Artists haven’t reached $1 million mark to resurrect their online profiles. By Gil Kaufman Alicia Keys’ coffin image symbolizing her digital death Photo: Markus Klinko/ Indrani/ GK Reid The original plan was for artists such as Usher, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson and Ryan Seacrest to stage their “digital deaths” until $1 million was raised for Alicia Keys’ BuyLife.org charity effort. The campaign kicked off in coordination with Wednesday’s World AIDS Day and included the social-media-savvy stars staging a Digital Life Sacrifice by signing off their Facebook, Twitter and other online communication sites until the fund-raising goal was reached. According to a ticker on the BuyLife.org site, as of Friday (December 3) at noon, more than $183,493 had been raised in the effort to buy back the stars’ online presence. Kardashian was among the participants who posed for posters bringing attention to the effort. In hers, she lies in a casket while wearing a cocktail dress and clutching her cell phone. Celebrities such as mega-tweeter Seacrest agreed to sign off all social networks on Tuesday, and as of Friday, he was staying true to his pledge. The top tweet on Seacrest’s site read, “Ryan Seacrest would love to chat but he’s dead. Buy back his life & fight HIV/AIDS.” A spokesperson for the campaign could not be reached at press time to give an update on what the plan is should the $1 million goal not be reached. With the target figure still on the distant horizon, it appeared that it could take some time to rack up the $1 million and it’s unclear how long the stars — many of whom use social media daily to communicate with fans and break news — are committed to staying digitally deceased. But even before he digitally died, Seacrest was already sweating his ability to unplug. “One hour until I sign off Twitter,” he wrote Tuesday night. “I’m not gonna like not being connected with u guys! Argh … how do I manage Twitter withdrawals??” At press time, Gaga’s Twitter page was also stalled out with multiple pleas posted Wednesday to donate to the charity. The beneficiary of the campaign, Keys’ Keep a Child Alive, helps provide money for medical care and support services for children and families impacted by HIV and AIDS in Africa and India. Janelle Mon
