Twitter is getting some serious celebrity support in the UK at present, with a number of high-profile figures (mainly from popular TV and radio shows) now using the microblogging service.
The likes of Stephen Fry, Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand, Philip Schofield, Alan Carr and Andi Peters are definitely confirmed, while Adrian Edmonson, Rik Mayall and a host of others are either unconfirmed (by me, anyway) or are impostors (update: the “RikMayall” account is fake). (Apologies to non-UK readers who may never have heard of many of these names)
Therein lies one problem: plenty of people are happy to set up “fake” accounts and pretend to be a particular celebrity. Presumably it gives them some kind of buzz, and it’s much easier to fool at least a small number of fans online that in real life.
The other problem is that of legitimate but compromised accounts, with the latest controversy surrounding Kanye West who claims that his Twitter account was hacked.
Cyber-squatting on a Twitter account is even easier than on a domain name and it could prove to be a real headache for stars and their agents. One solution — and one that comes more easily to public figures — is to publicise your online presence in other places that are much harder to fake, such as TV and radio.
What do you think of celebrities using Twitter? Will it help Twitter go mainstream?
