Poll: Have you ever wanted to be internet famous?

[DrunkOnEstus]

Apparently the recognition itself is something that there's a rat race for. When my daughter was born I was accused 100x times of "having a baby in order to have 15 minutes of Internet fame". I sincerely hope that nobody truly brings a human life among us all and signs up for a lifelong responsibility so that people on the Internet can know them.

Which begs the question, in this modern age, knowing what we know now... how would a modern version of the Truman Show be? :O

It's funny you mention that, as just this week I've been reading a lot about both The Truman Show and that awful EdTV movie and the cultural context of their creation, being created before half of the programming on TV was "normal people" with a camera crew following them (or so we're told it is, most of the time).

Cristof was seen framed as someone who had lost their mind in The Truman Show, and rightfully so, given that even the premise in the movie goes way too far to do to somebody. But when that movie came out, there was this unbelievability to it, it was dumbfounding that people would be so engrossed in watching someone else's "perfectly normal life" on TV to the extent that they ignore the immediacy of their own life.

It holds up today to me as really prophetic, I remember the very idea being so wild that it couldn't possibly be popular even on a smaller and more ethical scale.

But I got way off task there. With the Internet and its "new media" and shit, I could definitely see a modernized version where someone who was "normal" and not a producer of any kind has a child and builds their entire life around his/her presence on Youtube and blogs in order for the parent or child to be an Internet celebrity. Though I imagine it would lack that sting of unbelievability, which loops back to how much it blew my mind that people were ready to believe that I was doing pretty much exactly that.

 

[Kaymish]

no the only reason i would ever want to be famous is if i was a god i wouldn't mind being famous for that but anything less would be too much of a pain in the arse and especially not on the net people on the net are way more eviler than skeletor in terms of constant abuse they throw at fame its like tall poppy syndrome cranked to 120 and on overdrive

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

At one point I cared about my Neo badge. When I joined, getting the badge was a measure of your Escapist street cred. 5000 posts was a long time ago and the paradigm has shifted as to what makes you cool on the forums now.

I just don't care about it anymore now though. I just want to have fun here. Fame is fickle and I don't want to live a life with masses of people who have expectations about every choice and thing I do.

 

[tippy2k2]

I will remember your name now tippy...Before you know it, I will have gathered with me a following for you, and we will all hold you to the standard of saying what we all feel, and doing what we like! And if you don't....oh if you don't, we will come down on you until you are sobbing in the shower...You don't know it, but we will own you, and The doll will dance for us, and move when we want it to move...dance puppet! DANCE!

You just had to do it....you just HAD to poke the bull. Ha ha bull! You don't want to be famous but now we're going to force it on you!!! Do you know what happens when you poke a bull that doesn't want to be poked? YOU GET THE HORNS!!!

So guess what I'm going to become famous for? My SEX TAPE!!!

There are things that even the strongest bleach to the eyes cannot be unseen...

 

[TheArcaneThinker]

It brings unwanted attention , hackers , stalkers , etc .

 

[DayDark]

I will remember your name now tippy...Before you know it, I will have gathered with me a following for you, and we will all hold you to the standard of saying what we all feel, and doing what we like! And if you don't....oh if you don't, we will come down on you until you are sobbing in the shower...You don't know it, but we will own you, and The doll will dance for us, and move when we want it to move...dance puppet! DANCE!

You just had to do it....you just HAD to poke the bull. Ha ha bull! You don't want to be famous but now we're going to force it on you!!! Do you know what happens when you poke a bull that doesn't want to be poked? YOU GET THE HORNS!!!

So guess what I'm going to become famous for? My SEX TAPE!!!

There are things that even the strongest bleach to the eyes cannot be unseen...

...I have made a terrible mistake!

 

[Trippy Turtle]

If I could be famous for good reasons and in a good way like Cr1tikal then sure. It'd be great.
I would not enjoy being famous for reasons like Anita Sarkeesian is.
Anything but comedy seems to have way too much drama involved.

 

[Sould1n]

Becoming internet famous is in part, a goal of mine. A while back I started a YouTube channel with my brother, known as the Grin Brothers, and I hope for it to be in future successful. Partly because I want people to view and enjoy the content we put out (currently we only do video game playthoughs but I hope for us to provide other video game related content in future), and partly because I hope to earn a decent income from it.

If I were to be able to live off just making videos alone, that'd be great, and the more spare time I gain through earning from the Grin Brothers would allow me to make more content. That said, I'd also be fine with even just earning enough money to be allowed to support myself in tandem with a part time job, even that seems like a nice way of going about things (and in having a part time job I will gain more experiences which could form entertaining conversational topics during the Grin Brother's playthroughs).

Of course, this is more to do with wanting to be successful rather than famous, the fame being a bi-product (or cause) of success. That said, a part of me wouldn't mind being internet famous in of itself. I write fanfiction, and it has brought me a sense of joy when I've been recognised in the past for being a fanfiction writer. Even simply seeing others discuss my content has brought about a great sense of joy and accomplishment. It's simply nice to have your existence and what you do acknowledged. Furthermore, being a fanfiction writer myself, I tend to enjoy fans and fandoms in general, and would delight in seeing what shape a Grin Brothers fandom would take. The thought of having an encounter with a fan in of itself sounds rather delightful.

 

[xPixelatedx]

I'm kind of infamous. Seen my stuff passed around certain places, and many people who have seen what I've made don't even know me by name, but they're definitely aware of me.

Not saying who I am, and I don't often do when I hang out at most places online. That alone should show you e-fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Have I ever wanted to be famous?

Hell no.

The more people know and recognise you the harder it is to actually put in a proper days work.

 

[Nukekitten]

I have some projects I work on that I want to see succeed and if they did would probably make me fairly well known within some communities. But if someone else could be convinced to take the credit for them and do the horrifying having that much attention directed at them thing, that'd be nice. Maybe just hire an actor and a decent PR agent to do the representing thing. :/

So, not really. Only as an unpleasant function of success. I don't want that sort of laser-like focus put on my life. Ick ick ick. No. Would feel fairly creepy I think.

 

[Dagda Mor]

Sometimes. I know that it's hell, but I like the idea of having a voice that I can preach with and people who actually agree with me enough to follow me. I guess a YouTube channel with 5,000 subscribers might be a comfortable balance for me.

 

[Lieju]

My attitude for Internet fame is the same as towards fame outside of Internet.
Famous just for the sake of being famous? Hell no.
Well regarded for what you do within certain circles? Sure.
And on the net I could hide behind a fake name and never meet people face to face.

I guess I'd like my work to be famous rather than me?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

Yeah.

I know I wouldn't be able to handle it, and would probably see the whole thing come crumbing down in a matter of weeks, but the thought of being celebrated for my skills is one I have on numerous occasions.

But some internet famous people aren't famous because of a well done skill,
unless that skill is... becoming internet famous.

OT: That being said, a small measure of internet fame could go a long way in helping me support myself financially, I wouldn't want to be famous in the sense that people feel the need to criticizes every little thing I say and art fame lends well to people not overly caring about my stance on controversial issues, as long as I don't make it part of my job to loudly voice my opinion.

Basically it would be nice to be famous for my work, rather than my opinion.

Then there are people like Jim Sterling who are famous for their work, which is voicing their opinion.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Ew, hell no. I'm fine with my work being seen and enjoyed by many people, and being well-regarded by my peers. That's cool, no problems with that. But I'm not even internet famous, and it's been years since I've been able to just be casual and be myself on the internet. No joking, no making light of things, no stating opinions unless it's super serious and explained thoroughly to cover my tracks. And at that point, I rarely have time to bother or care anymore. I've found myself posting less and less, and when I do, it's usually in non-discussion-type threads (and very rarely arguments), bland topics, or in topics/communities related to the technical side of digital art and sharing work. I do most of my talking to people individually on Steam, Twitch, Skype, etc. now.

That aside, I love what I do, and all of the friends I've made along the way.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I suppose having fans that enjoyed content I made and published on the internet is a fun fantasy, but that's all it is, and that's what it should stay as.

A fantasy. So no.

 

[Story]

I've thought about it once or twice.
I think I like the idea of making a living doing something that you love that just happens to be very niche more than having a lot of random admirers. I always wanted to start an animated series or web comic with an alias and actually get paid for it while still maintaining all of the creative freedom.

 

[Skatologist]

I would really enjoy it, although, I would probably hate having to use social media more often to promote work. Making videos and opening discussions would be a treat, but I'm not sure how much I'd want. Maybe the equivalent of having a few thousand YT subscribers, but no more than 40,000. Probably do something regarding inspirations for things in games or discuss TV shows or make response videos or something else entirely, not sure, but would like to do it.

Ew, hell no. I'm fine with my work being seen and enjoyed by many people, and being well-regarded by my peers. That's cool, no problems with that. But I'm not even internet famous, and it's been years since I've been able to just be casual and be myself on the internet. No joking, no making light of things, no stating opinions unless it's super serious and explained thoroughly to cover my tracks. And at that point, I rarely have time to bother or care anymore. I've found myself posting less and less, and when I do, it's usually in non-discussion-type threads (and very rarely arguments), bland topics, or in topics/communities related to the technical side of digital art and sharing work. I do most of my talking to people individually on Steam, Twitch, Skype, etc. now.

That aside, I love what I do, and all of the friends I've made along the way.

Remember that time when Jim took one of your posts on the forums here and made a news story about it?

Yeah, I don't envy your position at all. I'd say enough stuff on the internet in about two days that would get me fired from most anywhere.

When was this? No seriously, when did Jim do this? Also, could you link it if that isn't too much to ask.