The internet has changed everything! The price of entry into celebritydom is negligible. All it takes today is a camera phone/webcam? Sometimes not even that... just a friend with a camera phone/webcam.
I have always believed the one and only thing that most humans are scared of is being irrelevant, being nobody, being forgotten.
Together these make a potent combination.... Be a celebrity, be a "Jackass" or be nobody?
Marketers have tapped this potent combination to engage consumers in any and every which way.
An interesting article in this morning's bandchannel.com post - The Fanatic: A Brand's Best Friend? & a paper that supports the argument with a consciousness that comes from the consumers trust and faith in your brand - Social Brand Capital.