Addicted to Twitter: American Idol Judge Paula Abdul Resigns with a Tweet



2009 August, 5th
Liliana Dumitru-Steffens
Liliana Dumitru-Steffens

I woke up this morning, got my coffee, as usual, and opened the browser to read the news. The top title in my Google News recommended stories read: Paula Abdul’s Twitter Decision To Quit Idol. This, of course, was an unpleasant surprise: I hate to see Paula leaving the show. However, the Twitter aspect of the news made me realize once again just how powerful this social network has become!

It’s a shock to see an artist announcing such a life-changing decision on Twitter before anywhere else, but this confirms that somehow we are all “addicted” to social networking and that the Twitter “addictions” spread faster than any other trends.

What makes Twitter so appealing for artists like Paula Abdul? The possibility of sending the news to over 800000 fans at no cost, independent of other media and PR.

Paula Abdul Quits the Idol... on Twitter.

Twitter is a powerful tool – even more powerful than the traditional media. Paula Abdul gained with a tweet more free press than she could ever receive if a trained PR spoke for her. Of course, when the stars make ANY move the media responds. But without an important number of followers, wouldn’t Paula’s tweet go unnoticed? A powerful network is what makes a powerful message, and this is actually what Twitter is all about: influence and the power of the people.

About the Author

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Liliana Dumitru-Steffens is public relations consultant for Pamil Visions PR. She writes for Everything PR since January 2009. Previously she worked for My-tronic GmbH and Unilever Romania. Email Liliana at lsteffens [at] pamil-visions [dot] net.

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There Are 2 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Sean Hathaway on 6 August 2009:

    Paula was the second best judge for the sole reason that she has some semblance of a personality… now the show is going to be even more dependent on Simon

  2. Comment by mary wheeler on 8 August 2009:

    paula will you please return to idol, so help me i will quit watching the show if you don’t return, you are the a main wheel of the show it has got to have you.