I've been thinking about this for a bit and wondering what the future holds for MJ.
Disclaimer: For purposes of this post, let's assume he is in fact not-guilty as decided by a jury of his "peers" - yeah, right about the peers part, not the verdict part. He is after all, one in a few billion...and not really in the best possible way.
I feel sort of bad for the guy insofar that his success has plagued him and really proved to be a curse, rather than the blessing that it is.
There's no question that the media has played its unique and special role in accelerating his flight of fantasy from the real world to Neverland. I truly believe he thinks he is Peter Pan and protectorate of the Lost Boys...
Anyway, he beat it (the rap) and now what better way to beat 'em (mainstream media), than to join 'em (kinda) through a host of new marketing touchpoints, headlined by the Web and specifically, the blogosphere.
Too many people - so called experts - have weighed in with their 2c. I watched Aaron Brown interview Linda Kaplan Thaler and I was embarrassed for them both. LKT is no "image" consultant and her advice for MJ was nothing more than a bunch of cliches and an offer to be the next Aflac duck. Paa-leeease.
I heard a spokesperson for MJ (could have been Thomas Mesereau) saying that gone is the access that Jackson had granted before. This is not a surprise. MJ's undoing was the total access he gave to a host of people, from lost boys to Michael Bashir.
That being said, I think it would be a mistake to go from one extreme to the other. Arguably the only thread that should have kept up his hope was his fan base...his community...and it is this connection that I believe should be maintained and strengthened - no matter what.
Celebrities and personalities have turned to the Internet in times of turmoil in order to address spin, reach out to fans and make sure that their version of the story is told and heard. Martha Stewart's official website to sites like www.savemartha.com served a purpose. And now we have the world of blogs to add to the Web-based repoitaire.
Jacko...if you're out there, go for it and build the ultimate two-way dialogue with the people you care about and those that care for you. It's a little more practical and doable than Kaplan Thaler's suggestion of moving your career to another country ;)
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