But “micro-celebrity” and “high status” do not necessarily go hand in hand. Although Julia Allison and Nick Starr are both well-known in their respective communities, neither is well-regarded. Perhaps this is because they are both up-front about their desire for attention. In the San Francisco tech community, where people often claimed that status was based on an accomplishment like building a successful company or inventing a useful technology, “famewhoring” was considered distasteful and gauche. But in other communities, like the teen-targeted entertainment site Buzznet, the relentless self-promotion of self-styled models like Audrey Kitching and Raquel Reed was a normal and acceptable practice. The boundaries of micro-celebrity practice are very much contextualized by the scene that the person originates from, and can easily backfire.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 407