I read the wiki and a few articles about it a while ago when I saw the video that brought attention to the app:
https://youtu.be/od7P-RhLjLQ
I don’t think the wiki or any articles I read seem misleading. I understand that he did not personally set any of this up, but having a separate app where people pay money to interact with you seems like shitty behavior for a celeb who is already beyond rich. I’m not saying it’s as bad as a crypto rug pull, but it’s giving similar energy. Clearly there are some people who were getting something out of the app, but it feels kind of predatory. If he wanted super fans to keep up with him he can just send out a newsletter. I get notifications when certain people I follow are touring near me and it doesn’t require a special app. I would probably feel differently if he put a lot of effort into engaging with fans there but it would still feel tainted with the fact that some people are spending money with the hope he’ll notice them.
It’s like having a patreon with no actual perks. If Taylor swift or timothee chalamet made a patreon and you could maybe get some nebulous benefit from joining I would think that’s also shitty behavior. It’s not illegal, and I understand that in theory the app was free, but the conceit is to make money off these parasocial relationships with you and it’s just gross imho. At least with merch or patreon subs you know what you’re paying for. I highly doubt he was even the one responding to most super fans seeing as most posts were copy/pasted from other social media platforms. He probably had some doing it for him.
I read the wiki and a few articles about it a while ago when I saw the video that brought attention to the app: https://youtu.be/od7P-RhLjLQ
I don’t think the wiki or any articles I read seem misleading. I understand that he did not personally set any of this up, but having a separate app where people pay money to interact with you seems like shitty behavior for a celeb who is already beyond rich. I’m not saying it’s as bad as a crypto rug pull, but it’s giving similar energy. Clearly there are some people who were getting something out of the app, but it feels kind of predatory. If he wanted super fans to keep up with him he can just send out a newsletter. I get notifications when certain people I follow are touring near me and it doesn’t require a special app. I would probably feel differently if he put a lot of effort into engaging with fans there but it would still feel tainted with the fact that some people are spending money with the hope he’ll notice them.
It’s like having a patreon with no actual perks. If Taylor swift or timothee chalamet made a patreon and you could maybe get some nebulous benefit from joining I would think that’s also shitty behavior. It’s not illegal, and I understand that in theory the app was free, but the conceit is to make money off these parasocial relationships with you and it’s just gross imho. At least with merch or patreon subs you know what you’re paying for. I highly doubt he was even the one responding to most super fans seeing as most posts were copy/pasted from other social media platforms. He probably had some doing it for him.