talent scout”, this is a kind of fame that a person can build upon and create. Micro-celebrities often think of themselves as a celebrity, and are treated by their followers accordingly. A micro-celebrity is often marked by distinct characteristics: authenticity, availability, and accountability. Micro-celebrities are expected to interact with their followers on various social media accounts often, to make sure that they appear authentic and are creating close relationships with their followers (pgs. 118-119).

There are two types of micro-celebrities: ascribed and achieved. An ascribed micro-celebrity is someone who is well known in certain subcultures, due to the media highlighting them. This type of micro-celebrity is treated as a celeb with high-level status (pg. 118). An achieved micro-celebrity is someone who has a "self-presentation strategy that includes creating a persona, sharing personal information about oneself, constructing intimate connections to create the illusion of friendship or closeness, acknowledging an audience and identifying them as fans, and strategically revealing information to increase or maintain this audience" (pg. 117).

Works Cited

Marwick, Alice E. Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social Media Age. London: Yale UP, 2013. Print.