As easy as 1, 2, 3

Why are social networks so great? Because you can make loads of money and become famous...easy as 1, 2, 3!

Here is the game plan:

1: Join a social networking site
2: ?
3: Make MONEY!!!

How easy was that?

Simple right? However, what if the fame you gain can one day come back to haunt you? What if your notoriety is not what you would want your spouse or children to see? What if your fame actually hinders your potential for employment? (I've always wondered what happens to these reality "stars" once the cameras are turned off. Seriously, are any of the individuals from "Rock of Love Bus" or even "The Bachelor" employable?)

Alas, back to the point at hand. If you have a niche you can become famous...or infamous. Below is an example of how one person became famous for her blog, a story (and link) to a video of a class on becoming famous, and an individual who I think will find a book deal from his Tweets.

In 2002, blogger Julie Powell's challenged herself to cook all the recipes in Julia Child's first book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Her blog grew in popularity and Mrs. Powell was given a book deal. Next, her story was given a movie contract. Yes, there were some changes to the book, the screen writers added Julia Child to their version. However, the world still got to see and learn the story of two famous women; Julie Powell, played by Amy Adams, and Julia Child, played by Meryl Streep in the movie "Julie & Julia".

Congrats to Mrs. Powell.

Here is a link to a video from youtube that discusses a course called Internet Famous. In it, a college professor explains that the course grade depends solely on the number of hits the students get on their social networking sites. The clip features a student named Andrew who discusses his method of becoming famous, doing silly pranks such as riding a bike through Manhattan in just a thong or dressing as a banker and begging for money outside of the NY Stock Exchange. Sure, the pranks are funny...but what can he do with that fame if it comes? How can he use his skills to find a career? And can his pranks come back to haunt him in the future? Maybe we'll never know.

What scares me most about this video is that the instructor encourages and advises the student to continue. Has our society gone daft? How is it that "fame" comes from acting like a fool, releasing scandalous tapes, or being "over the top". Do something that gets reactions, make sure its video taped, post the video, and get others to talk about it on their social network sites.

Finally, I want to call your attention to a Twitter account. I honestly think this guy will someday get a book deal (if he hasn't already). I don't know his name, or where he lives...but he (and his father) may be geniuses. The author to the Twitter is a 29 year old male who lives with his 73 year old Father and simply tweets the "sh!t" his Dad says.

I must warn you: There is vulgarity in nearly ALL of his Tweets. But, if you can handle the profanity just enough to look deeper into the account you will notice that the first tweet was written on August 3rd...as of this evening (Sept 24th), the author has accrued over 279,000 followers. If he has that many people noticing his account in only a month and a half, how many people will be following his tweets in 6 months (if he can keep up his tweets)? I'd think someone would end up giving him a book deal...don't you?