We all have heard about Ashton Kutcher’s challenge to Larry King, a race to be the first person to hit 1M followers on Twitter. Kutcher claims that he didn’t think a single person (Kutcher) could possibly have a greater impact on the public than an entire media network, so he decided to try it. This challenge did have its incentives attached. In addition to the promise of donations to charities, Kutcher promised to ding-dong-ditch Ted Turner’s house if he won. Kutcher is already a very popular figure in the world of media, but what he did, in effect, was ask for the wisdom of the crowd to determine the level of his popularity versus that of Larry King. The crowd spoke, and Kutcher now has 1.3M to CNN’s 1.1M followers on Twitter.
This is not a one off phenomena, and this practice is becoming more and more popular. Recently, there was a report that several radio and lower-tier TV personalities have been using Twitter to create and grow their following, to impress their superiors in an effort to increase their value. In one case, a radio personality was able to leverage their increased following and fame on Twitter to renew their contract. This is, in effect, really crowdsourcing fame and using the wisdom of the crowd to prove their popularity.
This is not to say that these personalities were not already popular in their own right, as I am sure they are. However, what these people have done by utilizing Twitter is create their own mini American Idol, which is another great example of crowdsourcing in media. The beauty of tools like Twitter is that it levels the playing field, allowing the crowd to determine who is the most famous, most popular and most liked. In the case of Twitter, the general public speaks or votes by choosing to follow certain personalities or individuals. If for example, Ashton Kutcher challenged me to a race, I would most likely not stand a chance. Much as it is hard to admit!!
With that said, if I worked full time on my Twitter status, I could dramatically increase my followers, from the 278 that I currently have to a number much greater. In fact, several people have done just that. I am following a woman on Twitter with the handle, @ijustine, who has 475,000 users. However, today the crowd has spoken, and they choose @ijustine over @jbennette.
In fact, the crowd is speaking everywhere – but how do we get a hold of it for more practical uses?
TheCrowd is gathering……..
This is not a one off phenomena, and this practice is becoming more and more popular. Recently, there was a report that several radio and lower-tier TV personalities have been using Twitter to create and grow their following, to impress their superiors in an effort to increase their value. In one case, a radio personality was able to leverage their increased following and fame on Twitter to renew their contract. This is, in effect, really crowdsourcing fame and using the wisdom of the crowd to prove their popularity.
This is not to say that these personalities were not already popular in their own right, as I am sure they are. However, what these people have done by utilizing Twitter is create their own mini American Idol, which is another great example of crowdsourcing in media. The beauty of tools like Twitter is that it levels the playing field, allowing the crowd to determine who is the most famous, most popular and most liked. In the case of Twitter, the general public speaks or votes by choosing to follow certain personalities or individuals. If for example, Ashton Kutcher challenged me to a race, I would most likely not stand a chance. Much as it is hard to admit!!
With that said, if I worked full time on my Twitter status, I could dramatically increase my followers, from the 278 that I currently have to a number much greater. In fact, several people have done just that. I am following a woman on Twitter with the handle, @ijustine, who has 475,000 users. However, today the crowd has spoken, and they choose @ijustine over @jbennette.
In fact, the crowd is speaking everywhere – but how do we get a hold of it for more practical uses?
TheCrowd is gathering……..
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