Great point-- It seems like the definition of fame today differs greatly to what it meant 50 years ago. Fred Astaire's waltzes, Ella Fitzgerald's voice, the Beatles' pop music: that was talent. Cut to "Charlie bit me" and "David after dentist".....Not so much. It is almost as if fame has traded in pure talent for occurrences that happen with the right people, occur at the right time, and are filmed at the right place. Somewhere along the line, our expectations for entertainment have dwindled down to men orgasmically marveling at rainbows and dogs riding skateboards. This need to prove ourselves, to make our oddities known to the entire world, and to somehow be aired on Tosh.0, may be a remark upon our society as a whole. Overwhelming? Definitely. Entertaining? Completely. But perhaps this desire to achieve fame has been inherent all along. What if digital new media were to exist 100 years ago? Would the link between viral video and fame still exist? Are such means of obtaining popularity inevitable? Internet fame is a curious thing. If we were to live in a world without the technology we have today, the desire for popularity would still push us to document each notable moment. Like Delia suggests, new media just gives us an outlet to do so. We demand to be noticed, for people to look at us and be amazed by what they see. When true talent is exposed, we admire and share it to the world, except now we only need a camera and a personal computer to do so. Thus, videos like the world-wide phenomenon of Susan Boyle's Les Miserables performance still manage to capture our hearts.
Like Sydney states, internet fame has gained credibility, to the point that a simple video can completely change lives. Most of the time for the better, some of the time for the worse. When it comes to the debate between the pros and cons of viral video, it is difficult to say which supercedes the other. It only takes an invasion of privacy and a video camera to completely ruins someone's reputation. However, most of the time, video has the power to boost a person's stance in society, and even their wealth, i.e. Justin Bieber. People like to be entertained, to laugh, to watch things unlike anything seen before. Take the video below. This rags-to-riches story possesses all of these qualities. Add 1 part gifted-man-undergoing-hard-times, a few tugs on our heartstrings, 10 million views, and you have a new media phenomenon.
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