“We are all famous to a few people” – Joe Wilson

Joe Wilson is the writer and director of Vampire Mob and PlayShorts. He’s also really good at using social media. He may not have a million followers, but the connections he has made, actual legitimate relationships, are deeper and more meaningful than most social media “experts”.

His approach has always fascinated me. And this quote, which seems to drive much of his philosophy, has always puzzled me.

Are we really all famous? All of us? How can we be famous to a few people when the very definition of being famous is being known by a lot of people? And if everyone is famous, is anyone really famous?

Or maybe Joe is being coy, and he’s actually using the older definition of famous, as in “exceptionally good” (“they got along famously”).

Yeah so, sometimes I get a little too analytical and literal.

The idea of being famous to a few people holds particularly resonance due to the splintering of the entertainment industry. Micro-audiences are forming due to the proliferation of entertainment choices, in large part due to the internet. Musicians you and I have never heard of have passionate followings, even if their enthusiastic fans only number in the hundreds. So yes, it’s entirely possible to be famous to a relatively few number of people.

So that solves the “few people” part of the phrase. But it says “We are all famous”. Not everyone is internet famous or regionally famous.

 

Thinking about it from a different way, how do I respond to famous people? There’s a narrow but significant distinction here between “famous” and “celebrity”. The Kardashians are celebrities, but what are they famous for? Not really anything of any real substance. If you’re famous for something, it’s because you’ve done something noteworthy or have an admired skill. I think recognizing an aspect of admiration toward someone is what can make them famous, even to a few people. There are a lot of people I look up to, or in some way put them above me because of how they think and express themselves or what they’ve been through. These are normal, everyday people but if I see them post something on Facebook, I’m going to read it. If they comment on something I post, I’m going to pay more attention to it. I’m never going to ask for their autograph, but what they do carries more significance to me as though they were famous. 

If you would like a “We are all famous to a few people” shirt of your own, you can order your own here. Proceeds from the sale go toward cancer treatment for Joe’s wonderful wife KZ, so it’s a good cause for good people.

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Thank you to everyone who has reached out to encourage me for this month-long challenge of daily blogging. I can already see this is not going to be easy simply because of my schedule. I’ll probably write more about that at some point. But I’m glad I’m doing it, and I really love the support and the Ask Me Anything submissions I’ve already gotten. I’ll start answering those soon, so please add your own in the form below (and if you’re reading this from an email subscription, you may not see the form, so visit this post directly on CoreyBlake.com). See you tomorrow!