How 'Rock Star' Became a Business Buzzword

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday August 16, 2015 @07:53AM from the you-keep-using-that-word dept.

HughPickens.com writes: Carina Chocano writes in the NYT that once, a long time ago, a rock star was a free-spirited, convention-flouting artist/rebel/hero/Dionysian fertility god who fronted a world-famous band, sold millions of records and headlined stadium concerts where people were trampled in frenzies of cultlike fervor. Now 'rock star'' has made a complete about-face and in its new incarnation, it is more likely to refer to a programmer, salesperson, social-media strategist, business-to-business telemarketer, recruiter, management consultant or celebrity pastry chef than to a person in a band. The term has become shorthand for a virtuosity so exalted it borders on genius — only for some repetitive, detail-oriented task. According to Chocano, posting a listing for a job for which only ''rock stars'' need apply casts an H.R. manager as a kind of corporate Svengali; "That nobody is looking for a front-end developer who is addicted to heroin or who bites the heads off doves in conference rooms goes without saying. Pretty much anyone can be a ''rock star'' these days — except actual rock stars, who are encouraged to think of themselves as brands."

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But loses its meaning quickly by Rurik · 2015-08-16 08:15 · Score: 4, Interesting

Ego branding for the sake of hiring egotistical developers and analysts. Therein lies the rub.
A "rock star" can be a real thing. It could be someone who continually, and repeatedly, produces great work that impacts the entire community. These people exist most don't want the branding. But companies can't hire them; they're too expensive.
So the "rock star" became the one-hit wonder person. Someone who released a nifty script on github and gave a con talk on it. Two years ago.
Slowly, over time, that rock star status has turned into "most influential". That is, those with the most twitter followers, regardless of how good they are at their craft. Don't know anything beyond basic Ruby coding and lack knowledge of security programming... but have 50K followers? Rock Star! HIRED!
Considering oneself a rock star in order to apply for such a job breaks the whole "No Asshole Rule" for hiring.