CELEBRITIES are now hiring ghost writers to help them Twitter in the latest social networking craze as the burden of writing 140-character messages for fans proves too onerous.
CELEBRITIES are now hiring ghost writers to help them Twitter in the latest social networking craze as the burden of writing 140-character messages for fans proves too onerous.
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Impersonal: Britney Spears has ghost Twitterers |
In its short history, Twitteru00a0 has become an important marketing tool for celebrities, politicians and businesses, promising a level of intimacy never before approached online. But more and more celebrities' tweets are now being written by speechwriters and publicists.
Last week it was disclosed that the rapper 50 Cent had handed over his tweets to a ghost. Chris Romero, the director of his Web empire, said, "He doesn't actually use Twitter, but the energy of it is all him."
Britney Spears recently advertised for someone to help create content for Twitter and Facebook. Kanye West has also admitted to hiring two people to update his blog.
It is not only stars who are using ghost Twitterers, politicians have also assigned staff members to create Twitter posts and Facebook personas. Candidate Barack Obama, as well as President Obama, has a social-networking team to keep his Twitter feed tweeting.
ExceptionsSo far, sportsmen seem to be the exceptions to this phenomenon. Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal, a prolific Twitterer, said, "If I am going to speak, it will come from me... It's 140 characters. It's so few characters. If you need a ghostwriter for that, I feel sorry for you," he said.
Lance Armstrong, only hours after breaking his right collar bone, tweeted about it, using his left hand.
Many online commentators are appalled at the practice of enlisting ghost Twitterers, but Joseph Nejman, a former consultant to Spears, called it hypocrisy. "It's OK to tweet for a brand," he said, remarking how common it is for companies to have Twitter accounts, "but not OK for a celebrity. The truth is, they are a brand."
