Twitter, Fans, Celeb
and Public Relations.
Twitter can be considered as one of the most important
social network in the world in this moment. But why? How can the famous 140
characters be used by fans? Indeed fans, now, are directly connected to their idols
just using their computer at home or wherever they are with their smartphones.
Twitter isn’t just compliments and loving comments though. Fans can express
whatever comes up in their minds and, consequently, tweets turn funny,
maddening and even disturbing.
Nowadays more than before, developing public relations
skills is crucial for being a celebrity. The examples of bad and good skills in
the management of the relationship between fans and stars.
But, being oppressed with offensive comments by fans on
twitter could be a big issue if the celebrity is not able to handle them. Throughout
these years where the use of social network as twitter has turned everyday more
important and crucial for the establishment of stars and celebrities, when fans
start to hammer away at them, knowing which the best way to behave is essential
for celebrities.
Last year, Stephen Fry, actor and TV presenter, decided to
quit Twitter with the excuse that he preferred avoid uncomfortable during the
filming of Star Wars where he was cast, tweeting this:
Rumours, perhaps, confirmed that
he chose to quit twitter with the purpose to avoid “too much aggression and
unkind” tweets.
About exaggerated and unkind
tweets there are several other cases where these “fans” won against celebrities.
In more than one occasion twitter users crossed the line offending celebrities
or people who became sadly famous, as for example Mrs Payne, mother of Sarah
Payne who, in 2000, was abducted and murdered, had to quit Twitter because she
has been stalked and harassed by mean and cruel tweets against her dead
daughter, or the Zelda Williams’ case, in which she decided to delete her
twitter account after reading “cruel and unnecessary” comments about her and
her father, Robin Williams.
But there are celebrities who
decided to face their “mean” fans replying to their tweets. The examples are
even more than the cases quoted above. Indeed the celebrities who decided to
proceed in this way in handling fans, often gained liking and followers with
funny and hilarious reply against tweet. As for example Demi Lovato, who, after
being fooled by a fans, replied her back in this way:
But, on the other hand, there are
celebrities that preferred to avoid at all the problems that owning a twitter
account brings in. Indeed, the Hunger Games star and the 2012 Oscar winner,
Jennifer Lawrence chose to have no social network accounts, answering, when
asked why she took this choice, that internet has always scorned her so much.
The example are several and every
one of them is peculiar and interesting to understand this complex world of
communication seen by the public relations point of view. What is sure,
analysing all these examples, is how much important for the establishment of
celebrities are social networks and, therefore, the way to handle their
accounts.
Stefano Lattante
