The road to stardom
Whenever I go through my feeds, I couldn’t help but realise how social media has truly created new stars out of rather ordinary people. I have nothing against it — everyone has an equal right to be noticed and get famous but sometimes I wonder if our generation now has a rather empty or shallow concept of popularity.
Back then, to be popular, you really had to be absolutely awesome in your own little way to become famous may it be that you are a magazine cover material, supremely the best in your field bagging lots of awards and besting out equally deserving competitors, or you had a wonderful talent worth talking about.
Popular people back then, I would say, had substance to back their fame.
Today, with enough money to throw and attend parties, endless cocktails, and invest in an extensive wardrobe running on credit and borrowed influence through association, plus social media and the endless projection of this self-organised fame, you can be almost a star.
You will get media coverage, earn a front row seat of a first night event plus one, a lot of freebies and a whole acre of “followers” who adore the image you have successfully created for yourself. And more. But I am not one to judge those I follow, I say. I just feel that what’s missing in most of what is being projected today in social media is real (no matter how raw) talent. There is a big opportunity to raise the quality of those we follow today and I look forward to that day.
There’s always something good of today’s many stars that pepper the scene. For me though, they make my feeds more interesting and colourful.
Anyway, if you are interested in becoming a star, here are the typical patterns I’ve seen from those I follow who are now winning, shining stars (in their own little or biiig ways):
Attend parties. If you want to be a star, you need to be at parties hobnobbing with the city’s hottest names in the scene. The bigger the influence of the people you hang with, the bigger yours gets too! Start by paying for your own entrance first or get on a promoter’s guest list. Then network from there. Later on, you will get invited to jump queue and zap your way past the velvet rope bouncers. Do this regularly because remember, in the social scene, out of sight, out of mind.
Invest in a good wardrobe and regular visits to your hygienists and aestheticians. Of course, you need to look your great self when those photos are taken. You may also want to bask in the sun to get that Labor Day tan that often becomes a conversation starter in parties. Others will adore you for your tan secretly. The point is to be admired and desired. So go all out on this one.
Regularly post on Instagram and Twitter. Remember, in the scene, perception is reality so the more you project, the more solid perception becomes. Be selective in what you post, though. Choose ones that show you at your best taken at the best possible places with the best possible people. You wouldn’t want to compromise on this one. Earn your followership and fan base. This is the biggest form of validation for rising stars today. Always get famous people to tag you on their Instagram posts so their own fans will, by way of association, follow you back as well. This is the beginning of your social media fame.
I always get a kick out of reading my feeds — especially on Instagram and Twitter — where I see the brightest personal stars out there today then I realise that maybe there is a pattern common to all of them. And it has always been worth writing about or sharing over dinner which typically opens with “have you seen person x’s post?” then you can expect a good 15 minutes of talk to follow.
Shine bright like a diamond!
Reviving my site for the umpteenth time
I remember writing voraciously on LiveJournal more than a decade ago. Maybe because I had so much time then. With youth comes a lot of time one can spare for “fun” things to do like writing on your own blog. Also I think Facebook and Instagram sort of killed long form writing. Oh and Twitter, too. There used to be pleasure in writing in complete sentences, captioning photos and leaving a trail of comments behind. People had longer opinions back then. Today, opinion comes in 140 characters or less. Or in one photo rendered in a preloaded filter.
Having gone 10 years older when I started writing online, I feel I no longer have that much time to write. It does not mean that I have much less fun things to write about, it’s just that my daily routine no longer has that luxury for writing. I realise, however, that my writing style has improved so much and it would be a pity if that’s only put to good use only when writing office emails. Besides, I think I have so much more to write about these days may it be about things I have grown to love even more or even work that seems to have given birth to a lot of thoughts left unsaid because maturity requires that some are not even said; maybe they are better written. With or without an audience.
So here I am again, trying to revive my writing on a blog. It is high time I write because I might not have all the fresh brain cells in the world to remember everything. So I better start writing again.
Welcome (back) to my blog that will journal my 30s. That’s me giving myself a warm welcome and hopefully I get to write regularly — even if not on a daily basis — and if you happen to stumble upon this, then I welcome you as well.
Paul John M. Peña 