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Reasons not to become famous

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Re: Reasons not to become famous

#381

Post by brisavion »

ghaff wrote: post #286
ruminasean wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was surprised too. It's a variety of "I need X to speak at my charity event," "hey can you give X my contact info," "here's my nude selfie and my number, please tell X," to "X is impersonating himself on social media and swindled me out of thousands of dollars, I'm going to report you and everyone else." Ironically, being relatively faceless has burned me as well. I have a fairly common name, so when someone else w…

The worst is probably having a somewhat unusual name that overlaps with a notorious person who could at least plausibly (especially to somewhat off-kilter randos) possibly be you. I went to school with someone who shared a name with an individual who is in a high-profile public legal spat in NY involving another high-profile NY personality. (Not going to say who or you can figure out the name with modest Google-fu.)…

Ever seen The Big Lebowski?

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#382

Post by anhner »

cantrevealname wrote: post #344

A common assumption is rich famous. Obviously, famous doesn't imply rich because someone could be, say, a notorious criminal and be poor. But it's quite amazing the degree to which you can be rich, super rich , but still be anonymous. Even in today's world. I remember reading one of Forbes' annual listings of the world's billionaires in which they tried to include a photo of everyone in the top couple hundred. Astoni…

I read "no photo" as "paid not to have their photo included"

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#383

Post by dx034 »

cantrevealname wrote: post #344

A common assumption is rich famous. Obviously, famous doesn't imply rich because someone could be, say, a notorious criminal and be poor. But it's quite amazing the degree to which you can be rich, super rich , but still be anonymous. Even in today's world. I remember reading one of Forbes' annual listings of the world's billionaires in which they tried to include a photo of everyone in the top couple hundred. Astoni…

It's interesting that the ones without photos in the top seem to be all Germans. So there seems to be some cultural aspect to it.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#385

Post by hycaria »

ruminasean wrote: post #213
rootusrootus wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised a photographer would be such a target, even if they identify themselves with a well-known (and somewhat controversial, I suppose) figure. TIL! Reading stories like this just makes me that more determined to never be well-known. Not that I'm in any particular danger of that, mind you, but still...

I was surprised too. It's a variety of "I need X to speak at my charity event," "hey can you give X my contact info," "here's my nude selfie and my number, please tell X," to "X is impersonating himself on social media and swindled me out of thousands of dollars, I'm going to report you and everyone else." Ironically, being relatively faceless has burned me as well. I have a fairly common name, so when someone else w…

I wonder, why the clean up and banning ?

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#386

Post by hycaria »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #241
tazjin wrote: post #43

I opened this on a computer without an adblocker installed (yeah, my mistake), and a minute or so into reading the article it suddenly pops up a full-screen ad to buy this guy's book. That's on the same level of annoying as autoplaying videos imo.

Yes. Sometimes I like what Tim writes, but his marketing tactics on the website and elsewhere are really bad and annoying. Tim, if you're reading this: please consider a different approach. You're rich and famous, you don't need the extra $$ of a slightly better conversion rate.

What if it's the team working on this that's looking for a better conversion rate ?

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#387

Post by refurb »

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #326
scottlocklin wrote: post #230

Funny I'm just a sometime blogger and I used to get weirdos finding my house and sending me handwritten letters. At one point I was tied up with one of Steven Spielberg's schizophrenic stalkers because of some dipshit I argued with on Usenet to pass time in grad school. Now I got my face on a fairly well known startup, which means various 3rd world places I enjoy are non-starters without having actual security precau…

I've always been curious about traveling while famous. You generally have to show a passport at airports, hotels, etc.. So I always wondered how famous people moved around with any kind of annonimity. Surely a fake passport is far too risky for legal reasons? Yet it would solve a lot of their problems when combined with sunglasses and a cap... I guess what I'm asking is, what would be the "riskiest" country that you…

Have a personal assistance book hotel under their name and check in for you?

Airport is more difficult, but I assume the information is harder to get at (at least in developed nations). Otherwise, don’t fly commercial airlines? Charter a jet?

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#388

Post by 1337biz »

dragonwriter wrote: post #218
JKCalhoun wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What can you achieve with fame that you cannot achieve with money alone? Reaching a larger audience.

> > What can you achieve with fame that you cannot achieve with money alone? > Reaching a larger audience. Money alone can do that; all fame does is make it more likely than someone else (or multiple people) substitutes their money so you don't need your own. But then, money can also buy fame pretty easily, so if fame did allow something directly that money did not directly, money would still be sufficient.

We are currently witnessing this experiemnt play out in the real world. Let's see in how far Bloomberg is able to buy a larger audience for his campaign.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#389

Post by adventured »

throw18374 wrote: post #279
cletus wrote: post #195

So I only see three reasons to be famous: 1. The attention and adulation is your drug. I think there's no shortage of people who fall into this category. 2. To convert that fame into opportunities you wouldn't otherwise have; and 3. To convert that fame into money. Obviously if you're just plain rich then (3) is moot. If you fall into (1) then money can buy you fame to a degree. So that leaves (2). Wealth will give y…

Isn’t it possible to become a billionaire without anyone knowing? What if you just get there quietly through private investment? Not a billion, but I’ve built up a decent chunk myself and nobody seems to know or even suspect that about me. Nobody begs me for anything more than spare change, no sycophants, nobody trying to impress me. Marketing for luxury goods doesn’t even reach me. I could easily see myself reaching…

> Isn’t it possible to become a billionaire without anyone knowing?

Yes, it's possible to do it quasi-quietly. This optometrist did exactly that.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2019/02/19/the-great...

https://outline.com/9H4YAb

"Optometrist Herb Wertheim may be the greatest individual investor the world has never heard of, and he has the Fidelity statements to prove it. Leafing through printouts he has brought to a meeting, you can see hundreds of millions of dollars in stocks like Apple and Microsoft, purchased decades ago during their IPOs. An $800 million-plus position in Heico, a $1.8 billion (revenue) airplane-parts manufacturer, dates to 1992. There are dozens of other holdings, ranging from GE and Google to BP and Bank of America."

"The Microsoft shares he bought during the IPO, which have been paying dividends since 2003, are now worth more than $160 million. His 1.25 million shares of Apple, some purchased during its 1980 IPO and some when the stock was languishing at $10 in the 1990s, are worth $195 million."

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#390

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

sifar wrote: post #376
cramey wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alright, I'll bite. How do you feed and shelter people without feeding and sheltering them?

It means enabling them to do it themselves and not make them dependent on someone's aid. Creating such an environment and opportunities, bootstrapping them so to speak.

You mean by creating an economy where everyone is paid sanely, instead of an economy geared to moving wealth from people who don't have it to people who do?
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