MySpace: A Place for Celebrities
Or perhaps not. Because, sadly, I am only friends with these people, who have never had the pleasure of meeting me, on MySpace, the ubiquitous social-networking site so successful that to dare to ask your teenager what it means will get you a dim look and a disappointed grunt.
Curiously enough, your correspondent had already brushed arms in virtual space with director Kevin Smith (“Clerks”, “Chasing Amy”), on his message board at viewaskew.com, where Smith makes a point of spending time with his public, cheerfully answering questions and hawking merchandise. It’s hard to see anything unusual about it: a “Hollywood type” would never deign to post on the Internet alongside bored college students, but something about Smith seems so friendly, so guy-next-door, that he fits right in with his fans. One of them, just another witty fellow on the Internet.
Smith may make jokes about porn in his film, but Jenna Jameson is even more familiar with sex in a cinematic context. Yet they share something more than that; they’re both on MySpace. Jameson’s page is festively decorated, to say the least, and she posts bulletins to her fans with a decidedly upbeat tone. I am considerably better-educated on her business affairs since joining MySpace, this much is clear.
But were you to tire of only hearing from people in one sector of the entertainment industry, your options would hardly be limited. Keanu Reeves has one and uses it to promote cancer research, as well as make the occasional self-effacing comment about his side career as a bassist. Kevin Federline, apparently welcome in the celebrity club after marrying Britney Spears, has an account on the site as well, complete with a couple of cheerful pictures of him and the wife-and over forty-seven thousand people, as of mid-April 2006, proud to call him ‘friend’. Comedian Dane Cook, who is exceptionally popular among students, has over a million MySpace friends to his name, and that’s no laughing matter.
It’s not just solo acts who are getting in on the action, either. Practically every band out there, making it or trying to, has a MySpace page. The social network began as a way for bands to share their work and find an audience, before branching out into the current multimedia giant. Thus I wasn’t the least surprised as I sat backstage at a recent concert during a videography gig for the fantasy Goth-techno band The Birthday Massacre. Numerous previous acts had decorated the green room with their stickers, half of which bore a MySpace URL. The Birthday Massacre may not have left a sticker, but they have a MySpace page, and indeed I am friends with the lead singer.
It makes sense, of course. It’s the young people who drive today’s entertainment economy, who choose who’s famous and who isn’t. Why not relate to them in one of their preferred media of communication? MySpace is a perfect way to get the same message out to thousands at once, be it about an upcoming show, new merchandise to plug or the fact that you got a haircut. And the fans seem to enjoy it; let’s face it, it’s fun to post a message in a famous actor’s comments section with the same casual chattiness that you used two minutes ago with your friend from science class, even if the famous friend is unlikely to find the time to respond. I sent The Birthday Massacre’s songstress Chibi a little note reminding her who I was and why I was attempting to be her Internet friend. How many rock stars can you say you’ve talked to this week?
Whether you’re looking to befriend Kelly Osbourne or Kelly Clarkson, chances are you’ll soon find the perfect celebrity MySpace friend to round out your Top 8. Just remember that there’s more to life than the Internet, and making celebrity friends on MySpace is not a substitute for going out and hanging out with real celebrities.
Particularly Jenna Jameson.
