My first foray1） into the world of Tumblr was in 2010. Like any other 11th grade girl， I spent countless hours in my U.S. History class filling pages upon pages of my new Tumblr blog with images of trendy girls， exotic sunsets， latte art and the occasional angst2） ridden text post. It was fun， but it was certainly just a hobby. Around the same time， my best friend Amelia also started her Tumblr blog. Hers consisted mostly of cat images， and rants3） about lifes daily miseries.

Years later， I still enjoy scrolling4） through my dashboard5）， reblogging pretty images and composing an occasional angst ridden post of actual words. As it turns out， so does my best friend， except there is one little difference—Amelia has made her Tumblr into a total money-making machine， becoming a well-known name throughout the websites community in the process.

Amelia Plummer， or as she is known to her many fans， Amelia Stardust， has been my best friend since we were 15. We were neither popular nor unpopular in high school. We fell somewhere in the middle， always friendly with everybody but really only spending meaningful time with each other. At age 21， not much has changed. Were still inseparable. The only difference is that she now has 140，000 fans who track her every move （and， consequently， mine） on not only Tumblr， but also Twitter， Instagram， and Snapchat.

It wasnt until the fall 2013 when Amelias Tumblr fame really hit its stride6）. In her downtime7）， Amelia started learning HTML8） and making sure her blog was constantly active by queuing9） posts. She narrowed her blogs focus， mostly to the kind of teen humor that thrives on Tumblr. Amelia began befriending people in the community and she even took on an administrative role for a group of 1.6K+ bloggers on Facebook where they offer advice， help each other with homework， or just hang out.

The first time I recognized Amelias Tumblr popularity was in 2014 when she told me that Tumblr user Mcqueeny was coming to visit her from Canada. Id been following Mcqueeny for a few years， never really considering that the girl behind the popular fashion and personal Tumblr blog was a real human from Canada， let alone a blonde Serbian girl named Katarina who I spent countless hours with over the next week in New York. I guess I was a little starstruck10）. Suddenly I realized that somewhere out there， people viewed Amelia with a similar awe and admiration. Not to say that my best friend isnt totally and completely amazing， but to me she is the Amelia I have known since we were 15 （complete with braces11） and fashion faux-pas12））.

Most of the money made by these internet characters are through brand sponsorships. As Amelia explained to me： "Many companies are now realizing that bloggers， instagrammers， YouTubers， or any internet famous person have an incredible reach， and that they are a great way to advertise to specific audiences13）. This is amazing as it allows teens the opportunity to make extra money， and learn business skills that could be beneficial later in life." Amelia makes an effort to stay true to herself by only teaming up with brands that align14） with her aesthetic15）. No one wants to be faced with a Tumblr dashboard filled with sponsors and ads masquerading16） as original content.

Although the future of this teen driven blogging empire is unclear， it is clear that it has aided individuals in expressing their character and growing a name and brand for themselves. In this day and age， everyone has an online brand， in one way or another. We all have various forms of social media and online presences that form our internet identities. Amelia， who has previously suffered from a serious anxiety disorder， will be the first to admit that outgoing is not a word typically associated with her. But， Tumblr gave her an outlet to express her feelings， thoughts， emotions， and， most importantly， her sense of humor that often went unregistered due to her quietness.

No path is right for everyone. While I may be following the more traditional career path of attending an Ivy League17） college and interning18）， Amelia has chosen an alternative route. Through her blog， Amelia has been able to open a fairly popular online store， and hopes that even a book deal or acting career could be in her future. As she puts it， "a girl can dream， right？"

如果你的閨蜜是一位網(wǎng)紅，這將是一種怎樣的體驗？你的生活會因此發(fā)生什么變化嗎？一起來隨本文了解一下吧！

我首次嘗試訪問Tumblr網(wǎng)站是在2010年。那時，我和其他11年級的女生一樣，在美國歷史課上花了多到數(shù)不清的時間更新一頁又一頁的Tumblr博文，里面全都是些時髦女孩、異國日落風(fēng)光、咖啡拉花藝術(shù)的照片，以及偶爾寫的一篇充滿焦慮情緒的文字帖。這很好玩兒，但這當(dāng)然只是我的一項愛好而已。幾乎與此同時，我的閨蜜阿梅莉亞也開了Tumblr博客，博文內(nèi)容主要是貓咪的照片以及對人生日常不幸之事的抱怨。

幾年過去了，我仍舊喜歡滾動瀏覽我的Tumblr主頁，將以前發(fā)過的好看照片再發(fā)一遍，或者偶爾寫一篇充滿焦慮情緒的文字帖。結(jié)果證明，我的閨蜜也是這樣做的，只是有一點(diǎn)小小的不同——阿梅莉亞已經(jīng)將她的Tumblr博客變成了一個十足的賺錢機(jī)器，在這個過程中，她成了整個Tumblr圈子里的一位紅人。

從我們倆15歲起，阿梅莉亞·普盧默——或者對她的許多粉絲來說，是阿梅莉亞·星塵——就一直和我要好。上高中時，我們倆不是那種校園紅人，但也不討人嫌。我們屬于中間的那一類，總是友好地對待每一個人，但真的只與彼此共度那些有意義的時光。到21歲時，也沒怎么大變樣。我們?nèi)缃褚琅f形影不離。唯一的區(qū)別是，她現(xiàn)在擁有14萬粉絲，他們不僅在Tumblr上，還在Twitter、Instagram和Snapchat上關(guān)注她的一舉一動（并因此關(guān)注我的一舉一動）。

這還要從2013年的秋天說起，那時，阿梅莉亞在Tumblr上才真正開始出名。在閑暇時間里，阿梅莉亞開始學(xué)習(xí)網(wǎng)頁編輯，并通過一條接著一條地發(fā)帖來確保自己的博客始終保持著活躍度。她縮小了自己博客的關(guān)注點(diǎn)，主要聚焦于在Tumblr上很火的那種青少年式幽默。阿梅莉亞開始和Tumblr上的人交朋友，甚至在Facebook上的一個博主群（其成員粉絲數(shù)均超過1600人）中擔(dān)任管理員。他們在這個群里提供建議，幫助彼此完成作業(yè)，或者只是一起泡在網(wǎng)上。

2014年的時候，有一次阿梅莉亞告訴我，一位名叫麥奎尼的Tumblr用戶要從加拿大過來看她，這是我頭一次意識到阿梅莉亞在Tumblr上的人氣有多高。我已經(jīng)關(guān)注麥奎尼好幾年了，卻從未真正想過那些流行時尚和Tumblr個人博文背后的女生是一個真實的加拿大人，更不要說還是一位名叫卡塔琳娜的塞爾維亞裔金發(fā)姑娘。在之后的一周里，我和她一起在紐約度過了無盡的時光——我想我是有點(diǎn)追星的。突然之間，我意識到在某個方面，人們在用相似的敬畏及欣賞的目光看待阿梅莉亞。我并不是說我的閨蜜不是從頭到腳、從上到下都那么棒，只是對我來說，她就是那個我從15歲起就認(rèn)識的阿梅莉亞（戴過牙套，也搭錯過衣服）。

網(wǎng)紅所賺的錢大部分來自品牌贊助。正如阿梅莉亞向我解釋的那樣：“現(xiàn)在很多企業(yè)都意識到博主、Instagram紅人、YouTube紅人或任何一位網(wǎng)紅都有著非凡的影響力，利用他們來向某些特定的粉絲群體做廣告是一種很好的方式。這是一件很棒的事情，因為它讓青少年有機(jī)會賺更多的錢，并學(xué)習(xí)到一些可能對今后的人生有所裨益的商業(yè)技能?！蓖ㄟ^只跟與自己審美觀一致的品牌合作，阿梅莉亞努力堅持做真實的自己，畢竟誰都不想看到一個Tumblr主頁打著原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容的幌子，卻充斥著贊助商和廣告。

盡管Tumblr這個由青少年推動的博客帝國的未來還不甚明晰，但它顯然已經(jīng)在青少年個體表達(dá)自己的個性、為自己打造名氣和品牌方面提供了幫助。在如今這個時代，每個人都以這樣或那樣的方式擁有著自己的網(wǎng)絡(luò)品牌。我們都有各種形式的社交媒體賬戶，或是以各種形式出現(xiàn)在網(wǎng)絡(luò)中，這成為我們的網(wǎng)絡(luò)身份。阿梅莉亞以前患有嚴(yán)重的焦慮癥，“外向”這個詞一般跟她不沾邊兒。但是，Tumblr給她提供了一個表達(dá)自己感情、想法、情緒尤其是幽默感（由于她比較沉默寡言，往往沒有人注意到她的幽默感）的方式。

沒有哪條道路是適用于所有人的。我可能遵循著上常春藤大學(xué)、實習(xí)這種更為傳統(tǒng)的職業(yè)道路，但阿梅莉亞卻選擇了另外一條道路。通過她的博客，阿梅莉亞得以開了一家相當(dāng)受歡迎的網(wǎng)店，她甚至希望自己未來可以簽約寫寫書或者開啟演藝事業(yè)。就像她所說的：“女孩子可以有夢想，對吧？”