Guest Author - Gina Vetrone Wilson

I think we can all agree that meeting one of our favorite soap stars would be a dream come true. Many of us will never have that opportunity and for that reason, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have opened the door for us common folk to (maybe) communicate with celebs.

I say maybe because some celebs, including soap stars, use social networking sites to promote themselves. This is understandable in the business world; however, these are the celebs that will not respond to fans. What the fans want is a celeb who appreciates his or her fan base, as well as the fact that he or she is just a person too.

Have no fear! These celebs do exist and many of them are soap stars! One example of an appreciative celeb is Sarah J. Brown (Claudia, GH). Brown is front and center on Twitter and Facebook daily, updating us on the goings on of the show, as well as her personal life. Sarah interacts with fans, seems to be one of the most down to earth people, and she spends no time promoting herself to obtain a larger fan base. How do I know I this? I know this because I follow her updates on Twitter and I am “friends” with her on Facebook.

Has Sarah Brown ever talked to me personally through these sites? No. The reason? It’s simple. I have never taken the initiative to drop her a virtual line. I see Sarah respond to “tweets” daily from people that I too talk to on a daily basis. There are many other soap stars who also post updates daily on Twitter, but I would have to say that Sarah is the most forthcoming on a social level.

Michelle Stafford joined the Twitter world this week and has been inundated with tweets from many soap fans, including myself. And yes, she did respond! We will have to wait and see if that continues or if us Twitteristas will fall to the wayside. I will keep my fingers crossed that Michelle will continue to be so down to earth.

There is an aspect to social networking to watch out for: Fakes! We all know that imposters are the norm in an online setting and soap star imposters are no different. For example, I myself sent a Facebook friend request to someone claiming to be Rachael Melvin (Ex-Chelsea, Days). This person accepted almost right away. Only hours later, this person started a personal chat with me on Facebook. Ever the cynic, I instantly decided that this person was a fraud. After I asked this person a few questions about her pending exit from Days, “Chelsea” referred me to her website. Repeatedly. This person, of course, was promptly deleted from my friends list.

The moral of the story is, there will always be those celebs that could care less about the fans when it comes to real life. Just remember that there are celebs who do care and who will respond if you choose to engage them.