Well, if there is one thing that Ashley Durpe’s fame has shared with other internet sensations, it seems that being short-lived is it.
According to AdAge (via SAI):
“Scandalites before her have certainly leveraged their notoriety into Jenny Craig endorsement deals; their own reality series; handbag lines; jeans commercials; guest turns on shows from “The View” to “Judge Judy”; and, in the case of Paris Hilton, renown for nothing other than being famous.
But extending Ms. Dupré’s moment into a real run in the spotlight is getting tougher with every passing day. Even the $1 million payout offered by Hustler could evaporate if “Girls Gone Wild” and others keep turning up pre-existing nude images of Ms. Dupré.”
Sure, it doesn’t help her that she was already pretty, well, exposed, prior to her fame-blip and it also doesn’t seem as though she has let anyone step in and try to maximize her returns. At the same time I think there will be some non-web related opportunities out there including book deals and the like.
If she actually avoids getting herself tied to a bunch of sleezy projects right off the bat she might even be able to emerge from this with some sort of legit singing/acting career – that is if she has any talent to back up her notoriety. Stranger things have definitely happened in Hollywood.
Silicon Valley Insider points to an article in the NY Post (classy rag) that runs some of the numbers on Ashley “Spitzer’s Girl” Dupree. Among other amounts of note, they believe she has already earned over $200,000 is music sales alone!
While this is certainly interesting, I thought this quote from SVI was worth a second look:
“The downside: Her new business success will make her ineligible for further representation by her public defender. Also, the 22-year old will be besieged by reps, managers, advisors, acquaintances, and agents of all types, some of whom will no doubt persuade her that she can’t afford not to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. In the moment, this will seem like pennies, but if her career trajectory follows that of other instant web stars, will soon leave her penniless again.”
Is Ashley a “web star?” She certainly didn’t make a name for herself due to behavior on the web. Sure, the web is the channel through which she is able to cash in on her current fame but the web had nothing to do with making her famous in the first place.
Of course, the fact that she had established a presence on the web prior to her, um, breakthrough, didn’t hurt. That’s a good lesson for all of us. You never know when you might be able to cash in on you online presence. Be prepared.
CNet has coverage of the SXSWi’s “Internet Fame” panel:
“Pretty much any group, or any community, no matter how big or small, has a kind of hierarchy,” Marwick explained. It’s not evil, she said. “That’s just a normal way that people organize themselves.” The Web is no exception. ”
The notion of “internet fame” is definitely a big one in terms of how that corresponds with monetizing one’s presence.
Tilzy has a look at minor-internet-celeb Sarah Meyers and her new daily webshow Pop17.
“The daily, two- to three-minute show explores the cultural phenomenon that’s made Sarah’s career — micro-celebrity on the internet. ”
I took a look at it myself and I’ve gotta say it is totally promising. Sort of like the kid doing the vlog about World of Warcraft, this is not going to be a show for everyone, and that’s sort of the point.
As Sarah demonstrates in the first episode, many of the names and personalities I think of as “big” aren’t even known to the general public. Sure, some of them will cross over (she points out Tila Tequila) but many others will remain the internet version of “huge in Japan.”
Good luck Sarah!
I’ve mentioned before that I think one of the next big things will be anonymity. However, this campaign against Scientology is not quite what I meant. If you haven’t been following this, there is a very good recap over at NewTeeVee.
What is most surprising about this group is how much mainstream media attention they have generated. It will be interesting to see if this is something they are able to sustain or if it is really just another example of 15 seconds of internet fame.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ&rel=1]
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March 25, 2008 3:26 pm | 
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