The Blogstar Delusion: We're Not As Famous As We Think We Are

Twitter wasn’t the only story from SXSW. There was a second thing I noticed at the show that far fewer people are writing about.  It is a topic that I have wanted to write about for some time now, and it always comes up after I have the chance to attend another interactive or social media event.  It is a growing phenomenon that I call the Blogstar Delusion.  This is the too common situation where a semi-famous blogger assumes that everyone has heard of him or her because they have legions of followers at events like SXSW and online.  This is not a criticism of any single person, just a note about a trend that I have seen with increasing frequency.  Of course, meeting people who have an outsized view of themselves is not unique to bloggers.  So what is causing this rise of blogstar delusions?

In part, it is the growing popularity of blogs … but the real culprit is each one of us. Every time you treat a blogger that you admire like a rockstar, you are encouraging the rise of the blogstar delusion. As any parent will tell you, if you want to discourage a certain kind of behaviour, don’t unintentionally reward it.  So, to do my part – I am making a pledge to help reduce the number of blogstar delusions in the world by doing the following:

1. Do not allow myself to suffer from blogstar delusions.
2. Treat any blogger like a real person rather than a movie star.
3. Interact with bloggers, regardless of Technorati rank, as peers.
4. Avoid joining any group engaging in idolatry towards bloggers.

Any other pledges you would add to this list?  Join me and help curb the spread of the blogstar delusion … it is taking over the world of social media far too fast, and we all need to do our part to help fight it.