famous – Sereniti Sparkles

An Influencer is an individual who has the power to affect purchase decisions of others because of his/her authority, knowledge, position or relationship with his/her audience.

Social media has created a new kind of celebrity, the INFLUENCER.

In one of my past blogs, I wrote about getting 100% off if you are famous. The Influencer knows all too well what that means.

There are people that make funny videos, do makeup, play video games on camera, that have gone “viral”. These people aren’t necessarily extremely talented or skilled in any unique manner. They do what we all do. However, for one reason or another they have captured our attention.

Once they become an influencer, they have power to work the barter system.

Usually, one needs money to purchase products, attend shows, nightclubs, restaurants, etc. The Influencer is able to use their influence to obtain all of these things, for FREE.

Why do they get so much free? Easy. Brands have become very calculated on knowing their demographic. In fact, they know which influencers are followed by their demographic. They also know things like, what kind of music, what days they work, who their friends are etc. There is an enormous amount of data that tells the brand everything they need to know on how to get the consumer’s attention. Using an influencer, is the most economic way for a brand to get in your vision. The greatest thing about influencers, is many don’t get paid from their promotion. They get free things from the company, they promote those things, they create sales for the brand. Even the Influencers that get paid for promotion are way less expensive than an actual Pop Star or Icon, and many times just as effective. This is because influencers are people like, your next door neighbor, the lady who works for Macy’s, the couch potato. Influencers have content that has gone viral, gained a substantial social media following, and are now able to capitalize off of everything they do once they reach their “influencer status”.

Some influencers have even turned that notoriety into multi million dollar companies. These Influencers are definitely business savvy and had a plan. They cashed in on their Influence and Power.

Either way, the Influencer is the new “Famous”. It is what many young people aspire to be.

There once was a time not too long ago where the majority of children would aspire to be doctors, policemen, teachers, astronauts, and even the President of the United States. This was of course before Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Justin Bieber. Your teachers will tell you to educate yourself and you can be anything you want to be.

The truth is that famous doesn’t take much education. It might take a Youtube video going viral, a boyfriend/girlfriend in the “industry”, a stunt for huge media attention, or even a sex tape. The time of young people believing that becoming educated and skilled in a specific craft was gone when we opened the door to Reality TV and the internet. How can you honestly tell a young person it is more profitable to become a doctor, when being a Real Housewife puts you in a Mansion and you get to be a TV star.

We have people who are lawyers, doctors, and preachers trying to get a piece of the reality spotlight. And why wouldn’t they, when most reality stars are making anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 per episode?

I have worked in and around the music industry for 10 years and I can’t tell you how many “aspiring artists” I have met. Most of these artists did not create music for the love of music, but for the love of fame and money. The fact is that out of the hundreds of music artists I have worked around, only one has made a hit on the radio, and even he was a one hit wonder. The statistics for the aspiring famers are slim to none. Getting a shot at being famous as a music artist, or reality personality is like winning the lottery.

The media and television stations portray fame as something everyone can get a piece of. The reality is that you will probably spend your entire life trying. Most people who enter the world of fame do so with some type of friend or family connections. Others have found a way to be the most viewed on the internet and thus are able to sit side by side the famous. Fame is something you can acquire without being skilled or educated, which we saw first hand with the rise of the Kardashians. The example has been set for the future aspirations of our children.

What reality TV should be doing is showing the actual reality of what happens in the life of a “famous” person. With more money and attention, the problems are enormous. 99% of the people around you are trying to grab a piece of your spotlight. You can’t use a public bathroom without being followed by someone trying to destroy your image. Remember that a celebrity’s spotlight may be extremely bright, but it only means that there is a very dark side that we don’t see. When your child looks at you and says, I want to be famous when I grow up, what is your response going to be?