If you haven’t heard already, Ashton Kutcher has become the first person on Twitter to have more than one MILLION followers.
That’s pretty impressive.
He was in a race with CNN to see who would first reach that milestone. The race was quite heated at the end, but at around 11pm on April 16, Kutcher was victorious. “It’s a changing of the guard. The old way, the new way,” he stated during the contest. I guess his whole point was to show how one individual can have as much power over the media as a news conglomerate.
In a homemade video Kutcher recorded a few days ago, he elaborated by saying, “I think it’s a huge statement about social media, for one person to actually have the ability to broadcast to as many people as a major media network… signifies the turning of the tide from traditional news outlets to social media outlets… we actually become the source of the news.”
Now, I’ll admit that I’m relatively new to Twitter. I just recently discovered how to Twitter from my phone, and have found it to be rather entertaining… but I won’t go so far as to say that my posts are anywhere close to being as important as those reported on CNN. Sure, if you follow me (by clicking here), you’ll get more than just tidbits about my life like, “I’m taking a dump….” no, you’ll get the kind of in-depth reporting that you’ve come to expect from me, like “I’m taking a dump that’s about the size of my arm.”
Could I change the world? I don’t know… only time will tell.
What I do know is that I’m not as famous as Kutcher or his wife. Which brings me to my point: did people participate in Kutcher’s race because they were truly interested in what he and Demi have to say, or did they participate merely because it was a game? In an article on Dcrblogs.com, they pose the question, “Will the new influx of people be interested in becoming contributors and members of the community? Or, will they just be a bunch of celebrity gawkers hoping to find out the latest gossip from celebrities on Twitter?”
They go on to say, “maybe they’ll just get bored when they don’t get enough of the gossip they’re after, and abandon the service as quickly as they joined.”
That’s a distinct possibility as well.
I Twitter because it’s great fun. There are so many interesting people out there with an endless stream of curiosities to discover… I thoroughly enjoy it and in many ways agree with Kutcher regarding his statement, “we actually become the source of the news.” But is there a level of responsibility that having a large number of followers dictates? Will Kutcher and company suddenly have to deliver the same quality of information as a CNN? Will Tweets like “I’m taking a dump” from the likes of Kutcher be captivating enough for his followers to stick around?
CNN has been on the air since 1980. That’s almost as long as Kutcher’s been alive. Oprah just started Twittering today. She has over 100,000 followers already (as of this writing). Do you think there is a certain level of responsibility that comes with having that many followers, or do you think it’s all in fun anyway, so it doesn’t matter?
I’ll be honest… I’d love to have a million followers. I’d love to be the first NON-celebrity to hit that mark. And I do know that when I get there, I will take it seriously and provide a better sense of coverage than, “I’m taking a dump that’s about the size of my arm.”
Congratulations, Ashton. You have the power to influence a great number of people on a moment’s notice now… I hope you take it as seriously as you did the race to get there.
You can follow TheFrontloader.com by clicking on the image below.
Your Dig-It Downloads:
Download: Follow Me – Uncle Kracker
Download: I Will Follow (live in Denver 11/7/87) – U2
Popularity: 9% [?]