Don't discount the power of people who follow stars on Twitter.
A woman who used the micro-blogging network to announce her plans to commit suicide by tweeting actress Demi Moore was later found by authorities and taken in for evaluation after followers of the actress reported the incident to police, who said this is an unprecedented use of the network.
What's the solution? These people all need professional help. But since they're unlikely to spend the time they need on the psychiatrist's couch, they'll doubtless end up hiring assistants adept in social media. Ghostwritten Twitters are the hot new Hollywood must-have.
Every tweet will be media-coached. Every blog will be relentlessly edited — and then have typos inserted for authenticity. (Is that why someone pretending to be Rachael Ray consistently misspelled the cooking-show personality's name on a Yahoo blog?) The kids who are pretending to be celebrities on Twitter today will no doubt get paid to do it in the future.
To add yourself to the directory enable/follow @hashtags, then tweet @wefollow three 1 word tags that describe you/your twitter page (i.e. @wefollow #blogger #music #dc) ... it's just that easy!
How did this come about and why? you ask. I can't say I kno-- oh, figures, them. No wonder everyone's all paranoid about Twitter, they're like what the intranet library database was to the Dewey Decmial System.
I bet Google nightmares in 140 characters or less... Watch this space, Google and traditional media loyalists (not the Tweeting sellouts) might get "Godfather" on Twitter -- then who's calling Burson?
Each day, you'll receive up to three emails, each with anywhere from 15-30 queries per email. They'll all be labeled with [shankman.com] in the subject line, for easy filtering. If you see a query you can answer, go for it! HelpAReporterOut.com really is that simple.
I built this list because a lot of my friends are reporters, and they call me all the time for sources. Rather than go through my contact lists each time, I figured I could push the requests out to people who actually have something to say.
So a few things about this list: First off, yes, it's free.
Took less than an hour -- and 140 characters
PR Sidenote: I do love, though, how the Times focused the 'drug problem' solely on TV anchors -- because it's not the Twittering Times readers that are addicted -- it's only those Tweeting pompous celebrities and pretty people, always about 'me, me, me' that need to be muted. It's not like David Gregory or Demi Moore can be narcissistic without Twitter -- what? It's not like they're on tv for a living or anything. Common people have the luxury of millions of non-digital avenues to get their word out, like "Letters to the Editor," that celebrities/journalists just don't enjoy. Twitter is yet another way the liberal elite is holding the little guy down ... (Lesson: Never fault the constituency, even when you are faulting the constituency.)The media has more mileage on its laurels than Forrest Gump had on his tennis shoes -- and the biggest threat to the role of traditional media as the apex of 'legitimate communication' is the uninhibited digital domain playing soapbox for 'common nobodies.'
"It started with the Tweets. Sally would only go on in the mornings ... she said it 'helped start the day.' Then it was before bed, before I knew it her teachers were calling saying she was in the bathroom Tweeting about god-knows-what. She thinks it makes her cool, she said everyone's doing it, she said it makes her feel good -- and that when she Tweets she can say things she can't say otherwise. Now I wish it was just Twitter. Her crowd has changed -- now she hangs out with those 'bloggers,' tapping away on their Blueberries or Blackberries or whatever ... In my day we didn't have this 'social media.' We learned early on that you speak when spoken to, and if you wanted to be heard -- raise your hand and ask an authority for permission. Nowadays I just don't know -- it's everywhere. Everyone feels liberated, like they can say anything and anyone will listen ... And the worst part is that now Sally is an 'opinion leader.' Yeah, people look to her for her two cents -- like it's a dime bag -- and I can't help but think if it wasn't for Twitter none of this would've happened."
That's how peer pressure goes down everyday -- frightening, really. Now that the youth is empowered again, this whole 'sense of entitlement' trip has anyone thinking they have something important to say -- like their voice is worth something -- bollocks.
"Y'know the Times is just like my parents, man. Always on my back, 'do this, do that, say this, don't say that. Because I said so.' I'm so stressed, I just need a little something to relax me and get my mind off of things. Hey man -- is that your laptop? Yeah, no, I've never Tweeted before -- how's it feel? Really? Yeah, close the door, I wanna try."
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