Celebrities discover the downside of Twitter

Some stars say that Twitter may be great as a promotional tool but it also comes with a downside.

LOS ANGELES: When singer John Mayer, one of Twitter’s most high profile users with 3.7 million followers, shut his account on Monday, he was just the latest celebrity to quit the micro-blogging site.

Some stars are finding that Twitter may be great as a promotional tool or for reaching out to fans, but it also comes with a downside. Teen singer Miley Cyrus deleted her account a year ago, persuaded into silence by her boyfriend, Liam Hemsworth.

Hairspray star Amanda Bynes deleted her Twitter account last week without any notice to her fans. Earlier this month, Disney starlet Demi Lovato, 18, tweeted that she’s saying “goodbye to Twitter” because “the access that the other people have is uncomfortable to me.”

“The blessing of tweeting for celebrities was this idea that you could bypass sending out a press release and go directly to those who are following you,” said Robert Thompson, professor of Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. However, many celebrities have found that their tweets are being made fun of, or blow up in their faces.

Indian star Salman Khan may also leave the website after facing severe backlash over his interview with Express 24/7 where he claimed that the 2008 Mumbai attacks attracted publicity only because the elite were targeted. The actor left a message on his page on Monday saying, “Looks like I might have to get off Twitter. Don’t want to, but what to do? I think I messed up. So sorry guys.”

Another Bollywood actor to leave the site is Imran Khan who starred in the summer hit I Hate Luv Storys. Khan joined the website to be able to interact with his fans but a friend of the actor’s said that he decided to leave Twitter because of its “intrusive” nature.

“Many celebrities are realising the old saying that familiarity breeds contempt,” Thompson told Reuters. “We used to think that celebrities were distant people we could never communicate with. Twitter reversed that and some celebrities are growing tired of that.”

Paul Levinson, author of New New Media, says Twitter has now reached a sort of “shaking out point”. “For some it will continue to be one of the best things they could do. For others, it has become an imposition, a pain,” Levinson said.

So is this the beginning of a mass Twitter exodus? Not so, said Bonnie Fuller, president and editor-in-chief of celebrity website HollywoodLife.com.

“For every celebrity that quits Twitter, there are 10 who sign up,” Fuller said. “There are just too many of them benefiting from Twitter. Celebrities see it as a great opportunity to communicate with fans, give them information and get feedback.” Fuller cited reality TV star Kim Kardashian who uses Twitter to successfully promote herself, the products she’s lent her name to, and the careers of her sisters.

As for Mayer, a spokesperson for the Grammy-winning singer said he had closed his Twitter account because his concert tour has ended and Mayer is preparing to head back to the studio.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2010.