“I want to be famous,” said everyone, ever.
Reexamining the idea of fame as a concept over time.
fame (noun): the condition of being known or talked about by many people, especially on account of notable achievements.
The concept of being famous has always intrigued me.
The idea that a person could become so universally well-known that they would have trouble, say, walking down a street, or using public transportation, or going to a grocery store, or a bar, or anywhere, really, without being mobbed by fans is… intriguing to me.
It’s one of those societal things that we tend to just accept as the norm; that there have always been (and will always be) individuals who’ve risen to such a level of grand social status that the rest of us feel compelled to follow their every move, or lose our minds anytime we happen to see them in person.
Famous people’s everyday lives fascinate us to the point where it’s actually considered popular and credible news.
Beyond the surface level, however, I don’t think we really lend much thought to the idea of fame. It’s more or less just accepted in today’s culture.
But that’s what I intend to do here. My perspective on fame has shifted over the years, and perhaps yours has as well. But, whatever the case may be, I’m just here thinking aloud, hoping that perhaps you’ll join me.
Professional athletes are in a league of their own
For me, the earliest I can remember coming to grips with the concept of fame was back when I first gained a healthy obsession with professional athletes.
From an early age, I would watch (and emulate) all of my favorite sports heroes. I’d collect and trade their sports cards and even attend their games.
Growing up near Pittsburgh, I remember my mother taking my friends and I to Penguins games quite often, and we’d wait in the parking lot behind the stadium hours after each game for the players to come out and greet the fans.
To this day, I cherish my old Mario Lemieux jersey, peppered with barely legible pro hockey player autographs from years past, front to back.
That was always a fascinating thing to me — the fact that another person’s signature could be worth real, actual money if sold to someone else.
When I was in 6th grade, I again found myself with my mother, traveling to Chicago for the very first time. While there, we happened to catch a Bulls game on television at Michael Jordan’s restaurant.
My favorite basketball player at the time, she purchased a white MJ jersey for me in the gift shop after the game, and I can remember wearing it for the majority of the trip thereafter.
I imagine it must be strange for a non-sports fan to see someone wearing a jersey with another person’s name on the back at times.
There’s a respect and admiration for pro athletes, of course, simply because they can physically do things that others can’t (which, in comparison to one another, really elevates the great ones), but at face value I could see how some of the more ritualistic things us fans do might strike others as odd.
And while I’ve long idolized famed sports heroes for their achievements, I’ve also since learned to see the bigger picture: namely that, at the end of the day, sports are a business and athletes are career professionals.
In fact, nothing I’ve seen has done a better job of capturing that sentiment for me than this short clip from the movie A Bronx Tale:
The funny thing about watching sports now is that, being in my 30s, I’m older than the vast majority of the athletes for whom I’m rooting.
I do, however, still love watching my favorite players and teams compete, and while doing so, I often forget that the athletes actually aren’t much older.
And I’m willing to bet I’m not alone.
Why is that, exactly? I wonder. Better yet, I have a theory…
As I got older — Matthew McConaughey fans might appreciate this — the athletes stayed the same age. The names and numbers may have changed, sure, but for the most part, the games and the teams are all the same.
That being the case, I have my early obsession with specific players and teams to thank for how I perceive athletes today.
Also, they tend to make a lot of money and are on TV all the time, so that also brings on a certain level of admiration, respect, and — dare I say — fame.
Screens have an interesting effect on people
Speaking of TV, another thing I’ve been fascinated with for quite some time is the different communications mediums we all utilize, and how they facilitate the spreading of one’s likeness, abilities, popularity, and fame.
In short, how screens affect how we perceive fame.
Have you ever met someone in real life who you’ve only ever previously seen on a screen?
It’s a pretty distinct and surreal feeling because, for most of us, it doesn’t happen all that often.
I can only describe it as being like a shot of adrenaline; an exciting surprise that lands somewhere between finding a little bit of money on the ground and winning the freakin’ lottery.
It usually is a surprise, too.
You go somewhere, like an airport or a restaurant, and… BAM!
There they are.
You aren’t ready for an interaction with them (because how could you be?), but you know it’s a moment you need to take advantage of, because the odds aren’t exactly in your favor for it to ever happen again.
So, what do you do? You ask them for a photo, or their autograph, or something of equal significance, even though you would never even think to ask those things of what we would all call an “ordinary” person.
Then, you say something cliché, like “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m a huge fan.”
And that’s fine. After all, it’s not like you prepared for this moment, and it’s not something you’re really accustomed to doing in the first place.
It’s weird meeting someone whom you feel you know so well (from following their life on a screen) but to whom you are a complete stranger, and one of many they probably come across every single day.
It’s interesting how we can feel like we know somebody simply because we’ve spent hours of our lives watching them perform from a distance, or on a screen.
This doesn’t just pertain to the silver screen, either. Or just television, for that matter. It’s true of the Internet as well.
I remember getting that feeling when I met my former CEO, Gary Vaynerchuk, for the first time in 2010. Prior to meeting him, I had only really seen YouTube clips of him (some, hour-long keynotes), along with the occasional television or radio appearance.
I wasn’t “starstruck” per say, but I distinctly remember recognizing that familiar feeling and keeping it with me, later pondering how interesting it was that meeting “someone from YouTube” could elicit the same emotional response as someone like a famous actor, musician, or pro athlete.
I’ve realized in the years since that the more you get to know a “famous person,” the more you see them as the real, down to earth human being that they are.
And that’s when I realized what sites like YouTube were doing to the social landscape and the world’s precognition of fame.
As it turns out, there are many levels of fame
The Internet has done a great deal to influence how I perceive fame today.
It used to feel like there were only a few actual famous people out there in the world. Now, however, you could argue that the entire landscape has changed.
The way I tend to think about it, there are really two possibilities:
Argument 1: The Internet has leveled the playing field entirely
One argument you could make is that with the rise of digital content creation and the distribution and discoverability mechanisms now firmly put in place, there has since been a leveling of the playing field, to a certain degree.
What I mean by that is, because of the Internet, there has been a drastic rise in the creation and consumption of content, globally.
Therefore, it must also be true that there has been a drastic rise in the creation and consumption of really good content, globally.
Given the notion that there is still only a finite amount of attention being paid to this content in the world, but an increasing number of people warranting that attention, that should lead to two things, theoretically:
- More famous people in general
- Less really famous people globally
The ever-shifting attention spans and tastes of today’s consumers is what primarily dictates fame today.
Argument 2: The Internet has just simply added more levels of fame
Alternatively, you could argue that the playing field and the rules are all still the same, but there have just been additional levels (or types) of fame created by the existence of these new mediums.
That is to say: consumers understand the difference based on the context of the platforms through which they’re consuming.
When you think about it, you can make a case for this solely based on the fact that the term “Internet famous” exists.
Let us not forget the exceptions to both arguments…
Assuming both arguments hold some truth to them, there is one important thing to call out: there are people out there who are basically impervious to the above — people so famous that all other variables don’t seem to matter, because at the end of the day, everyone invariably knows who they are.
“He is famous the way an ex-President is famous, in that he can’t go anywhere in the world without everyone knowing who he is.” — Comedian Tom Segura on meeting Mike Tyson (clip)
Presidents and other world leaders tend to hold that status, and as much as we like to think that people like Beyonce and Tom Cruise (or Mike Tyson) are right up there with them, you’re not likely to find their names in a history book 100 years from now (you know, assuming those still exist in some form), even if people are still listening to their music or watching their movies.
As comedian Dave Chappelle put it when explaining the idea of how famous a President really is (not an exact quote because of the inappropriate context used, but you can find the full clip here), “Imagine if someone could [do something to you] and then they’re famous.”
That’s the kind of fame a President garners, and it’s a level of fame the rest of us — from Beyonce all the way down — can hardly dream of attaining.
“Can I become famous now?” “Yes. Yes you can.”
Regardless of which camp you may or may not fall into above, the modern day Internet changed things enough that it does pose an interesting question:
What happens when anybody can access the distribution tools necessary to become famous?
The answer, seemingly, is: Then, anybody can become famous.
Sure, none of us (or at least a very small percent) will ever hold the title “Ruler of the Free World,” but with talent, hard work, good timing, luck, and the right tools, it isn’t exactly impossible for any of us to ascend to those other levels of fame I alluded to earlier.
The tools are there, and more often than not, they’re free to use.
Take musical.ly for example. An app you’ve likely never heard of, musical.ly basically replaced Vine. It has millions of devoted users, making it easy for them to record 15-second music videos to share with their friends.
If you were to ask who musical.ly’s top user (i.e. the one with the most followers) was, the answer wouldn’t be someone like Selena Gomez, even though she is on the platform.
No. The real answer would be “Baby Ariel” Martin, a person who, until semi-recently, was just an ordinary 15-year-old girl.
Sound familiar? It sure does.
I’ve seen this narrative play out numerous times, notably on sites and apps like YouTube, Instagram, and, like I said, Vine.
About Vine. When the app turned one year old in January 2014, I remember a group of some of the top Viners in the world strolling into the VaynerMedia office, where I worked, after hours to hang out and collaborate on some celebratory videos.
They weren’t what you’d expect when you start throwing around words like ‘famous’ or ‘celebrities’, even though that’s exactly what they were on the platform in which they first got discovered.
No, they just struck me as ordinary individuals who enjoyed what they were doing. They had a real knack for entertaining people in 6 second intervals.
If any of them were to set foot outside, however, they likely wouldn’t get far before being recognized and stopped on the street by a group of their fans.
I’ve witnessed this first-hand. It’s fascinating.
Perhaps you’ve never considered it before, but you could be one of these people if you really wanted to be.
And that’s the truth.
Like I said before, you’ve got to be talented, but the tools are all there. If you use them to the best of your abilities, you have the opportunity and potential to reach millions.
In a way, a certain level of fame is at all our fingertips, at all times. Who says it shouldn’t or can’t be you who capitalizes on it?
Some closing thoughts…
As I said in the beginning, the concept of being famous has always intrigued me, and my perspective on fame has changed throughout the years.
Living in New York City for 6 years certainly helped shape that perspective. The current state of the internet has also been hugely responsible.
Not only had I happened across more celebrities living there than I ever would have living anywhere else, I was being exposed to new ones every single day whenever I would escape into one of my favorite apps on my phone.
Regardless of the level of fame attained, it’s important to remember one thing: At the end of the day, everyone is a person.
So, no matter how you feel about the idea of fame, the next time you happen to come across a famous person, what will your next move be?
