It's always fun to see a celebrity -- especially one of marginal status -- get taken onto the ride that is Internet Novelty, whether that means s/he is assigned a fake account on Twitter or Tumblr, or even something called "a MySpace page." (A whaaa?)But in the wake of Ashton & Demi's recent respective forays into the Twitterati, it should come as no surprise that somebody else would take the natural step toward culminating an online presence, this time not only by creating an account but by, instead, reclaiming a fake one from an impostor. And that person?
LeVar Burton, you guys. Yes, the LeVar Burton of Roots, Star Trek, and -- duh -- Reading Rainbow fame.
Even in spite of his recent appearance on The Soup, in which he let himself be parodied alongside some of our favorite Mad Men, Burton managed to be taken very seriously in his online pursuits. In fact, his blog posts and tweets are sincerely reflective, engaging, and prove that the dude is incredibly knowledgeable about (and continually curious regarding) developments in new media, web technology, and these very Internetz we love so much. So cheers to you, LeVar Burton! By reclaiming the irony that threatened to blanket your celebrity via a stupid Twitter account, you've managed to do what Chuck Norris could only dream of doing: BEING AWESOME ONLINE WITHOUT ITS BEING A JOKE! We <3 you.
comments
Love ya LeVar!!! Great to see you on Twitter!!!
by:// Debra!!! - Feb 4th 2009
As with anyone, it depends on thinking before they post. But Twitter definitely helps people connect with those they admire.
www.twitter.com/GlennWebber
by:// Glenn Webber - Feb 4th 2009
Great article. Clever title too, just caught that!
Are you implying that Levar's celebrity status is marginal? The rest of the blog suggests otherwise, but I was confused by your opening paragraph- to whom you may be referring.
by:// Erik - Feb 5th 2009
It depends on whose tweeting. Many celebs are using a publisher (or themselves) to promote whatever they happen to be doing at the time. Usually, this wouldnt be a bad thing, but many accounts do ONLY THAT. Its annoying, and I dont really care. Celebs that do that will only knock themselves down a notch or three.
Otherwise, tweeting, like everyone else does, it could go either way, depending on what they say and who reads it.
by:// SandieK - Feb 4th 2009
hey man, u are real cool, like earl the pearl.where you
from.?
by:// bigdaddy - Feb 6th 2009
lavar is cool yall, just like a mau, mau,banti
by:// bigdaddy rock - Feb 6th 2009