Twitter and #TeamBreezy
It seems like celebrities live in their own world. If you are lucky, you might get an autograph or a hug. You never know what they are doing at this exact time, what they are feeling, what is really going on in their own personal lives. Well now you can with the use of Twitter. Sounds like a phony ad you might see on T.V. or hear on the radio, but it is true. Celebrities are now using twitter to communicate with their fans almost every day. This technology has created a cultural change within a fan base of a celebrity.
In eighth grade I remember bringing cake to school on May 5, 2006 to celebrate someone’s birthday. This wasn’t my friend or classmate’s birthday, but someone I loved and listened to everyday. It was Chris Brown’s birthday. Not only did I have multiple copies of his first album, but I also had numerous magazines, taped television appearances, and clothes with “Chris Brown” glittered all over. My MySpace page always had a Chris Brown song playing along with images of him in the background. I joined numerous internet sites and forums with others who were just like me. People would call me obsessed, but I would go around proudly saying I was “dedicated”. Obviously, I was a diehard Chris Brown (CB) fan. Now six years later (he debuted in late 2005), I am still a CB fan. I listen and support his music all the time, he is by far my favorite artist, and even though I still don’t necessarily celebrate his birthday with cake and wear clothes with his name all over, I feel more in touch with him than ever because of Twitter.
When I had a MySpace page, CB was one of my MySpace friends and I would visit his page a lot, but all it had on there was the same information that a lot of other internet sites had, and I knew a lot of the time he probably never even cared to check it out anyways. I think the most important thing to me, like any other fan, is if you can actually communicate with that celebrity. Like I mentioned before, you could find information on him anywhere, but you never really knew what he was feeling, what he was doing, etc, until twitter. Twitter, according to Wikipedia is, “…a website, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., which offers a social networking and microblogging service, enabling its users to send and read messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the user's profile page.” You can check up on a person’s twitter, or actually follow them. Twitter even offers a way to get a specific person’s tweets directly on your cell phone via SMS. Now we have the most personalized messages we could ever have from anyone. Celebrities can post how they feel from anywhere and at any time they want, no strings attached! (Most of the time, it is the actual celebrities tweeting, not someone doing it for them, like Facebook or MySpace does).
As a huge Chris Brown fan, I feel almost obliged to know what is going on in his life, his latest hits, and just any other information that I can get. One of my friends, who is also a CB fan agrees, “Twitter is awesome, I don’t think we could get any closer to any celebrity than their instant tweets. We know what they are doing, how they feel, it gives them a chance to clarify any misconceptions that the media has portrayed them to be. Chris Brown has got himself in a lot of trouble, but Twitter has made it possible for him to explain his side of the story in an instant.” With these tweets, Chris Brown communicates with his fans daily, issues public apologies, clarifies media claims, and releases his latest material. Since Twitter is composed of somewhat instantaneous thoughts, he also stirs up controversy with his “twitter beefs” and his twitter lash outs.
“I love teambreezy” is one of the many tweets that Chris Brown has used to show appreciation to his fans. “Team Breezy” is simply the name of fans that Chris Brown has. It has been hash tagged by him and a lot of twitter users. A hashtag (#) is used to mark keywords in a specific Tweet. It was created by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages. (Twitter Help Center) This way any fan can find any tweets that has to do with Team Breezy, including CB’s tweets. When Chris Brown mentions his fans in almost every other tweet, it shows his fans how much he really does appreciate them. In a way it shows that he is quite humble and appreciative in a more personal way, rather than in an interview on television. Knowing this, fans eventually grow to like him more and more; therefore listen to his music in the same pattern. Besides interviews or appearances, how would any fan know how much Chris Brown really thinks about his fans every day? With twitter, of course.
Most of my friends and peers are always searching for the latest and newest music to listen to. As a Chris Brown fan, I do the same, especially with his music and videos. Where is the best place you can find an artists’ latest songs, videos, tour dates, and appearances other than from the artist themselves? As soon as a song is released, Chris Brown tweets about it and tells his followers and fans to check it out. The song also gets more publicity because of his repeated tweets about it. As much as I’d like to believe that I can find CB’s songs and videos on my own, I have to admit I have used his tweets to direct me to some of them. It gives fans a quick and easier way to access his music. News and other sites have used his tweets to find about his latest singles and hits also.
Chris Brown has used twitter to apologize and to clarify a lot of thing that has gone on in his life. The latest apology Chris issued through twitter had to do with the media blowing things out of proportion for the singer. Chris used the word “gay” to insult a member of the paparazzi. He then tweeted, “I have total respect for Gay community and my intention was not to insult anyone in it…” The point is not really to say if he was right or wrong, but his actual apology he could issue immediately through twitter. If he waited until he was questioned in an interview, it may have gotten even more explosive. More importantly, if he didn’t clarify or apologize in his tweet, a lot of his gay fans may have been offended. As a celebrity, everything you do is put under a microscope, scrutinized, and criticized. With twitter, celebrities, like Chris Brown, have the opportunity to slam and/or clarify claims like this instantaneously to protect their reputation in the eyes of their followers and to ensure fans a better understanding.
In 2009, Chris Brown was convicted of assaulting his then girlfriend, Rihanna. Until this day, the media still brings up the assault. Not only do people and the media do this, but other celebrities do. This has actually caused a few “twitter beefs” between Chris Brown and other celebrities, most notably, Raz B. A twitter beef is a media coined term which means an argument between users on twitter. Raz B, a background singer for the old group B2K, started by tweeting about CB being “disrespectful” to Rihanna. Then, of course, Chris Brown tweeted back and began insulting Raz B and so on and so forth. Chris Brown did use a lot of gay slurs in his insults. Undoubtedly, this hurt his image with his gay fans. Not only was it inappropriate, but it was also immature. This type of behavior comes from instant lash outs of anger that can be seen by fans because of the moment in time tweets celebrities can make. Like mentioned earlier, anything a celebrity does is maximized on larger scale. Twitter has made it possible for a person to say what is on their mind at that very instant, which may not be a hefty idea for celebrities, especially those with strong attitudes. This can and most likely hurt some of their fans, they may even lose some altogether.
In the end, twitter has changed the culture of Chris Brown fans. In broader terms it has even changed the culture of other celebrity fan bases. Celebrities can now communicate with their fans on a whole different level then they have ever done before. It is really interesting for a fan to see what a celebrity is tweeting about, you find out a lot of information you may have never known before and what other sites couldn’t have given you. On more specific terms, I think Twitter has shown Chris Brown fans how CB really is on a raw, more personal level. It gave them a chance to see that he is like any other person and got to know him more, rather than just looking up information on a second hand site.
Undoubtedly, anyone can see how twitter really changes how fans can feel about a celebrity, as well as follow their thoughts and feelings. But will Tweets always remain raw and personal? Or will they just become a gimmick sooner or later. Will celebrities keep tweeting on a regular basis and will it be for fans or for money? Kim Kardashian receives a significant amount of money for her each of her tweets already. If twitter turns into just a publicity stunt, then the point of it is destroyed. Fans will not really be getting real tweets, and they especially won’t be as personal as they are now.
All in all, Twitter has really affected Chris Brown fans. From the latest music, to what he is wearing, to his crazy twitter arguments; they see a lot more of him through his tweets. Without Twitter, a lot of media speculation and claims would be believed and blown out of proportion if he never addressed an apology or clarification via Twitter. I think it is important that his tweets stay personal and raw, even with all the media controversy it may accumulate, for the sake of fans. It shows them the real him and not something the media is trying to create. Twitter has definitely changed the perspective of CB fans, only 140 characters at a time.
Works Cited
2010, Late November. "Twitter." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 05 July 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter.
"What Are Hashtags ("#" Symbols)?" Twitter Help Center. Twitter. Web. 05 July 2011. http://support.twitter.com/entries/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols.
"Chris Brown Insults Gay Community Then Apologizes on Twitter | Echilon Enterprises." Echilon Enterprises | Connecting You To The Public. Web. 05 July 2011. http://echilontel.com/2011/06/23/chris-brown-insults-gay-community-then-apologizes-on-twitter/.
Brown, Chris. "Chris Brown (chrisbrown) on Twitter." Twitter. Web. 05 July 2011. <http://twitter.com/chrisbrown>.
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