First of all, congratulations should go out to Ashton Kutcher for being the first person to crack the one million follower mark on Twitter. And now that he’s passed that milestone, I’ll happily stop following him.
It must have been a slow news day in the tech world when the biggest news of the day was how Kutcher (@aplusk) surpassed CNN’s Breaking News Twitter account (@cnnbrk) around 10 a.m. Arabic Time. I certainly hope MG Siegler had his cybertonuge firmly in cheek when he described the occasion as, “one of those great achievements in human history.” I originally followed Kutcher about a year ago when I first began using Twitter when I was briefly taken with the fact a celebrity was making himself so accessible to normal folk such as myself. I kept him around when his messages and Qik videos appeared to give a unique insight to his life and I commend his efforts at donating 10,000 malaria nets and some cash if he passed the milestone.
Although the acheivement is a testament the popularity of Twitter, I think this whole situation has been blown considereably out of proportion. I caught a comment tweeted by Howard Lindzon which I think puts in perspective how far Kutcher’s quest has become.
i believe [Twitter CEO]] @ev should be careful about ashton kutcher being the face of twitter. Very lame. with larry king as runner up…lamer.
Taking this a bit further, no longer is US president Barack Obama the most popular Twitter user. Right now, that claim can fall to a a b-movie actor who made his name playing a stoner on a sitcom who’s has attempted to make his mark as an entrepreneur in the dot-com business with mixed results whose ego appears to be the main drive towards achieving his goal. Kutcher isn’t breaking any news or giving me much valuable insight towards the baccharine Hollywood lifestyle, so it boggles me to why he of all people has been pegged to have such a massive following on Twitter.
Trying to acquire as many Twitter followers for the sake of passing the one million mark appears like an example of social media gone wrong. Social media should not used to acquire as many friends or followers as possible. I feel by doing so through non-altruistic means taints the brand and muddies the motives behind it. Each relationship one makes between yourselfand someone who you connect with online should have some beneficial purpose behind it. Just because you’re a low-level celebrity should not be the only reason why I should be exposed to your world. Some people may find it interesting but how much value can the status quo hold? Furthermore,
So, I’m going to unfollow Ashton (and by proxy, his wife Demi Moore) because, aside from the I just don’t see the benefit behind it anymore.
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