Actor Steve McQueen is alive and well and living on Myspace...even though he died in 1980. I can verify this, as Steve McQueen is one of my Myspace friends. Celebrities, dead and/or alive are well represented on the many social networking sites. So how do you know if the sites are real?
Many celebrity-oriented sites on Myspace are pretty clearly identifiable as fan sites. That is, the person who opened the site isn't putting himself out there as the celebrity.
That said, many famous people are big in the social networking scene. For example, comedian Jay Mohr has often joked in his act that he has been a Myspace addict from early on. Many people doubt the legitimacy of any celebrity site, but the fact is Myspace is a great public relations tool, particularly for comedians, writers and bands. Celebrities use it as another tool to stay in touch with fans, promote new work and keep old work alive.
Back to the same question: how do you know if it's real? Well, unless you know the celebrity personally, there's no real way to know. However, you can get a few clues. Most of it falls into the category of "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck."
Of all of my celebrity Myspace friends, I'm only certain that two of the sites belong to the celebrity and are upkept by the celebrity. Both are musicians, one a former American Idol, another a member of a world-class band who tours with the Trans Siberian Orchestra as well as during the off season in a very different musical genre.
Clues you should investigate:
Dead or alive. If the celebrity is dead, you can bet the page has been put up by someone else. This is an easy distinction. Others aren't so clear cut.
Photos. If there are photos, are the majority of the photos of the publicity still genre or genuine photos with a variety of fans or even just photos the person has taken himself. The more generic the site is, the better the odds are that it's being run by a fan.
Many celebrity-oriented sites on Myspace are pretty clearly identifiable as fan sites. That is, the person who opened the site isn't putting himself out there as the celebrity.
That said, many famous people are big in the social networking scene. For example, comedian Jay Mohr has often joked in his act that he has been a Myspace addict from early on. Many people doubt the legitimacy of any celebrity site, but the fact is Myspace is a great public relations tool, particularly for comedians, writers and bands. Celebrities use it as another tool to stay in touch with fans, promote new work and keep old work alive.
Back to the same question: how do you know if it's real? Well, unless you know the celebrity personally, there's no real way to know. However, you can get a few clues. Most of it falls into the category of "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck."
Of all of my celebrity Myspace friends, I'm only certain that two of the sites belong to the celebrity and are upkept by the celebrity. Both are musicians, one a former American Idol, another a member of a world-class band who tours with the Trans Siberian Orchestra as well as during the off season in a very different musical genre.
Clues you should investigate:
Dead or alive. If the celebrity is dead, you can bet the page has been put up by someone else. This is an easy distinction. Others aren't so clear cut.
Photos. If there are photos, are the majority of the photos of the publicity still genre or genuine photos with a variety of fans or even just photos the person has taken himself. The more generic the site is, the better the odds are that it's being run by a fan.
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