If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Back in the day, that statement referred to NYC. For today’s wannabee stars, making it here often means making it on the Internet, and then bringing your audience with you. What’s it like trying to make it in Hollywood when Hollywood is no longer a place, but an idea. Step one, get noticed. Step two, keep getting noticed. And the idea of making yourself scarce to avoid overexposure? It went the way of the VCR and cassette tapes. “That kind of scarcity used to be the model — successful actors like Tom Hanks would do one or two films a year, and that was it. The rarity of it was a kind of power. But … it’s no longer enough just to act and be part of great projects. You have to do it constantly. It’s why so many actors are moving toward TV — not just because they’re following the creative talents who increasingly work there, but also because TV puts them on screens consistently in a way that, say, an indie movie that shows at Sundance and then a few times in New York and L.A. does not. Actors, like everyone else now, have brands to consider and maintain.” From GQ: The New Rules For Making It In Hollywood.

+ With so many new content outlets, there are a lot more gigs available. But in today’s attention economy, Hollywood hopefuls are not only competing against other actors and singers. They’re competing against anyone who wants a piece of humanity’s most sought after asset: Your attention. And we all know who’s getting the most of that.