I am quite busy in my world so all of this hoopla surrounding Mr. Sheen is something which is occurring at the periphery of my daily life. It is a headline which my eye glances over from time to time as I go about my business so in the grand scheme of things, this is more of the background noise as opposed to something which is truly important. Nevertheless, we collectively do enjoy our entertainment which sometimes consists of the unusual, the bizarre, or the train wreck of a life: there but for the grace of God go I.
Internship
At the beginning of March, Mr. Sheen with great fanfare announced the search for a summer intern who would assist Team Sheen in managing its ever-growing social media presence. The hiring of Internship.Com kicked off a contest which involved an application of just 75 characters.
One million Twitter followers in just over 25 hours launched Charlie Sheen into the record books. Now, you can keep #tigerblood on top by applying for the Charlie Sheen Internship.
This afternoon, Sheen tweeted to the world that he’s seeking a social media intern to help him monitor trends in the Twitterverse and manage logistics for a number of upcoming online projects this summer, with the ultimate goal of expanding his already astronomical presence on the Web. Candidates must apply at this contest link between now and Friday, March 11 at midnight, and describe in just 75 characters why they’re the best candidate for the job.
The gig itself will last for eight weeks this summer, and we’re glad to see Sheen’s sharing the wealth by making it a paid internship. What can you accomplish in eight weeks? Stop for a moment and consider that at the time of this posting, the actor has only been on Twitter for six days.
In that time, Sheen has proven to be a social media genius. His Twitter feed has produced an incredible number of trending topics that have seeped into the pop culture lexicon — #winning, #planbetter and #tigerblood, to name a few.
Social media management is one of the most rapidly expanding job fields for college graduates, and the responsibility of helping manage communication for the Internet’s most talked-about man would be massive career launcher. If you love being part of the conversation, head to the application page – and buckle up for what is very obviously the internship of the year.
It seems rather appropriate that to apply for a job about Twitter, you need to tweet your application. Is this ironic or actually pertinent?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
For some odd reason, today's papers had a number of stories of various people who applied for this position and are vying for the coveted summer role of making Sheen's name even greater in social media. CTV ran an article this morning about a morning news anchor at a Barrie, Ont., radio station who says she's ready to pack her bags for Hollywood for the eight-week gig. Lyndsey Vanstone, 25, has jumped on the publicity bandwagon along with another 2,832 Canucks in a total of 82,000 people from 181 countries who hoping to become the "TigerBloodIntern!". Vanstone has now created a Facebook page, "Help Vanstone Become Charlie Sheen's Intern", to drum up support for herself. I'm not sure how this contributes to her chances of being picked but what the heck? This is all about publicity!
The Londoner talks about 22-year-old Phil Pallen, a recent University of Western Ontario graduate, who is also going for gold by trying to get into Charlie's good graces. The paper quotes Pallen as saying, "Certainly, people have their opinions about Charlie Sheen, and I've had friends discourage me from proceeding with this. Will this jeopardize opportunities? I don't think it will. I think it will actually create more opportunities and it should – not because of the association with Charlie Sheen – but because of how I'm approaching it."
Pallen has created a web site www.tigerbloodphil.com to promote himself and hopefully #win the day. "I think (Sheen) is brilliant … there's got to be something said for that. Opinions aside, look at the power of social media. There's a huge opportunity there to actually have something really good come out of it."
Just what are we talking about?
As I peruse the paper this morning about this entire hubbub, my brow furrows, I have a perplexed look, and I ask myself just what are we talking about here? The Middle East is undergoing dramatic change. Japan is facing its worst disaster. Canada is going to the polls for a national election. Just what is this Charlie Sheen story jamming up the airwaves?
In my blog My 15 Minutes, I jokingly talk about my turn on bat. Yes, the whole stadium is watching me and am I now going to whack it out of the park or am I going to be soon walking back to the dugout, my head held low, humiliated at being struck out? That is the crux of the matter. I would hope that when my turn comes for 15 minutes, if my turn comes for 15 minutes, it would be for something noble, worthwhile, something about which I would want to brag to Mom and Dad. I would not want my 15 minutes to be for something of a dubious worth, something stupid or for that matter, something downright criminal. Stupid? Come to think of it, isn't this what the Jackass movies are about? (see my Movie Review: Jackass 3D) How about Donna Simpson, a New Jersey housewife who has given herself the personal and very dubious goal of becoming the world's fattest woman? (see my blog My 15 minutes of fat)
On the other hand - and this makes me chuckle - anybody is going to point out that Charlie Sheen is a millionaire with the potential of making millions more. Who the heck am I? Good point and a point which makes me laugh. Fame and fortune win the day. It doesn't matter who you are and what you do; at the end of the day, if you've got a mansion and all the toys, you win. [sigh] I guess you can't argue with that, can you? Hmmm, when I think about it, no matter who you are or what you do, we could always make the argument that it's all about selling yourself and if you can in the bigger picture turn yourself into a brand, a marketable commodity, why not? Go for the gusto. I should stand on a roof waving a machete. (picture; video)
The original application (the process is now closed) gave as a job description:
Do you have #TigerBlood? Are you all about #Winning? Can you #PlanBetter than anyone else? If so, we want you on #TeamSheen as our social media #TigerBloodIntern!
This unique internship opportunity will allow a hard-working, self-motivated, creative, resourceful and social media savvy individual to work closely with Charlie Sheen in leveraging his social network. The internship will focus on executing a social media strategy that will build on the success Charlie Sheen has attained in setting the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to reach one million followers on Twitter. The #TigerBloodIntern is expected to be proactive, monitor the day-to-day activities on the major social media platforms, prepare for exciting online projects and increase Charlie’s base of followers.
You will learn how to promote and develop the social media network of Hollywood’s most trending celebrity.
Final Word
Certainly Charlie has momentum right now. I guess the funny thing is whether or not he can keep this up and generate something beyond just the buzz. As TV's highest paid actor, he was pulling in $1.8 million per episode. If he doesn't get back to the show, just how is he going to generate that kind of income? More "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option" Tours? At the end of the day, once we've garnered the buzz, we have to deliver. Yes, we have to deliver the goods or the public is going to quickly get bored and move on. And that ain't #winning.
References
official web site: Charlie Sheen
Twitter: Charlie Sheen
Facebook: Charlie Sheen
Internship: Charlie Sheen Internship – Are You #Winning?
The official application
Facebook: Help Vanstone Become Charlie Sheen's Intern
Phil Pallen: TigerBloodPhil
2011-03-29
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