I think it's pretty safe to say that most of us have heard of teen pop sensation Justin Bieber. His face and trademark hair are everywhere, from countless magazine covers to television programs, and his catchy (often annoying) tunes are heard on every popular radio station throughout the country. He is possibly one of the most well-known people in the U.S. (and the world for that matter) right now. But if we go back to 2008, we all would be saying Justin who? How did Justin Bieber skyrocket to superstar fame in just three short years? The answer: YouTube. Three years ago, Justin was performing at a local theater in his native Canada and posting amateur videos of him singing on YouTube. One day, talent manager, Scooter Braun happened to stumble across one of Justin's videos, and the rest is history. Fastforward one year and Justin was releasing his first debut album which preceded to shoot him to instant success on the Billboard charts.
It is truly fascinating to see how a website can catapult a virtual nobody to one of the biggest pop stars in the world in such a short period of time. Thanks to this revolutionary form of new new media, tons of artists, actors, comedians, and anyone else looking to "broadcast" their talents are being discovered. This kind of platform not only provides entertainment for public viewing audiences that can watch these videos, but also acts a means to level the playing field for the average person looking to make it big. As proven through the case of Justin Bieber, one no longer needs to attend the best, most expensive performing schools or have connections to bigwig executives to get noticed. All it takes is the courage to put yourself out in the public eye, a hint of individuality and creativity, and a little bit of luck (actual talent doesn't hurt either) to become famous.
OK, I guess we can't avoid the Bieber. It really is a great example of social media celebrity. But again, how about embedding video here?
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