Tag Archives: Publicity

Homeless man finds his fame

Posted on March 8, 2011 by sl124894

Most of the talk this semester is revolving around the question of what is the point of social networking? Why do we choose to put our information out for the public to read? For most of us we use facebook and twitter because it gives us the ability to voice our opinion and gives an even larger audience for us to talk too. But when it comes to the things that we are talking about on these social networks the question is still what is the point? Why do we want to update our twitter with a new interesting or funny quote? Why do we want to upload our cool new pictures from our spring break? Maybe its because we all just want to get noticed.

The internet is known for the vast amount of information it supplies but it is also known for rocketing the careers for the most random people in the world. Someone can get known worldwide by simply posting a hilarious video on youtube or by creating a really great twitter persona. An example of the power the internet has is shown in this article found in the New York Post on January 5th. A panhandler in Ohio was given the chance of a lifetime when a video of him begging on the roadside was posted on the internet and became a sensation. His outstanding radio voice landed him a job with the Cleveland Cavaliers and a free home. One minute this man is one the street and the next he his living out a dream, and why? Because of the internet.

So when the question is asked what is the appeal of these networks or why have they caught on so fast the answer can be simple. The internet gives people the access to the rest of the world. People are crazy and will become obsessed with anything so at this point anyone has the ability to become famous. The obsession with social networking makes sense, people want to be noticed, and the internet makes it that much easier.

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Homeless and on Twitter

Posted on February 24, 2011 by lusely.martinez

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/a-life-on-the-streets-captured-on-twitter/?ref=socialnetworking

This morning i came across this article on the New York Times website and it kind of blew my mind. To give you a quick idea on what this article is about, it starts off discussing a man named Derrick Wiggins, 44, who is homeless in NYC and who is on twitter. He is one of the four homeless men from the streets of NY who were given prepaid cellphones so that they could create a Twitter, develop a following, and then document or tweet about their lives. This is part of a project by three college grads who intern at the BBH advertising agency in TriBeCa. They were given $1,000 and told “Do something good, famously.” The result was a website called UnderHeard in New York, and the goal is to “help homeless New Yorkers speak for themselves through Twitter.”
The article goes on to tell us about the going ons of Wiggins life documented on his twitter page @awitness2011, for his now around 4,500 followers which are from all over the world including Brazil, Italy, and Australia.

This article i think speaks about how universal twitter, and social networking in general is. It’s kind of amazing actually that through social networking we now have the opportunity to take a glimpse into the life of the homeless: the shelters, the subway rides, the job searches, and thats just Wiggins.
In class yesterday we discussed why people post on facebook (this is twitter, but the same action of posting is involved), and maybe for some it’s attention, but for Wiggins “just the fact that somebody is listening” helped him persevere. He said, “I’ve received what I need to keep going.” Sometimes that’s all that is. The need to share your story and know others care. You feel less alone in the world. Twitter has obviously helped Wiggins keep going just as much as it’s allowed us to view the world from his shoes.

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