New Media Self Promotion & the Real Housewife

Last night's season five premiere of Bravo's hit reality television show The Real Housewives of Orange County prompted me to to extend my case study on the Web Celebrity, and to show how the stars of the show have used New Media, specifically Social Networking Sites like Facebook and Twitter, to their advantage. For those of you living under a rock, I'll give you a little background on the Real Housewives franchise. The "Real Housewives of.." is a reality television show depicting the lavish and dramatic lives of groups of women in Orange County, Atlanta, New York and New Jersey. The show has garnered record-breaking ratings for Bravo and will continue to expand in the future with new installments popping up constantly. There is even a rumored Real Housewives of Washington DC reportedly being cast right now.

This show has catapulted a number of women from somewhat obscurity to pretty substantial fame. It is important to note that the television show has not been the only vehicle the women have used to achieve this fame, each housewife maintains a Facebook profile and Twitter account to sustain and expand their ever-growing fan bases. The SNS medium has become especially important to the cash-strapped housewives featured in the RHOOC. The medium, specifically Facebook and Twitter, has acted as a new vehicle for the Housewives to attempt to maintain their lavish lifestyles hit hard by economic downturn our nation is experiencing. Here are a couple examples:

Former real estate power-broker Jeana Keough's business has plummeted in the past year. Keough has resorted to Facebook to hawk various endorsement deals with brands like BriteAge, and Duzoxin. Keough constantly updates her Facebook and Twitter statuses promoting her use of the products and encouraging others to try them themselves. Facebook has also proved to be a legitimate medium for re-connecting with old friends, as Keough noted on her Bravo blog that a high school friend contacted her through her page and offered to pay for Keough's daughter Kara's summer classes.

Housewife Tamra Barney's finances have also seen better days, as the Barneys are currently listing their OC mansion at a significantly lower price than what they paid for it. Barney has utilized her Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote her new website to her 5,000 Facebook friends and over 8,000 Twitter followers.

Although housewife Vicki Gunvalson is still flush with cash, she uses her Facebook and Twitter accounts to expand her budding Insurance business, and her line of denim. The accounts are also ways to promote her various public appearances. Gunvalson uses her Facebook account to connect with fans, going so far as to recruit employees and clients.

As our country faces difficult economic times, it will be interesting to see how social networking sites are utilized even more in the future as a sources of income and in ways to promote various business ventures.