Now in his mid-70s, actor George Takei has found new fame as a beloved social media maven boasting millions of followers across his varioussocial networking accounts. That's some heavy digital mojo for an actor best known for a supporting role on a short-lived 1960s TV series and occasional guest appearances on The Howard Stern Show. There's a very good reason for his newfound digital popularity, though: Takei's meme-orific posts are absolutely delightful!
But many of Takei's virtual admirers might be disappointed to know that Mr. Sulu is not solely responsible all that delightfulness. A few months back, the world learned that some of the humorous quips posted under his name were written by a ghostwriter being paid ten bucks per Facebook post.
As it turns out, Takei's use of outside help for his social media work isn't unique among celebrities. If you've ever wondered how Sarah Palin managed to translate her complicated relationship with the English language into coherent long-form Facebook posts, or how the mayor of America's largest city finds time to post several times a day, the answer probably points to a professional social media ghostwriter. In fact, public figures ranging from Britney Spears to Kanye West to Barack Obama have admitted to using paid professional help to maintain their social media profiles.
"At this point of having worked in this industry for a few years, I just assume that everyone has a ghostwriter," said Oriana Leckert, the director of operations at Gotham Ghostwriters, a NYC-based firm that pairs professional ghostwriters with clients ranging from corporate to professional to celebrity. "Whenever someone sounds drastically more coherent in a tweet then they do in person, they probably had some help."
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