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Musings On Internet Fame, Celebrity

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By SILVIO LACCETTI By SILVIO LACCETTI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 25, 2008

From the time of Homer's heroic, swift-footed Achilles, the best of the best have sought the immortality of fame and glory. Today, 3,000 years later, thanks to the internet, the rest of mankind can obtain a good dose of fame - if not glory - via some key stroking. A new-found dimension of celebrity has even become a presidential campaign issue, what with John McCain's recent ad about his rival and the unexpected Paris Hilton rejoinder.

As much as it is about information, the Internet is also about people. It makes them, their accomplishments and their reputations larger than life. Even you can carve out a little cyber-pyramid - be your own pharaoh. A monument to your achievements can be erected on facebooks, my spaces, YouTubes and all around the blogosphere.

By the law of cybernet multiplication, a few small achievements can make you a cyberstar. Clusters of accomplishments make you a supernova. Fame and glory become exponential.

In Webworld fame, no one comes close to Senator Barack Obama. On Yahoo, there are almost 1 billion citations under Obama, probably all but a very, very small percentage relating to the man in some way. The late John Lennon could fairly have said that Obama is more popular than Jesus - 607 million citations.

A quick check on Yahoo reveals these startling results in terms of references: The Beatles, 153 million (how the mighty have fallen); Hillary Clinton, 139 million (fallen, but she'll get up again); Oprah, 86.5 million (only?); Britney Spears, 216 million (you go girl!); Michael Jordan, 95 million (more endorsements needed?); Alex Rodriguez, 37.9 million (they pay him more money than that); Hitler, 127 million (is he dead yet?). Surprisingly, George W. Bush has 223 million (what low approval rating?).

In case you were wondering, Obama is not more popular than God, Who has 1.4 billion sites.

How did the senator from Illinois become such a megaWeb star politician/celebrity? Of course, he has accomplished a great deal. So apply the law of cybernet multiplication. Beyond that there are factors unique to the Obama phenomenon.

For one thing, all forms of media have become Obamatized, seeking every opportunity to expound upon him. A "Saturday Night Live" comedy sketch sharply satirized this condition.

Perhaps his very name is like a talisman. On a recent Monday "headline news" segment, Jay Leno displayed one that said Obama was gaining ground on Obama in South Dakota! Even presumably unfriendly outlets, like Fox News.com are not immune to this strange reporting. Recently, Fox highlighted its daily top five political stories. Four mentioned Obama in the pithy headline. One of the four was actually a McCain story in which his opponent's name also appeared for no necessary reason.

Fortunately, Internet fame and cyber-celebrity will not be enough to win a presidential election, insure good leadership or bring necessary change to the American political landscape. The glory of the Web can be clicked off, shut down and maybe even terminated. The candidates know this and so do the bulk of America's voters. That is why the race is a virtual tie despite the celebrity factor. Both candidates must get down explaining their positions clearly, continually and unwaveringly.

Silvio Laccetti is a national columnist and long-time university professor of social sciences. He may be reached at slaccett@stevens.edu.

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