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See the original image at cnn.com

The new fame: Internet celebrity

cnn.com — The Internet is setting a new standard for celebrity. Fame is no longer about getting "15 minutes," it's about becoming famous to 15 people.

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  • Bologner, on 05/01/2008, -22/+7I'd be happy being a Digg comment celebrity.
    • 5thAnimal, on 05/01/2008, -2/+4Fame is addictive . You can tell who really famous people are because they breakdown or out in various self destructive ways.
      Who wants to be a star ?
    • OwdenBowden, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1I do believe they are talking more on the lines of a "Vivid Celebrity".
  • CrazyManZach, on 05/01/2008, -1/+14Don't you mean "Internet Superstar"?
  • jwiesenborn, on 05/01/2008, -5/+25"it's about becoming famous to 15 people."
    what the *****?
    • trevorjez, on 05/01/2008, -0/+9i think it is like that saying in the music business: there used to be 100 bands that sold a million records, now there is a million bands that sell 100 records.
      • Zotnix, on 05/01/2008, -2/+3Sort of...

        The idea is mainly that everyone has a following (say, a blog following) and to about 15 people a person may be a celebrity. These people look up to and have high regards for these people even though they aren't known outside their community, much akin to a celebrity.

        It is celebrity status without the fortune and to a lot fewer people.
        • ladon86, on 05/01/2008, -2/+2Sounds great.
        • ligyron, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1And not only bloggers. Even people that write applications, or cheats for programs, are often idoled by few or several hundred people within a community. Outside that community, though, they may be worth nothing (or maybe more) *shrug*
    • groonk, on 05/01/2008, -2/+1exactly.
    • rhythmchanges, on 05/01/2008, -2/+1Oh... friends.
  • jordanmerle, on 05/01/2008, -26/+5how did this make front page?
    it's a trap!
    i see what you did there
    ***** the RIAA
    Obama is great
    Obama is a secret muslim
    Can i haz celebriteez?
    • Jwoey, on 05/01/2008, -3/+6epic fail

      see what i did there?
      • EPICFAILURE, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1NO, I DID NOT SEE. WHAT DID YOU DO THERE?
    • t0x2c, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1Overload man, moderation is key to your fame.
  • gordonp, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4I see Leslie, but where are the Junior Jams?
  • Zotnix, on 05/01/2008, -4/+9Woah. I was there. It was a really good time. I run the lolcat bible. I was on a panel with the LOLTrek Guy, the LOLCode Guy, the people who ran LOLSecretz, and the CEO of I Can Has Cheezburger. Good times. Glad to see CNN did a write up of ROFLCon.
  • lnxfi, on 05/01/2008, -9/+24/5 Dentists Agree

  • Garciat, on 05/01/2008, -11/+0That previous comment is stupid... BURY IT! >:]
  • schneidafunk, on 05/01/2008, -2/+25No, it's now 15 seconds of fame instead of 15 minutes.
  • credence, on 05/01/2008, -2/+1614 more people till I'm famous, yes!
    • TheUngod, on 05/01/2008, -2/+10Aw your mom thinks you're a superstar? That's cute.
  • krisscofield, on 05/01/2008, -10/+6Cancer that is killing Web 2.0
  • meruru, on 05/01/2008, -3/+7ROFLCon? ROFL
  • barf314, on 05/01/2008, -0/+9So I guess the definition of the word 'famous' needs to change too? 15 people doesn't really scream 'widespread'.
  • ssmith2k3, on 05/01/2008, -4/+9-Lolcats have spawned dozens of copycats including a lolcat Bible, lolpresidents, lolbots and loltheorists.
    These are relevant to my interests. CNN is actually useful for once
  • bsonline, on 05/01/2008, -2/+10So does this mean I need 15 diggs to feel good about myself, or 15 fans?
    • bsonline, on 05/02/2008, -1/+1*****, not there yet. I'd rather be at -15 (15 people noticing me) than +7. C'mon, people, I want to be a celebrity so I can get endorsement deals.
  • bdbr, on 05/01/2008, -0/+15A lot of people get "famous" on the Internet for doing something really dumb on camera (like the Star Wars kid). I think I'd rather be anonymous.
    • Zotnix, on 05/01/2008, -0/+6Reluctant fame in that case. He tried to fight and suppress that video, but it only inflamed the internet community to spread it more. Needless to say the spin-offs ensued and were hilarious.
    • Goombellaofgoom, on 05/01/2008, -2/+1So... you'd rather wear a mask and go to Scientology protests?
  • NuFadZoo, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4Everyone in this article is known by thousands, and probably have made a good chunk of money. I don't get it.
    • sircomix, on 05/01/2008, -1/+5The assumption that someone who is internat famous has made thousands is not entirely correct. People know you from the web and it often COSTS money in bandwidth!
      • Goombellaofgoom, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2Yep, that's why almost all sites have ads, a donation option, or both.
  • levelred, on 05/01/2008, -5/+4ROFLCon is teh fail...

    I love how everything is just a celebration of themselves...
  • nj7703, on 05/01/2008, -0/+5Celebrity to many of us, but laughing stock to most of the mainstream. The "Peter Pan Guy" comes to mind
    • levelred, on 05/01/2008, -1/+2the internet is mainstream, everyone's seen it, or will see it.

      I heard some grandparents singing chocolate rain.
      • PopcornDave, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1As long as you didn't see them perform it on each other.
  • Scopitone, on 05/01/2008, -3/+4I can't wait for this internet star circle jerk fad to end.
    • Ming0, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1keep on waiting... and waiting... ... ...
  • Duncan3, on 05/01/2008, -0/+6Evidence that not everyone understands the difference between being someone laughing with you or at you...
  • Kohaxx, on 05/01/2008, -7/+1So does that mean if this comment gets >=15 diggs, I'm famous?
    • Kohaxx, on 05/01/2008, -4/+3or -15 diggs I'm infamous!
    • MillionsLivio, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1And thankfully fellow diggers are destroying your dreams by digging you down.
  • rblancarte, on 05/01/2008, -4/+2Geez, CNN is just now getting on board with this? Please. This is WAY old news. lonelygirl15 (not mentioned) - circa 2006. Leeroy Jenkins - circa 2005, Tron Guy - circa 2004.
    It is 2008, this is old news.
    Buried.
    • Zotnix, on 05/01/2008, -0/+5Conference was held this year. It was about memes old and new.
  • Hosalabad, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1I think there are 15 idiots who are my fan on Digg. All things considered, I'd rather have the 15 minutes.
  • tibbon, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1ROFLCon was really the place to be last weekend. I attended, volunteered, and had the best time of my life.
    It should be noted that it went off without any real glitches, and the organization team was really top notch. One of the best and most fun events I've ever attended.
    Group photo: http://digg.com/tech_news/ROFLCon_2008_Cambridge_G ...
  • tibbon, on 05/01/2008, -10/+1If 15 people Digg this comment, am I now famous too?
  • sircomix, on 05/01/2008, -3/+1Diggsters = too cool for school
  • jokerpkt, on 05/01/2008, -4/+1leslie hall = ew
  • tibbon, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2BDBR- Anonymous were assholes during the last event in 26-100 for the most part (not all of them), but even moot thought they were unfunny and they were boo'd off stage. I'd rather NOT have been anonymous for ROFLCon
    • bdbr, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1Do you seriously think I was talking about THEM?
  • tibbon, on 05/01/2008, -0/+1NuFadZoo- You say that likely everyone speaking made a ton of money through their fame. A few did, but if you were there you'd have heard in the panels that just about all had "day jobs" and didn't make much money from this. Tron Guy for example is a computer consultant....
  • Owwmykneecap, on 05/01/2008, -3/+3Can i have 15 positive or negative diggs just to prove the article correct.

    and who will be the ***** who gives me the 16th?
    • MillionsLivio, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4Keep this guy at a steady zero diggs.
  • cheezeme, on 05/01/2008, -1/+1farkis.
  • newsheatdotcom, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2I had my 15 seconds of fame a few years ago. One of my sites was mentioned on G4TV's show Filter in the segment "Net to Know". That was back in the day when G4TV was just slowly slipping into the crap it has become now.
  • clayton191, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2http://www.nickycakes.com/destone-the-next-big-int ...
    ^ ^ ^
    Pfft, Celebrity? This guy is the next big internet phenom!
  • PaisleyTeal, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2i knew who all of those people were. and i have leslie's albums on my mp3 player. i'm getting very, very scared.
  • Number23, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2The sweater lady was on G4 last night in tight gold lamé pants. Her ass looked like "a 150lbs of chewed bubble gum".
  • hydroplane, on 05/01/2008, -0/+3CNN are the kings of lazy journalism. They love reporting internet crap because it requires so little effort.
  • Bapho, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2my favorite internet superstar is paul fetch
  • aubs, on 05/01/2008, -0/+315 minutes for my 140 characters.
  • Surefly, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4Hey wait. I thought South Park killed most of these douches.
  • MortalynFlux, on 05/01/2008, -0/+4Andy Warhol is frequently misquoted on this. He never directly stated that each person will have 15 minutes of fame. Instead he said, "In the future, everyone will be famous." He said this as a way to market his services, which involved making silkscreens of non-famous people in the same style as his famous silkscreens of Marylin Monroe.
  • nydwarf, on 05/01/2008, -0/+2Meh!
  •  

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