The article “1,000 True Fans” (http://kk.org/thetechnium/2008/03/1000-true-fans/)  discusses how in order for an artist, a producer, inventor, or any individual creator needs to have 1,000 true fans in order to be successful. A true fan is a person who follows the creator, buys all of his/her merchandise, drives long distances to see him/her preform. In other words, a true fan is completely loyal to the artist, and nothing stands between the artist and the fan. This strong bond is created by technology, allowing for the artist to directly communicate with the fan. Therefore, the fan feels close to the artist.

I found the information in this article to be troubling. Yes, I think it’s important for an artist to engage with his/her audience. But the way the article describes this relationship makes it seem that it is similar to prey and predator. The artist preys on the consumer, manipulating them in a way that will transform them into a fan. I think with bloggers, it’s absolutely necessary to engage with the audience via social media and the internet. After all, these platforms are the nature of the career. Without the internet there is no blogger. But I was always baffled as to how many actors and actresses were urged to get twitter accounts. Instead of advertising their talent in films, they advertised their persona. I think this is where the separation from celebrity and artist comes from. A true artist does not need social media for talent recognition, but a celebrity needs it for attention. It is probably true, for the most part, that encouraging technology-based engagement with the audience leads to a greater financial following.

It sickens me that there are so many talented, unrecognized artists. My sister is seventeen years old. She has been in a few independent films shot by NYU tisch students. The first director was a talented student who worked with actress Quevenzhané Wallis from The Beasts of the Southern Wild, a fantastic independent film which came out in the summer of 2013. I remember when my sister showed me some of his short films, I found his shots to be romantic, with soft lighting that rendered nature so beautifully. His films haven’t gotten much attention. This is partly because he isn’t as well known. Another director my sister worked with had won an oscar and had a celebrity producer for his upcoming film. Unfortunately, I cannot give any more details because the film has not come out yet and the producer can’t be named. I’m sure this film will be great, but it will undoubtedly receive a stronger following because of its celebrity status.

Furthermore, as a blogger I think it’s appropriate to seek fans. This is what blogging is about. Without fans or followers, a blog wouldn’t gain attention. But I do not think mainstream news should be seeking fans. The news should be giving information to the whole public, not in a manner that will get more “followers” with misleading headlines and sensational information.