Twitter is a great platform where people can interact with one another and instantly share their thoughts and ideas with the world. In the article “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter”, Alice Marwick and Dana Boyd describe celebrity twitter use as an “ongoing maintenance of a fan base, performed intimacy, authenticity and access, and construction of a consumable persona” (Marwick and Boyd 140). In a world filled with many celebrities, Twitter, and social media in general, has allowed the average person to get a closer look and stay updated to things going on in their favorite public figures lives.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has become a popular public figure in recent years due to his futuristic business ventures. As a businessman, Elon uses twitter to keep his followers updated and informed about his various companies, notably his electric car company, Tesla and space transport company SpaceX. The majority of Musk’s tweets revolve around promoting his companies and sharing his thoughts and future plans for them. Musk often retweets or tweets articles about the successes of Tesla, like how Tesla's Model X won AAA's Green Car Guide and articles about the company's financial success. He also updates his followers on goals and plans for his companies like time frames and release dates on certain projects.
Although celebrities may not reply to every tweet from their followers, Twitter has also given people the opportunity to communicate with these celebrities directly. “Celebrity practitioners use public acknowledgment, in the form of @replies, to connect with others. Fans @reply to famous people not only in the hope of receiving a reply, but to display a relationship, whether positive or negative. If fans receive @replies back, they function as a mark of status and are publicized within the fan community (Marwick and Boyd 145). Elon Musk makes an effort to respond to his followers every once in a while, whether he is replying to a supporter or a critic. One instance where he responded to a follower was when a father tweeted Elon a letter from his daughter regarding an idea she came up with for a fan-made commercial contest for Tesla. Musk quoted the tweet saying it was a great idea and that he would use it.
Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd. “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter.” Convergence 17.2 (2011): 139-58. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. PDF
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