Comedic Brits and twits

What is it with the British comedy establishment that they should have so openly embraced Twitter? Yes there are plenty of celebs on there, but why is there this very noticeable cluster led by Stephen Fry, John Cleese, Russell Brand, Alan Carr, David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr, (and quite a few more) and the latest addition Eddie Izzard that are comedians or actors with a strong comedy background.

Perhaps it is just me and the fact that I am fond of British humour and recognise them more easily than I would American, French or Dutch humorists. On the other side I don’t notice that many performers from other genres, theatre or music. No sign of Bowie or Jagger, and most of the rock heavyweights are missing, or perhaps they are  just lurking. So why so many heavyweight Brit comedic entities?

Perhaps it the nature of the comedy profession and that of twitter that match each other so well. The comedy professionals are probably involved in a wider range of professional activities than most (real portfolio workers), ranging from performances in clubs, major tours, celeb shows (quizes etc), sitcoms, writing, interviews, documentaries, movies, etc. Much of this is done solo, unlike rock bands that need a large crew to support them, so perhaps this means more time to research and communicate whilst on the move. The final possibility is of course that these individuals are more aware of their own “brand” and have greater control over it than the equivalent rock or movie star.

Of course personal branding has become a key feature of the social media environment, and is set to become more important as more of us move towards portfolio working, where a reputation is not built around a single profession, but rather around a personal brand encompassing multiple activities.

It is quite possible that my view may be totally biased by my interest in comedy. I’d certainly be interested in any observations or comments on this.