Redditor JesseB342 was eager to hear examples of when a tiny bit of internet fame resulted in an expanded ego, leading them to ask:
"What’s the smallest amount of internet fame / clout that you’ve seen go to someone’s head?'
Blink and you'll miss them.
"Friend was in a video at a car meet that went viral back say 2011-2012."
"He said like 8 words and couldn’t see him but you could hear him."
"He would go around telling people after he is 'famous' for being in a viral YouTube video."
"I was like 'if you have to announce you are famous, you might not be as famous as you think Broski'."- HoneyMussy4goodBoy
It made the movie!
"My dad's collection of vintage drinking glasses were used in 'The Mothman Prophecies'."
"His glasses made the movie much better.:
"Just ask him, he'll tell you."- cleonavarro
Anyone remember MySpace?
"I made a fairly successful MySpace type quiz once.'
'Over a million people took it. I put that on my resume.''- effieokay
Social Media Hearts GIF by Flamingo ServicesGiphy"Remember when I did that thing? No? Well, you should!"
"A guy from my hometown who was sort of a skeezeball helped some elderly folks escape a fire."
'The act itself was commendable and he deserved the recognition he received in local media and he went viral for a week or two."
'But uh….5 plus years after the fact he was still using that as a way to try to get out of tickets or being cut off at the local bars after refusing to pay tabs."
"My brother encountered his Instagram recently and his self-description says something like 'Unspoken hero, DM me for details."
"lmao.'- FartAttack911
Fame can't get you everything.
"I work for a company that books luxury travel, think $20,000 packages."
"A woman contacted us wanting a free trip in exchange for posting it on her blog, proudly proclaiming that she had 800 followers."
"My coworkers' dog photo account has more followers."- AnastasiaSheppard
Even if he's not wrong.
"That dude telling Keanu Reeves that he's breathtaking."
"He would later comment on other stuff whenever breathtaking was mentioned, as if he was the one that came up with the word and made it his thing."- Sir_MoonDoggy
Keanu Reeves Reaction GIFGiphyBig ego making up for other shortcomings?...
"The guy from TikTok dancing in that parade to 'I’m just thinking with my d*ck'.”
"He went home to Indianapolis and started doing meet and greets with people at local car dealerships lol."- jkaycola
It happens to the best of us...
"I entered a blog competition to my uni the summer before I started.'
"I won, and myself and two others were given a free laptop on the understanding we'd keep publishing blogs as 'Insiders' for the uni to use as a marketing tool."
"I put one up a week, and enjoyed it."
"They were decently entertaining and linked to on the uni website, but probably got no more than a few dozen reads."
"On my birthday a few months into the year the bouncers at a club wouldn't let me in as I appeared too drunk."
"I got into a pedantic argument with them about whether the pavement was public property or not, then shouted at them I was going to write about it in my Uni-sanctioned blog."
"I woke up hungover the next day and did not write about the incident in my uni-sanctioned blog."- Fascinatedwithfire
It's one way of putting yourself out there...
"Any amount of sound cloud rappers that get a few hundred views and a few mates gassing them up and think they've found their calling."
"Source, I have to produce them."
"Money is money tho."- EddieHxtler
urban hip hop GIFGiphyBad sportsmanship will never pay off...
"Back in the day when I played Wow there was a guy on my server who had a tiny amount of name recognition."
"He was good at the game and spent a lot of time and energy organizing things."
"People on the server knew him and would ask for his help, or show him deference in order to get his attention on things."
"One day he put together an optional raid and at the end of the raid a particularly rare item dropped."
"Instead of an open roll - which was the standard at the time - he simply gave the item to his friend."
'When people complained, he said something like, 'I'm so and so, I'm the most important raid leader on this server, you're all lucky to even be here right now, so shut up and deal with it'."
'Well screenshots were taken and links were sent around."
"Dude ended up transferring off the server less than a week later because nobody would give him the time of day."- shaidyn
Blatant breach of contract!
"I was working on a movie set a few years ago, and we had a few hundred extras, and I saw a lot of them, taking selfies, of a room, and posting that they were in a movie."
"Again, extra's, you rarely see a face."
"But part of this and what we make them sign is a paper stating that when they are on set they can not take pictures of any kind and if they do their phone will be wiped, as we of course do not want anything getting out."
" Well we caught 2 people doing it, removed them from the set, wiped their phone so they had an old 'new' phone."
"Now that was fun."
"Read what you sign people."- VivaLasVegasGuy
We Get It!!!
"My friend's minecraft meme template was used for about a month and a half on r/minecraftmemes, and he wouldnt shut up about it."- WolfReadsMemes·
Surprise Microsoft GIF by MinecraftGiphyAre there at least free doughnuts?
"The kid from my neighborhood is the Krispy Kream kid from Tosh.0."- ClenchedFart
Too famous for his own parents!
"That guy on Dr Phil who said he doesn’t speak to his own mother anymore because 'she’s not relevant' and 'won’t make him anymore famous',"
"The crowd boos him, only for him to claim 'maybe they’re irrelevant too'."
"While completely awful, it may have been slightly more understandable from someone Uber-famous."
"Thing is, nobody has ever heard of this kid."
"His identity is a complete mystery, but he claims it’s important enough that he doesn’t speak to his own mum."- joe282
Father knows best...
"My father (44 M[ale]) at the time, started a small YouTube to promote/share his hobbies with the world."
"Through making friends and connections his YouTube grew to a small following around 200 subscribers."
"He did a giveaway and all, and started to talk of meet and greets and meeting his 'fans'."
"This lasted no longer than a year."- chikenluver84
Proud Schitts Creek GIF by CBCGiphyYou liked me! You really liked me!
"One guy in my high school became the most selfish, arrogant and disrespectful person after he got 1.3k likes on a video."- entomology_fr3ak
Careful the things you boast about...
"I saw a person in a Facebook group comment on someone else’s post and brag that Ben Shapiro retweeted him."
"The opposite of clout."
"The group immediately kicked him out and started making memes about the guy."- ceweston
Fame can't be bought...
"14 Followers."
"Even though following over 250 herself."
"You could instantly see 25% of them were for sure bots."
"Wanted a free 3 course meal."
" Wine and all for 3 people, at first for free."
"Said the new guest who be swarming would easily make up for it."
"Boss ended up her allowing a 3 course meal, with a very large discount, just breaking even, with her and 2 others."
"Day and time arrives, and in walks a group of 8 people, all 'Important VIP' who decided to join."
"I've never seen such stuck up kids."
"In they end, boss gave them a finger, they wanted the whole hand."
"So they got a different finger instead."
"Out of curiosity while she was bickering, I ended up talking to 2 of the attachments."
"They said 'she asked us out for dinner here, said all expense paid on anything we wanted."
"Like she had something to celebrate."
"Except for one guy, no one was following her on instagram."- NotAPotatoCube
Mariah Carey Sunglasses GIFGiphyBribery only gets you so far
"I knew a guy, a real jacka**, who ran the biggest professional wrestling server on Discord."
"How did he accomplish this?"
He paid someone on Fiverr 20 bucks to fill the server with hundreds of bots."
"The percentage of real people in the server was probably 20% or less."- ChonkyBeagle
We all like being recognized for an accomplishment.
But rather than let fame get to our heads, it's important to use that fame for good.
Particularly if you can reach as many as 100 followers to make a difference.
I'm from Astoria, Queens. We have a lot of celebrities that were birthed there, and we have great pizza. But, it's a major part of New York City so... that all sounds generic. But I'm still proud.
Simply the Best
winning the best GIFGiphy"It was voted the happiest place to live in the UK three years in a row. I can't think why." ~ CswBizzel
Cheesy
"Every year we have a wheel of cheese roll down an incredibly steep hill with a bunch of people running down to chase after it. Loads of spectators, plenty of people getting hurt and it's just generally funny as hell to watch. Google Gloucester cheese rolling. Being able to say you charged down Cooper's Hill and lived to tell the tale is enough to make hearts skip a beat here. Plus the cheese is pretty good." ~ schofield101
Ohio
"A couple of years ago there was this small Chinese restaurant that was really popular. It was found out that the owners killed the daughter and hid the body in the ceiling above the freezer." ~ JohnXinaIceCream
"Canton, Ohio? Just looked up the story and the mother who killed her daughter seems an astonishing combination of psychopathic and stupid." ~ Harsimaja
Storms
"Getting hit by a big tornado. Xenia, Ohio." ~ darthjay81
"LOL I thought 'Xenia???' immediately. Then perhaps you might know mine, being known for the Potato Festival? :b I can only imagine there are many potato festivals out there so it probably doesn't mean much to redditors that don't live in this area." ~ Freohr-Datia
Canals
Busy Mickey Mouse GIF by Team TumultGiphy"The defunct coal/iron mining industry, along with the canals that used to connect them, AND also related the mining industry also the oldest functioning steam powered beam engine/ pump to still be in its original place." ~ chease86
Well my list of places to visit is growing. And my list of places to avoid is as well. Let's continue...
Stench
Ew Reaction GIF by BounceGiphy"Smelling really bad because of a leather tanning factory - Smellington. Being really warm - Hellington. And wine." ~ itsmuffintimei
radioactive...
"The biggest radioactive (not nuclear, different things) accident in the world. The whole city was under risk of radiation poisoning and a there was a stigma against my city that lasted till the 2000s (it happened in the 80s) Basically, some scrappers got into some abandoned hospital equipment, among them an X-ray machine, they broke the big box open and inside found this magical powder that glowed, Cesium-137."
"They took it home to show their family and friends, gifted it to some people, one of them gave it to his daughter and she played with it like it was glitter, some of them ate it. They washed it off their hands like you would anything else so it went down into the water supply of the city. You have an idea how it went down from there."
"That daughter that played with it died and was buried in a special lot with a lead coffin. The city was almost put under quarantine, military was deployed to contain it, football stadiums were turned into shelters and quarantine areas, took a big effort to clear it off from our water supply(I haven't looked into the specifics of it and I sure hope I haven't been drinking Cesium most of my life)." ~ Mon_erdon
tongue-in-cheek...
"Balloon-boy." ~ original_4degrees
"I'm not sure how to feel about it anymore. The Internet Historian did a couple videos about the whole thing and I initially thought it was tongue-in-cheek, but even if it was he brought up some interesting points that had me doubting the whole 'f**k his parents, horrible people that they are' thing." ~ daviepancakes
People Explain Which Movie Never Fails To Make Them Cry
People Explain Which Movie Never Fails To Make Them Cry
People talk about their go-to films for when they need to let some emotions loose.Hey Florida...
"The Gainesville Ripper, sadly." ~ ahoefordrphil
"Tom Petty is LIGHT YEARS more famous than that. Oh and a little band called Sister Hazel. Oh and a band called Less Than Jake. Oh and a guy named Don Felder or Bernie Leadon. Oh and Stephen Stills. Oh and maybe you’ve heard of Bo Diddley? Or a band called Against Me!? Or how’s about a little college called the University Of Florida?" ~ No_Aside_6730
Bashed
Tom Hanks Award GIF by American Film InstituteGiphy"The Black Panthers. Jonestown. Bash Brothers. Mc Hammer. TonyToni Tone. Jack London. Too $hort. Tom Hanks. Bruce Lee. Clint Eastwood. The Mai Tai." ~ KaiWren75
"Oakland... haven't thought of the Bash Brothers in years!" ~ Nobodyville
The Windy City
"Deep dish pizza, skyscrapers and A LOT of crime. If y'all were confused its Chicago lol." ~ tj2sweet
"I was there during this event once and it was insanity, there was a football game, a soccer game, and the Taste of Chicago all going on at the same time. I can say the food was good and my highlight was Exchequers for some deep dish."
"I don't know about the overpaying for stuff though cause we were there for my wife's family reunion and they rented Trinity College in Palos Heights (?) for like 4 days and we took the L train into actual Chicago, and only once (even though I wanted to explore more). The downtown reminds me of a less dark Gotham City." ~ McFryin
Buddy
"Where Buddy Holly is from." ~ TheLittleRedd
"Lubbock has no right to Buddy Holly, they didn't want him when he was alive. Clovis has more right because that's where he recorded at." ~ familyman121712
Fossils
Jurassic Park Dinosaur GIF by VidiotsGiphy"A unique stone that is made of fossilized coral that you can't find anywhere else in the world." ~ jaybonepanda91
"I was a 400 million year old relic of the Devonian. Now I'm a fridge magnet in the shape of Michigan." ~ Detroit_Guy
"I have a bracelet made of Petoskey stone. Pretty." ~ Powerful-Knee3150
Slender
"White slender legged cryptids with no torsos." ~ LemonSalted
"The video evidence for their existence was very quickly debunked. However, people still believe in them based on very similar looking statues made by the natives of the surrounding areas. It was probably the debunking though, they lost a lot of popularity after that. Fresno high five though. :D" ~ LemonSalted
The Battleground
"Battle of Chickamauga, the first internment camp for German-Americans during WWI, the end of the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862, and Dolly Parton eloped here. That's where I grew up. Ringgold." ~ ProbablyABore
Love Her
"One of the cool things to happen in my town is that Pocahontas used to live here. https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/news/article/176/a_royal_seal_of_approval_for_pocahontas_in_brentford." ~ jmsld_
"Oh that is cool. Isn"t she buried in gravesend?" ~ pragmageek
"Yes, St George's Church. But there was a fire and the church was destroyed. They rebuilt it, and so no-one knows the exact location of her grave." ~ jmsld_
Songbird
GIF by Dolly PartonGiphy"Dolly Parton. Born and raised here too! No family relation, but know several cousins and the previous pastors of their family church off Upper Middle Creek." ~ JPM092394
An Old Place
"A 10th century Norman Castle, a Knights templar caste, a church were 3 of the mayflower pilgrims came from (some guy called Sam Stone) we have George ezra, Rupert Grint and a man called Alfred Wallace who invented evolution with Charles Darwin, its a small town 26,000 people but people from here started a city in America named after there home town." ~ pillowcase99999
Yummy Town
"My hometown is the world headquarters and primary manufacturing site for one of the most well known manufacturers of deep fryers and pressure cookers. I worked at the KFC in town in my early 20's and we were basically a test kitchen for all of their new tech. We also supplied product to them so they could test in-house as well. Most KFC's and McDonald's use their deep fryers." ~ berserkr1979
Well, get me to Oakland.
As Adele personifies... "Hometown Glory" is always something to strive to have. The good, the bad and ugly.
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I'm Out
the good wife fight GIF by CBS All AccessGiphyDreamed of becoming lawyer, hated it, now in the process of changing careers. Been a lawyer for about 3 years. Prosecuted for the first two before jumping ship and doing 3rd party now. I am kind of lucky and didn't go into debt during undergrad/law school (GI Bill) its just a grind and I'm not happy so figure why not.
Canine Bond
During the day I walk dogs. I get paid money to hang out with dogs. I also get a fair amount of light exercise every day. I get to listen to music or podcasts or audiobooks while getting paid. I'm my own boss all day. I wake up when I want to. Dogs love me because they know I'm the guy coming to play and give treats. And at nighttime I deliver pizza. So I just show up to peoples houses and get cash for driving around listening to more music or podcasts or whatever. It's a great paying gig. And adults and children alike love when I come to the door. Because I'm the guy who gives treats.
It's a cycle of rewarding behaviors.
Edit: I should also note that the pizza gig has gotten me a few dog gigs because I'll meet their dog at the door or know how to handle it when it comes out barking at me and then offer my services. The dog usually loves me immediately because I smell like pizza. It's a win-win.
Walmart came for me....
I started a business, sold it to Walmart, and now I'm 33 and retired.
Started my business with $2k from a scholarship while in college, and at the time my mom said, "don't do it, that's too much money!"
Side note: we've always lived below the poverty line.
Made $869k in the first year, then exponentially grew from there. Then I guess Walmart thought I was encroaching on their space and bought me out.
Bought my mom a house and car and retired her as well. :)
Extreme Success
like a boss win GIFGiphyI didn't follow anything, but I have a family member who moved out to Hollywood from the Midwest on a whim, with the dream of becoming a stunt man, and is now a highly successful stuntman, and the richest person in our extended family by a massive margin.
So uh, follow your dreams I guess?
"screw it, this is my life not theirs"
For awhile I tried pursuing a number of career paths my parents deemed appropriate (aka super profitable), including legal and IT but I got burned out very easily and my heart wasn't in it. Was very depressed and uninterested in what I was doing.
Finally said "screw it, this is my life not theirs" and found a job that has more creative freedom. Definitely don't regret it. Doesn't pay as well as the jobs my parents wanted me to have, but I have less stress and more energy these days to pursue my interests and hobbies.
It's not my dream job but I make enough to pay all the bills and save a little each month, plus comes with health benefits.
Best piece of advice I ever got: if you are lucky enough to find a job that you get fulfillment and joy out of, that's great. There's also nothing wrong with getting a job that maybe isn't exciting but gives you enough financial security to be happy and keep following your dreams.
Always Chasing....
I remember being told when I was younger that I wasn't expected to be able to live independently (I have Aspergers). I live to prove that sentiment wrong: living an independent life is one step of my dream, with subsequent steps to become fulfilled.
Had some close calls over the years – almost ended up homeless twice – and suffered with a lot of mental illness. Worked a lot of crap jobs within the food industry, had a few failed relationships.
I've yet to find the fulfillment I am looking for, but for the first time in my adult life it feels reachable and realistic.
Now I'm chasing some sort of job in agriculture or horticulture. I've volunteered at a produce garden for just over a year now and being out in the open, amongst nature, makes me feel great.
Everyday Drag
I went through two tragedies... I lost my sister (she was murdered by her husband in front of me) and two weeks later, I lost my 5 month old son to SIDS; so I decided to pick myself up and follow my dream of wrenching. Went to college for it and everything! First worked on light duty vehicles, in a shop that I barely made any money and hated it.
Went onto being a diesel mechanic and currently am in a position of which everyone hates me (presumably because I'm still new, and I'm a woman in man's world) at my workplace, and I have no respect. Currently looking into finding a new career path to live out my true dream, of a happy, adventurous life with my SO and my dogs! Still employed, but everyday is a drag, because everything I do is scrutinized.
PR Fail
never mind GIF by Scout DurwoodGiphyMy dream was to grow up have a stable marriage and raise kids. While I do enjoy my job and I've successfully moved from one career to the next a few times I wouldn't say it was my "dream".
One of the saddest things to me is seeing people I worked with in advertising being so angry and feeling betrayed that that industry didn't take care of them. It is one of the crappiest most amoral businesses you can conceive of and yet apparently there are people who "dream" of working in it.
Go Seahawks!
I'm still young and trying to figure out what the hell I wanna do with my life but my cousin tried chasing an NFL contract, and actually landed one. He plays for the Seattle Seahawks now.
Just pick something obtainable and go for it. Don't over-think it. If you're young, you can always change course later.
Truth = Power
Happy Yes It Is GIFGiphy"Follow your dream!" is not good advice. "Follow your dream by learning as much about the process of becoming a success as you can so you don't become a failure!" is far, far better advice.
and I still play games.....
Living with my gamer wife in my own house with 3 cats and a sweet gaming pc. My dream was always to continue gaming online and working as little as possible. Family always saying to get a job and go out and find a GF but I didn't really enjoy clubs or pubs etc. Few years back I asked someone in my guild if she liked me and she said yes.
This got me to get a job and what was originally just something to get money turned out to be an awesome job and now she is living with me and are 1 year married. My dream wasn't something spectacular but my dream of gaming online turned into something awesome... and I still play games.
Not so Great
Season 5 Whatever GIF by CBS All AccessGiphySister got into her favorite college, moved to her favorite city, working at a job she always talked about growing up.
Honestly, I don't envy her at all. It broke her mentally and financially.
Starting Over
Dreamed of moving to Europe and starting over. I was really shy growing up, and wanted to move to a new country and reinvent myself. To some extent, I did. I moved to Germany, did a year at a Studienkolleg, which was essentially a preparatory course that got me used to the school system and taught me German, and now I'm applying to Uni. I essentially went from incredibly introverted to incredibly extroverted.
I went from the guy that would stay in on a Friday night to study for an upcoming exam to one that would book a joyride to Berlin on a whim and end up waking up in the wrong hostel. It was definitely a good decision, because I can decide things for myself now. I'm actually independent, for better or worse.
be creative
I finally published a number of fiction novels and still working EMS. I love emergency medicine. Being able to help people as well as share my creativity and stories is pretty amazing. I'm glad I chased what I wanted.
Broken
Wanted to be a teacher and make a difference. Now 2 years out of teaching, unemployed, getting over a drinking problem and have massive social anxiety. Teaching broke me and now I just want to be left alone. Some dream, huh?
The Stage
daveed diggs hamilton GIFGiphyI'm currently (well before Covid) performing on cruise ship as a dancer on huge scale shows! It's amazing that I get to do the thing in life that I'm most passionate about and travel across Europe all while getting paid for it. It's also great that I don't have to house in the UK as my contracts are normally 4 months on 2 months off (I stay with my parents or rent when I'm off)! I'm living out my childhood dream and I'm also recording self tapes for west end shows!
Relationships...
My first dream was to be married to someone who challenges me to do better every day.
Married now, and don't need a job now because my husband has a well enough paying job so now I can work on my mental health while getting my crafting business off the ground and not worry about paying bills,
THOUSANDS OF BOXES
I invested my savings and retirement into starting a company, made a massive deposit with an Indian manufacturer, they developed and produced my product...
Now they won't send it to me because they are mad I got mad they wouldn't send it to me so now they won't send it. They sent a hundred boxes (only) and photos so yes the product exists and is ready to ship. Of course they want more money which I don't owe them.
How can I owe/pay them more money if I can't sell the THOUSANDS OF BOXES of product they refuse to send me?!!? They are being fools out of spite because I got mad they were being uncooperative... because they messed up prior shipments too (samples delayed for months, he ghosted me for two weeks, constant lying...)
Yes. So now everything lays around me in tatters and... WTF am I supposed to do?
Things that Sparkle....
I dreamed of being a jeweler since i was 16... I became One. But i am One of those people, who hate to sell... I love making, creating, sometimes getting peoples dreams come true. But i hate and even physically can't do marketing if selling... For The past 8years i managed to survive in that. I could feed myself and pay my bills. But that was that... Finally Covid hit, I got dumped in two months unpaid holidays with no savings.
And i made up my mind. Į found myself some simple, medium wage computer job from home, working 2 twelve hour days and getting 2 days off. I'm gonna keep jewelry as a hobby, put more time for my other art projects and just survive on a stable salary. Flipped my life in the past month... Panic attacks stopped, so I'm fine now and will see where ill end up. Art is almost never a good carrier plan, but is perfect hobby.
Catching babies....
baby documentary GIF by SundanceNOW DocClubGiphyI followed my dreams to become a midwife. Now I'm entering my second year of school and I'll be catching babies this winter. It hasn't been easy and the program is tough. I can't believe I made it this far. The hardest part is the school admission. The program is cutthroat and really competitive.
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