Twitter has spelled a certain kind of death for celebrity.
Granted, it was already dying before the social-networking site came along. With the overwhelming popularity of gossip blogs increasing in the last decade, the American public has been given an all-access pass into the lives of their favorite (or least favorite) stars. In the past, celebrities had exhibited some modicum of control over how they were perceived. They had publicists orchestrating their narrative and ironing out any wrinkles in their persona. Of course, it was nowhere near how it was in the beginning with the studio system — a means of film production that was in place through the 1920s to the 1960s that had actors signed to long-term contracts with a single movie studio. Nothing would ever be like that again. Celebrities were like puppets, owned by studio execs and explicitly told how to live their lives. Scandals rarely occurred. Stars could sneak away and behave batshit insane without ever worrying that news of their bad behavior would leak to the press. And if it did, if people found out something as minor as a wild night out drinking, it often meant the end of an actor’s career.
It’s only been 50 years since the studio system was abolished and yet the landscape of celebrity has completely changed. With Twitter, we have a publicist’s goddamn worst nightmare. Now celebrities can go on a website and type whatever they want without anyone policing them? Harry Cohn must be rolling over in his grave right now! What celebrities lack in common sense they make up for in narcissism. Their desire to be validated and showered with praise by their fans beats any logical thought that says, “Hey, you’re kind of dumb. Maybe everyone in the world shouldn’t know that. KEEP THE MYSTERY ALIVE!”
In the rare case that a celebrity is intelligent and funny, Twitter can work in their favor. Suddenly you have a newfound respect for someone you never really thought much of before. But those instances are the exception to the rule. For every Nicole Richie or Busy Phillips, there are 10,000 Amanda Bynes’. More often than not, Twitter is the place where you discover most celebs are just basic bitches living extraordinary lives. They tweet generic inspirational quotes and have a tenuous understanding of spelling and grammar. Stars: they’re just like us!
One of the main appeals of following a celebrity on Twitter is the access. You could tweet whatever you want to them and there’s a good chance their starved for attention ass will read it. Imagine that! A celebrity knowing exactly how you feel about them. Wow! It’s the future, babe!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qnDwH08cUI&w=575&h=315%5D
With the new web series, Conversations With A Twitter Feed, your favorite comedians are able to fulfill their dreams of going buckwild on their favorite Twitter celebrities by engaging in a hilarious one-sided conversation with them. Created by Somecards writer Alex Mann, the web series has already featured such notable comedians as Dave Hill, Louis Peitzman, and Carey O’Donnell. It’s a great idea — funny everyday people quietly ripping the assholes of famous idiots — and the results are often hysterical.
Conversations With A Twitter Feed encapsulates everything I love about Twitter. It shows that its the ultimate democracy, a place where the smart and funny can reign supreme over the contemporary celebrated celebs. They may have more money and fame than us but they can’t compose an interesting tweet to save their life and in today’s day and age, that’s just unacceptable. 
