Does it matter if celebrities write their own Tweets?

The fuss over whether or not Stephen Fry owns his own Twitter account (to save you reading the debate – he does) started me thinking: does it really matter whether a celebrity or public figure is sending their own messages over Twitter?

I don’t think it does. But before Twitter purists get all hot under the collar, I think that the key here is honesty. Barack Obama’s example of using social media and Twitter to galvanise voters is extraordinary (but I wouldn’t expect him to be Tweeting all the way through a G8 meeting. I’d rather he focused on saving the world, to be honest). To date, he has 314,000 followers, and ‘follows’ nearly the same number. On that basis alone, I think most people would accept – even prefer – that he has a team to run all his communications, including his Twitter account.

It really depends on the reasons for setting up a Twitter account. For politicians, it might be to impart news and policy changes, which could credibly be done by somebody in their office. But there are a growing number of celebrities on Twitter – notably Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross in the UK – who use it to give the rest of us a peak into their daily lives that we wouldn’t otherwise have. The Kutchers (Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher) used Twitpic to post live updates of them at the Oscars on Sunday http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/twittering-celebrities-take-fans-backstage-in-their-lives/ – a very personal glimpse into their world.

Twitter puts celebrities within reach of ordinary people, in a way that gossip columns, TV shows and paparazzi shots can’t do. Celebrities who want to create that kind of intimacy with their fans do so on trust that they are who they say they are. To fake it (and be discovered) could damage the trust placed in celebrities by their fans – as though they have been revealed as an imposter. Much better would be to appoint someone close to them, such as a personal assistant, to Tweet their view of the celebs world. It still offers the ‘window on the world’ to fans, but is a much more honest approach than faking it.

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  • Bunnyrunner

    This is a truly fascinating conundrum. Do the celebs tweet their own tweets, are they even who they claim to be?
    This cuts to the whole complex question of on-line identity and the lack of positive proof that can be offered on a casual basis. Sure, banks and similar intuitions can provide an increased level of identity proof but who would consider that kind of security for Twitter? Even the most streetwise and savvy user just logs on to Facebook or MSN and chats away. As with all of us, we take what we are told at face value and it requires a fair bit to raise any suspicions and stir some sort of action. Even then, what can we do, direct questions are seen as somehow rude and not conducive to good relations.
    In the case of Twitter, my question is, does it matter? Are the day to day or minute to minute doings of Mr. Fry et al so life altering and important anyway or just a simple diversion from the hum-drum inanities of your own life or, heaven forefend, idle curiosity. Will this lead to an enhanced sense of ‘connection’ to the celebrity I am following since we don’t actually know each other in any real way. In the case of that nice Mr. Obama, this wasn’t a record of his day, so much as coercive advertising, would any sane and sentient being believe that he had the time or inclination to tweet through the day?
    When all is said and done, you pay your money and make your choice but a pinch of salt may not be such a bad idea.