Sheen May Be Crazy Like a Fox

Charlie Sheen broke Oprah's record for shortest time to a million Twitter followers this week as he went rogue. His publicist dumped him and in what most of Hollywood's PR community is looking at as the functional equivalent of being your own lawyer at trial, Sheen is becoming his own promoter via social media.

Interesting that he chose Twitter as his primary vehicle, rather than pumping up his Facebook presence, for example.

Perhaps the Los Angeles Times has the answer: advertising.

Sheen's got a massive audience that is tuned in to see what quirky thing he will do next. And if along the way he's showing, oh, say, DIRECTV in a TwitPic or he and one of his girlfriends are holding up a certain brand of juice or milk . . . .

How different, I might add, than the Conan O'Brien story on going direct and owning your own product? Sheen is owning himself now.

I repeat one of my dystopian digital predictions: How many colleges will regret they signed away their on-line rights as it becomes more and more viable to become your own Texas Network? Sheen and O'Brien have, along with dozens of other entertainers.

Performance art or artful promotion. Don't know, but I'll be willing to bet millions of people will stay tuned.