How The Internet Has Revolutionised Gossip!
We’ve always been crazy for our gossip columns! Available in magazines and newspapers, the gossip column has always been the place to find out who is wearing what, who is seeing who and who is having a baby. It’s also the place to keep up with celebrity hairstyles and make up trends. We have long been obsessed with celebrities but it’s only recently that they have been able to say things back to us in their own voices. Since celebrities started having their own Twitter accounts they have been able to hit back, and the smart ones are using this weapon wisely.
It has been a constant complaint of celebrities everywhere for a long time now that everything about them is made up – so they say anyway! Until Twitter, they have had to reply through their PR agent to counteract rumours. And the more they denied them, the more people assumed they were true.
Now, celebrities have the ability to speak to us directly and they are doing just that. Does this spell the end for gossip columns, particularly the ones who once made a living out of making rumours up about celebrities? Here are the main ways that celebrities are communicating to us these days:
Most celebrities these days have a Twitter account and it is from here that they can speak to their fans (and naysayers) directly. They can reply immediately to rumours, confirming whether they are true or not. This has meant that magazines and newspapers have to work a lot harder to get stories. Because the celebrities find it easier to directly confirm or deny rumours it has taken all the fun out of making a story up! The gossip columns are now using Twitter feeds to base their stories on, which means that in general there are a lot more true rumours out there than false ones. However once the stories hit the newspapers they are already old news on the internet!
Some celebrities choose Facebook to communicate to their fans. It’s a great way of keeping in touch, filling people in on news and stories and once again, confirming or denying any rumours that are circulating. A Facebook page allows fans to see pictures, read stories and pass comment on what the celebrity is up to. Because you have to ‘like’ the page to see the information there’s an extra level of security, and if one fan becomes too much they can be blocked.
The advent of Twitter and Facebook for celebrities is an interesting one. On the one hand it gives them even less privacy than ever – they are public property and they know it. But on the other hand it gives them the chance for their voice to be heard, their way. And this can only be good for openness and honesty in the press. The smart celebrities are using the internet to their advantage by using it for good, and avoiding the bad stories. The internet has thrown the gossip column world wide open and it’ll be interesting to see whether celebrities continue to embrace it as it progresses.
Featured images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
Jenny Wadlow, the author of this post, works for Behind The Talent which brings the latest celebrity news and gossip to the readers. She is a fun-loving person and a fashion enthusiast. She often writes articles for blogs in her free time.
Posted in Social Networking.
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