Beyonce, #18 on this year's Power Women list, and her recent Twitter milestone are no exception. At Sunday's VMA Awards, Beyonce rocked the world of social media as she revealed what is now the most famous baby bump in the world. Within minutes, Beyonce’s news shattered a Twitter record driving an astounding 8,868 tweets per second. While entertainment icons often dominate the world of 140 characters, they’ve yet to come within reach of Beyonce’s record previously held by events including Bin Laden’s death (5,106), the Japanese Tsunami 5,530, and most recently, the gripping women’s soccer final against Japan (7,196.) What’s more, the VMA’s were broadcast at the same time the entire East Coast was dealing with Hurricane Irene’s devastating impact.
Sunday’s Twitter explosion was completely unexpected, even for Beyonce. For starters, millions jumped on Twitter not to buzz about a salacious scandal but rather share Beyonce’s happy news and this unexpected glimpse into her personal life. The social media milestone is all the more surprising given Beyonce remains a twitter anomaly. While she has over 1.6 million followers, nearly 100,000 of which joined since the weekend, she has never sent an actual tweet and follows just 11 people. Her account @Beyonce isn't even verified by Twitter. Yet people are drawn into Beyonce’s sphere of influence by a desire to feel connected not only to her but also to those within her community, without her even having to share what she ate for breakfast or what she thinks of the weather.
Beyonce has built a mega-business with her mega-personal brand, earning $35m in the past year alongside power husband Jay-Z. Beyonce represents an outsized influencer of our times as power has always been defined by connectivity. That is, the ability to build a community around you as a person– to move people, to affect change, to drive conversation – whatever the platform, whatever the issue, whatever the realm.
While technology has created more tools than ever before to attain influence, it’s far more difficult to sustain it today. At just 30 years old and an industry mainstay, Beyonce is a reminder that authenticity is at the core of power and leadership. Lasting success is never achieved by pretending or imitation, but by those, including Beyonce, who are passionate about what they do and stay true to why they are, regardless of title, rank, or circumstance.
In Beyonce's case, tens of millions feel like they know and are personally connected to a woman they’ve never met, so much so that just the announcement of her pregnancy sent the social media world into shock. And I’m no exception here. If I could wake up as a celebrity, the byline of this post would definitely read Sasha Fierce.
Who knows what will happen when Beyonce and Jay-Z's child is actually born. Brace yourself Twitter.
