Ashton, Oprah and All Things Twitter

Celebrities are always at the front of emerging trends. They have embraced the Twitter phenomenon with open arms. While some celebs have found unique ways to use Twitter to their advantage, others have felt the strain of having an instant access porthole into their intriguing lives.

On Friday, April 17, 2009 Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) beat out CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) as the first Tweeter to net 1 million followers. As part of a friendly wager, Ashton agreed to donate 10,000 mosquito nets to Malaria No More if he won and 1,000 if he lost. CNN agreed to the same bet and went above and beyond, donating 10,000 nets even though they were the loser. Oprah (@Oprah) and Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest) also made significant donations to the charity to show their support for Ashton. In this case, Ashton used Twitter as a way to foster a technological revolution and get the word out about a worthy cause.

Twitter gives us a front row seta to celebrity gossip in real time. Immediately after Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the Video Music Awards, celebs tweeted their reactions from their seats! Pink (@Pink), Dane Cook (@danecook), John Mayer (@johncmayer), Katy Perry (@katyperry) and many others tweeted their thoughts as the events were occurring, a trend that led to a full-scale media debate.

The appealing part of celebrity tweeters is the instant access into an otherwise off-limits part of their lives. The public feels like they have a direct connection to the unattainable world of fame and fortune. Some celebs are already feeling some of the negative effects of having a Twitter account; Miley Cyrus has deleted her account and Courtney Love has the distinction of being the first person sued over defamatory Twitter posts. Should we really have all this access? Twitter allows us to answer “yes.” So, the next time Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) stumbles out of a nightclub, we’ll be right there with her, tweeting all the way.