Lady Gaga became the most followed person on Twitter last week - officially breaking the 20 million barrier.
Twenty million people directly tapped in to whatever feeling, thought or cause she decides to put forth.
Five days on, she's up to 20,632,371 followers - picking up an average 120,000 followers a day.
So just what pearls of wisdom is she disseminating to the world that has so many of us hooked?
"The new show is easily the most fun I've had on stage in ages, YOU'RE not even there yet! IM GONNA DIE OF EXCITEMENT. Throw ice if i do."
That was her most recent missive - posted just over 24 hours ago.
It's not a bad tweet. It's fun, only vaguely self-promotional and it panders to her fans/followers.
Overall, Gaga is one of the better celebrity tweeters. She mixes up personal anecdotes and snap shots with the obligatory promotional guff.
I particularly enjoyed this insight from the other night: "Best night ever. Watching bridal television with HAUS while my stylist burst into tears wishing he was there to style the brides. #NOBEADING."
It may seem utterly trivial but it reveals some interesting truths about the singer - who is notoriously closed and contrived in mainstream media interviews.
She may claim not to own any casual clothes - but we now know, she does watch TV. Horrendously trashy TV at that.
I like that. With a mere 140 characters, she has gone up in my estimations.
She also doesn't go overboard on the tweeting. She might send a cluster of three or four messages in a row but then disappears for a day or two.
That, in my opinion, is a wise move.
There is nothing more tedious in the twittersphere than a Twitter hog. Someone who continuously posts and re-tweets messages to the point where your entire feed is filled with their inane rambling.
Kim Kardashian is a serial offender, regularly posting hourly updates on whatever dross pops into her head. Worse still, 80% of her ramblings are entirely self-promotional.
"Can't wait to watch Khloe & Lamar tonight on E! Tonights episode we are talking about the Armenian Genocide! TUNE IN!"
While a small part of me is impressed (but not convinced) she has any idea about the Armenian genocide, this is just brazen advertising. She doesn't even try to be cheeky or clever about it - just watch the damn show.
To sign up to Kardashian's Twitter feed is essentially to sign up for a string of E! related spam.
But even Kardashian is not as irritating as Piers Morgan.
Morgan is not only a Twitter hog. He is a Twitter bore.
Two million people follow the CNN host's feed - including myself. 80% of his tweets are about football.
The other 20% are him re-tweeting messages from his followers (usually Arsenal fans) who want a slice of Piers' follower pie. Apparently one re-tweet from him can see your followers soar by up to 1,000.
Every time a post from Piers appears in my Twitter feed, I physically groan.
And yet, I don't stop following him. Not because I don't want to. But because some small, irrational part of me thinks if I do, he might actually post something interesting. And I won't know about it.
I have Twitter FOMO.
This is, of course, ridiculous. And yet, it is at the very core of Twitter's success. It is the reason Gaga and Kardashian and Morgan have millions of people following them.
Nobody really cares about any of the banal ramblings that make up Twitter. But, we rationalise, if everyone else is doing it, I should too.
It's actually quite difficult to be a good tweeter. I'm the first to admit, I'm rubbish at it. I go through great flurries of commitment and then stop. I get caught up in real life and forget to diarise it in 140 characters or less.
And then I lose my Twitter confidence. I begin drafting a missive and think, 'But wait.. who cares? Why would anyone want to know this?'
The whole concept is completely ludicrous. But it is, apparently, an essential part of the 21st century. If you're not on Twitter, you're a troglodyte. And a curmudgeon.
You're not embracing all that the world has to offer. The chance to connect with people - celebrities - on a screen-to-screen basis.
Why this matters, I'm not sure. All I know is, I can't stop looking.
0 comments
Post a Comment