Fame

I'm sure we've all dreamed of being famous. We all would love to be universally loved and respected. However, some of us may have decided in the end that we value other things more than popularity (like privacy or sanity). Nonetheless, if you are in any kind of business, you are most likely looking for a way to boost the recognition of your product/brand/business.

Wouldn't you love your brand to be globally recognized? Whether you are a blogger, a YouTuber, an entrepreneur, or you aspire to be a Hollywood celebrity. Too bad we can't all be world famous like Coca-Cola or Brad Pitt. ... Or can we?

Is the Hall of Fame Getting Crowded?

I mean, is it just me, or are there more celebrities in the world these days? It seems like all the time there are more and more people that I am supposed to be able to recognize. When I am watching a movie or TV show, I will often google the actors and peruse through their filmographies. I'm not obsessed, I don't read tabloids, but I like to know a bit about these guys and their work. I find it interesting, and I know I'm not alone in this, because our culture is obsessed with celebrities.

In my time studying the who's who in Hollywood, I've often wondered something: is the number of celebrities in the world growing? Surely, in ancient history there were very few figures who were world renowned, or even who's reputation spread through multiple nations. I'm sure this changed as the world began to become more connected.

Impact of Technology

Telegraphs, radio, movies, and television and many other inventions made it possible for people to become world famous. Not only that, but they allowed more and more people to achieve that world-fame. The connectivity that these technologies provided, allowed us to share our cultures more easily with other countries. However, they still limit recognition to the elite few.

Then the Internet comes along and completely changes the game. Internet innovations allow regular people to connect with an audience, and to grow that audience. The internet even created a new class of fame: internet-famous. These people are known by thousands and millions of people, but are not quite household names. Internet-fame is to recognition, what the middle-class is to economic status.

How Wealth is like Fame

Wealth is not a single pie which needs to be divided evenly among all the people. A better analogy for wealth would come from agriculture: seeds and crops, which have the ability to multiply. Through hard work, innovation and trade, we can create new wealth. In two previous blogs, I have argued for this concept. Both of these blog posts were inspired by this video, which explains the concept a little more fully than I do.

Recognition is capital in the same way the money is. I think anyone would agree that recognition is always an asset for your brand. Much like wealth, recognition is a resource with very little limits. Not every brand or personality can achieve the status of being a house-hold name. However, there are two factors which are increasing: the number of people in the world, and connectivity through the Internet.

Our culture treats wealth and fame like they are inherently evil things, like those who pursue them must be selling out. I would contend that neither is inherently evil, it all depends on what you do with your money or recognition. You can use wealth to donate to charity, give people jobs, or buy a bunch of equipment and fight crime as the Batman. Fame can also be used for good. You can use recognition (or today, a following) to bring light to issues, events and even to good artwork.

How to Grow Your Recognition

Do you remember the end of the Muppet Movie, where Kermit and the Muppets finally make it to Hollywood, find a producer, and say to him "We'd like the rich and famous contract please." Yeah, I'd like that contract too. No seriously. Where can I find this contract? I would like to know. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.

You grow your audience the same way that you grow your wealth: through hard work, innovation and trade. You work hard and get creative to make content that people will enjoy. Innovations in internet advertising allow us to target specific audiences. While free-trade happens all through the advertising process, one of the greatest ways to expand your reach is through collaboration.

Collaborating with other creators is like free-trade: you can both grow your reach, and walk away with more followers. You want to collaborate with creators who make content similar to your own. We've all seen stars on YouTube who have grown this way. When YouTube stars first started collaborating, that's when the community (and the individual stars) really started to take off. By continually creating more (and better) content, you can continue to grow your reach.

As your recognition grows, you can collect bigger profits. As you collect bigger profits, you can hire more people... and become Batman.

So that's why I'm not afraid to say that I want to be rich and famous. Please share this post if you liked it. I just really want to become Batman. Also, tell me what you think. Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks facebook page.