The Cowsphere covers a broad range of people and can include both lolcows and non-lolcows. In general a person is considered to be in the Cowsphere if he meets one of these three tests
Forum Test: He/She is independently verified as a lolcow by two or more major forums such as kiwifarms or lolcow imageboards such as lolcow.farm that are independent of each other
Industry Benchmark Test: He/she has an active article in Wikis such as Encyclopedia Dramatica and is a subject of interest and commentary covering lolcows on podcasts and videos on social media such as YouTube.
The person’s internet presence is firmly embedded in lolcow culture to the extent that it is seen as part and parcel of the Cowsphere culture
Central Figures in the Cowsphere can be highly followed like a celebrity but this does not necessarily mean he/she is a celebrity. So what is the difference between these two people
Person 1
Flagship Trait: Cowsphere
Secondary Trait: Celebritysphere
Person 2
Flagship Trait Celebritysphere
Secondary Trait: Cowsphere
In general there are two tests that you can apply to separate the two:
The Walkaway Test:
If the person can drop his/her “lolcowery” and still be a celebrity or famous you have a celebrity
If the person on the other hand cannot drop his/her “lolcowery” without sinking into obscurity you have a cow.
The Celebrity Test:
Does the person have a fanbase like a celebrity?
Is the person verified on social media like a celebrity?
Is the person followed on social media like a celebrity?
Is the person’s name famous enough to make a living like a celebrity (i.e. product endorsements, books, business with tradename, podcasts or content on channels such as YouTube or Patreon)
If you can answer yes to all these questions in all likelihood you are dealing with a celebrity not a lolcow.
- The person himself is a lolcow
- The person is a close associate of a lolcow
- The person is an integral part of lolcow culture such as running a lolcow forum, blog or YouTube channel with substantial content about lolcows/lolcow culture
Forum Test: He/She is independently verified as a lolcow by two or more major forums such as kiwifarms or lolcow imageboards such as lolcow.farm that are independent of each other
Industry Benchmark Test: He/she has an active article in Wikis such as Encyclopedia Dramatica and is a subject of interest and commentary covering lolcows on podcasts and videos on social media such as YouTube.
The person’s internet presence is firmly embedded in lolcow culture to the extent that it is seen as part and parcel of the Cowsphere culture
Central Figures in the Cowsphere can be highly followed like a celebrity but this does not necessarily mean he/she is a celebrity. So what is the difference between these two people
Person 1
Flagship Trait: Cowsphere
Secondary Trait: Celebritysphere
Person 2
Flagship Trait Celebritysphere
Secondary Trait: Cowsphere
In general there are two tests that you can apply to separate the two:
The Walkaway Test:
If the person can drop his/her “lolcowery” and still be a celebrity or famous you have a celebrity
If the person on the other hand cannot drop his/her “lolcowery” without sinking into obscurity you have a cow.
The Celebrity Test:
Does the person have a fanbase like a celebrity?
Is the person verified on social media like a celebrity?
Is the person followed on social media like a celebrity?
Is the person’s name famous enough to make a living like a celebrity (i.e. product endorsements, books, business with tradename, podcasts or content on channels such as YouTube or Patreon)
If you can answer yes to all these questions in all likelihood you are dealing with a celebrity not a lolcow.
