Celebrity Tweeters Keeping it Real!

How do you spot a fake celebrity on Twitter? Ask these questions and you might discover your favorite English actress is a bald 50ish guy in Des Moines!

1. How many followers does the person have? This is an initial check, but not a very good one. Thousands of people follow @joshwhedon and @josswhedon, which are obvious fake accounts for Dr. Horrible, Buffy, and Dollhouse director/producer Joss Whedon. (These accounts haven't be removed, but they also haven't been updated since March.)

2. Who are they following? This is also not a perfect check, but if they are following spammers and lots of fan Tweeple, or are not following people they work with (actors on their show, fellow band members, producers, etc.), it may be a fake account.

3. What do they say? Since many celebrities use Twitter to promote their latest projects or engage with their fans, if the "celebrity" never mentions his or her current work, it may be a fake account.

- Is the celebrity discussing topics in which he or she is supposed to be interested? The fake (and deleted) account @iamgeddy, which was supposed to be RUSH bassist/singer Geddy Lee made vague mentions of their past tour, but never talked about wine or baseball, two subjects he is well known to enjoy.

- To whom are they replying? The fake (and deleted) accounts @mikeweatherly and @pauleyperrette (actors on the show NCIS) were replying to one particular fan, recommending people follow this fan, and talking about phoning this fan. Could it have been true? It's possible, but not in this case. (See the fan site www.mikeweatherly.com for more details.) Pauley Perrette recorded a short video at the end of May stating clearly she is not and will not be on Twitter or any social networking site, except for this MySpace page.

4. Is there a link to the Twitter page on the celebrity's official website? This would be proof the Twitter account is real, but it doesn't mean the celebrity actually Tweets. He or she could have an assistant helping them.

5. What do other fans say? Fans have been led astray (see item #1), but if several fan websites agree that the celebrity's Twitter account is real, then it probably is. Don't rely on just one website, because that fan may be the one who set up the fake account!

So, who really are celebrity Tweeters? Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Oprah, and Ellen Degeneres are some of the bigger names that have Twitter accounts.

I choose to follow a group I call "One Degree of Joss Whedon" and members of the Stargate franchise. It's been interesting seeing the exchanges between the various actors, writers, and producers. See my full follow list at twitter.com/TotemMedia.

Belated Congrats to Dr. Horrible!

Belated Congratulations to Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog for winning the People's Choice Award in the "Favorite Online Sensation" category!

Also, congrats to Dr. Horrible for being #4 in TV.com's "Top 100 Everything of 2008"

I've been checking out the cast/crew commentary, Commentary! The Musical!, and just enjoying the DVD version of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog (in addition to my iTunes copy and soundtrack). I was happily surprised to learn Sarah Michelle Gellar had a cameo role in Dr. Horrible.

Yup, I'm a Joss junkie. You gonna make something of it?

Missing Consultant Found Under Pile of Work

This is me. Or rather, this is what I'm doing - working night and day on client projects. I'm having a lot of fun, and spending a lot of time, on my clients' websites, Flash videos, and DVDs.

The background of this photo composite was actually taken on a sunny day, but I manipulated this country scene* into a night view with a fantasy moon. You can see the actual time of day and lighting in the "window."

The composite is entitled, A Brand New Day, inspired by the song title from Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog.

There are times when we work so much we "don't know if it's day or night." We are so focused on our tasks, we don't take time to look outside and see the beautiful world around us. Not many of us have a pine-laden view outside our office windows, but stepping away from our work for a moment, taking a minute to feel the sun on our faces, breathe, and relax can help bring our tasks into a more realistic perspective. It also may help us break through some mental blocks to better complete our work.

So, don't spend all your time in the fluorescent lights, head down, hunched over a computer screen or printout. Step into the sun, stretch, take a couple of deep breaths, and smile. You will go back to work refreshed and your mind will be clearer.


*Trees photo taken by me in 2007, Black Hills, South Dakota

Dr. Horrible Taking Over the World's Computers (soon)

From Dr. Horrible's Master Plan of World Domination! Bwahahahaha..ha...ha..ah..erm...

ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT!

"Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)"

Spread the word. Or else*.



*Else the word won't be spread and it will be ever so sad. You don't want to be responsible for making the word sad, do you?