MC Hammer – Wack Internet Celeb Or Too Legit To Quit?

The last time MC Hammer toured Australia it was the early 90’s, Hammer Pants were all the rage, and I had ambitions of being just like his arch-enemy Vanilla Ice.

Almost two decades on, Hammer (can I call you that, MC?) is returning to our southern shores, this time not as a performing star but as an Internet star. His social dancing startup, DanceJam, will soon be acquired for $3 Million if you believe the rumours and, according to WeFollow, he is the 34th most popular person on Twitter with over 1.6 Million followers.

Hammer is coming to Australia to launch the new Xbox exclusive karaoke title Lips: Number One Hits. The game features his chart topping smash hit ‘U Can’t Touch This‘.  He’s also going to be demonstrating the new Xbox Twitter feature.

On top of that, he’ll be attending the Social Media Club, Sydney, event on November 10th. Social Media Club Sydney is the largest SMC chapter in the world, so it’s good to see him speaking, particularly considering he has become somewhat of an expert on the subject including doing talks at Harvard Business School.

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All this talk of Hammer as Internet star has got me thinking, though. How did Hammer, Ashton Kutcher and other celebs become experts on social media?

And reading some of Ross Dawson’s fantastic work on Influence has raised more questions: Is social media just a new space for those who already have influence beyond their ability (a generalisation of the modern celebrity) to further extend their breadth and depth of reach? Or is the social web transformative in the sense that it allows those who ought to influence to finally have their voice heard?

It’s a shame Hammer can’t find time for a 1-on-1 interview with me while here in Australia, because, outside of kicking his ass in a sing and dance off,  I’d like to ask him some of these questions in person. My feeling is that his answers would determine his true place as a social media expert.