Earlier this year I wrote a post titled Micro Celebrity Online Identity Calculated and last July is was 8 out of 10 and now it's 9 out of 10.  But that's not the reason why I'm writing this post …. no, it's about a Wired post titled -Clive Thompson on the Age of Microcelebrity: Why Everyone's a Little Brad Pitt - found out about the Wired post from Smartmobs The Age of Microcelebrity by Gerrit Visser (I can post on Smartmobs but haven't had a chance in the last month or two - maybe today I'll post something there).  According to the Wired post:

 "….Micro-celebrity is the phenomenon of being extremely well known not to millions but to a small group — a thousand people, or maybe only a few dozen. As DIY media reach ever deeper into our lives, it's happening to more and more of us. Got a Facebook account? A whackload of pictures on Flickr? Odds are there are complete strangers who know about you — and maybe even talk about you."

Actually, I think Micro-celebrity is a good thing - it's the outgrowth of having so many connected people who are able to follow others, who are also connected, that it makes perfect sense you can now have a group of fans - pretty much anyone can - even people who'd you wouldn't think, normally, as having fans:

"…Whenever Peter Hirshberg is at a party, someone eventually pulls out a camera and takes a snapshot with him in it. Hirshberg — chair of the executive committee at the blog-search company Technorati — performs a quick mental calculation: Does the photographer look like one of those people who will immediately dash home and post all their candids to Flickr? "If I think it's going to end up on the Web, I straighten up more, try to smile the right way," Hirshberg says. "Because if it goes online, people I know will probably see it."

Hirshberg has a blog, which means a couple hundred people — some strangers, some friends — regularly follow his comings and goings, his Facebook updates, his online photo trail. Any time he does something embarrassing or stupid, those people will know. So in essence, Hirshberg has to behave like a very minor version of Brad Pitt. He's got to watch out for the paparazzi, be careful with his public image.

But he's not a celebrity. He's a microcelebrity."

 

I was surprised, in 2006 Emetrics Summit in DC, how many people in the Web Analytics community read Webmetricsguru.com…. I had no idea.   

But having said that, I think Social Networks like Facebook, enable more "Fandom" and in fact, now products and events are having "Fans".  I think the trend will only continue into 2088 and expand out. 

And while we're at it - why not have "action figures" made - I just posted about the one of Seth Godin Action figure - now I've seen it all….

"…

Actually, this is pretty cool…..

"I'm not kidding," says Mitch.

"It sounds too fantastic to be true," wrote Mark.

Yes, the Seth Godin Action Figure, with built-in Brandomatic® and PurplePower® is finally ready and you can be the first on your block to have one.

IMPRESS the Harvard MBA down the hall!
VANQUISH low-cost imports and cost-cutting impostors!
DOMINATE emerging markets!
FLOOD your site with web traffic!
DEMONSTRATE a sense of humor!

Not only that, it makes a great paperweight.

Seth closes out the post with this:

"….Need an idea? Rub my head.

And here's the best thing: It only costs $9. Which is like 30 cents for people with euros.

And an even better thing! All my proceeds, every penny, go to the Acumen Fund. Not suitable for children under three or for cynics.

Full disclosure: They only did me because David Sedaris turned them down and Steve Jobs, who occasionally has better judgment than me, wouldn't even consider the idea. Who's next? Michael Crichton is too tall (plastic costs too much), so I'm hoping for Malcolm Gladwell."

Gee… I wonder if there could be one made of a "Web MetricsGuru" and I could have super powers, and a "Web Dragon" behind me..and I'd be carrying measuing tape, magnifying glass, protractor, and I'd have a little search "engine" chained to my leg….and there'd be webbing all over me, esp between my arms and armpit (much like Spider Man, I guess - who could also sub as Web Celebrity…webbing and all)….. and then I could sell it on Facebook and off my blogs….  

Nah…. but it's an intersting idea and one wierd action figure. I got some "tweets" from Jeramiah Owyang…. seems he discovered the Seth Godin doll too…..

	jowyang Tally: 3 for scoble, one for Dave Winer, Blogher girls (elisa, lisa, jory), loren feldman, steve ballmer (what about steve jobs?) 42 minutes ago from web
	jowyang One of @guykawasaki should also be made, and who else? about 1 hour ago from web
	jowyang There's now an action figure of @sethgodin damn, this would have been a great stocking stuffer http://tinyurl.com/3aju7o about 1 hour ago from web

Hell, maybe in 2008 the way bloggers can monitize their blogging is by selling Action Figures - but of course, the Action Figures have to be interesting in the first.