Imagine for a second you’re with your friends (post-pandemic of course) – your phone dings, and it’s a text from your idol. The good news?
This can actually happen.
You’ve probably seen a celebrity or two asking you to text them.
These stars share a ‘Community’ via an app of that title, which is being reported “as the future of how celebrities will interact with their fans online.”
The service provides them with an app-specific phone number – so no, it’s not their personal phone number, and it’s not an invasion of their privacy. But what about yours?
The whole thing really launched last number when actor/entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher tweeted out ‘his phone number.’ Its (319) area code was very believable as it links to the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Kutcher’s hometown.
Emmy nominee Kerry Washington told FastCompany she prefers the platform, as it “feels more direct.”
“I’m not reliant on advertisers or algorithms. Nobody’s navigating this communication or filtering it. That feels really important. That transparency is what’s so attractive.”
Washington is referring to a time she hit up the group text for some help with travel troubles.
Just text me it’s easier. +1 (319) 519-0576
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) July 23, 2019
The actress had a full day of promoting her then-latest film during a quick trip to Canada. She was really hoping to grab a green juice on a tight schedule – instead of going the Google route, Washington texted fans in the Toronto area.
Sadly, many stars are turning it into just another mailing list. Diddy is not one of them. Like Washington did, the rapper/mogul told The Oprah Magazine he would “be able to hit you directly” when in your city.
“I will be answering people, accepting résumés, giving information for parties,” he said.
Favs like Alex Rodriguez, Sophia Bush, Julianne Hough, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Mandy Moore, and Ryan Seacrest are just a few names you can add to your contacts. But don’t get your hopes too high on building a real relationship – the conversation is probably going to be one-sided.
Someone described Community as being “Twitter with more steps,” which really isn’t wrong – because, like the social network, it’s rare you’ll even get a response.
In other words: Texting with Diddy’s peers doesn’t happen very often.
The New York Times flat out said “Community is largely a one-way interaction.”
“While you can respond to incoming texts, it’s unclear whether or not the celebrity will see it given the volume of messages they are likely receiving.”
Supermodel Karlie Kloss cleared things up less than a month later. Apparently, someone just knew she would leave them read.
“Texted you back,” she said in response. The original reply is no longer visible, but other tweets were also less-than keen on Kloss’ involvement.
“Karlie,” one wrote, “stop with this scam.”
On the bright side, the app says they’ll never share ads or sell your personal information – so it’s only risky if you fear celebri-jection.
