Paris Hilton: Famous for being famous

It is strange how the hotel heiress Paris Hilton manages to grip people’s interest. She must own some of the qualities of Mr Bean or Matti Nykänen. Everyone loves watching a famous person that keeps on getting into weird and wonderful situations week after week.

We are living in the ‘economies of attention’, which is a rather complex phenomenon. Publicity is like an investment portfolio, which can be used to generate income in different ways. Product sponsorships, TV shows, taking part in politics, and so on. Could we say that any publicity really is good publicity?

I don’t think so. I think it’s wise to think twice where you show your face. The media can be extremely harsh, as you can see in the way in which Paris Hilton’s jail episode has been handled. “Being famous” is a dream for many. What I have gathered from some of my friends, who are often in the public eye, is that any sensible publicity is hard work. If you want to portray a sensible image of yourself in the media, you need to spend time planning what you say and do.

Publicity can be appealing, but it is not all fun and games as you might think from the outside. Unless you want to be Paris Hilton of course. But then again, you hardly assume your future as the owner of a hotel chain is taken very seriously either.

Published at 18:01

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