Is small the new big? Are niches the new centers of power? Have we gone from Warhol's famous for 15 minutes to Clay Shirky's famous to 15 people to famous to 50,000 people'? This presentation examines these questions with specific reference to the micro-stars of YouTube, blogs, and Twitter, whose fame has been facilitated by open and ubiquitous digital media platforms. As we now live in a world where celebrity is not something only consumed by us, but also manufactured by us, the presentation explores how, why, and to what extent, we the people contribute to its construction.
