As someone who actually knows her and is friends with her, I’ve occasionally been annoyed by the stuff people say about her. So, I’m gonna take this opportunity to share a few words about “iJustine”.
Truth is, as much as Justine fits the ultimate “pretty girl” stereotype by her looks, she is much more than just that.
Of all the people I know—and trust me, I know a lot of people—she is one of the most dedicated, hard-working people in the industry. She works an effective fulltime job, 40 hours a week, doing all sorts of miscellaneous consulting & contracting, but on top of that she performs (and has to keep up) a second fulltime job, which is her online presence and image. It’s a big part of what she makes a living with, as it gives her new leads, new contracts, and new opportunities.
More importantly, though, it’s her energy. She works 80 hours a week (easily), but remains one of the most driven, energetic people I can think of, bar none.
An example: on some Friday night, I was hanging out with her and a couple of other people at the PixelCorps office; I got there at 6pm but Justine, Lisa Bettany and Alex Lindsey & crew had just finished shooting some stuff for the entire day and had started making cocktails. Around 8pm most of Alex & crew had taken off, with six of us remaining. We played music and danced and jumped around to it, making more random off-hand videos and singing along loudly. We continued doing so until 1am that night, without getting any dinner at all (each of us had only had lunch as the last meal). Throughout the evening, very often we’d sit down, tired, and discuss dinner, when suddenly a song would come up that Justine really liked and she and her energy just spurred us all on again.
Honestly, I’ll never forget that night because it taught me the core reason I’m friends with her: she has an energy and spirit that you just very rarely encounter, and it’s a very strong, infectious and positive kind of energy. It sucks you in and drags you along for the ride, but ultimately you end up feeling excited, happy and energized.
When push comes to shove, I understand a lot of the criticisms towards her, but the reality is that she works really hard behind the scenes, doing good stuff a lot of the time, and working with her or even just spending some quality time with her outside of work, is nothing but an immense joy and pleasure.
To me, that’s the stuff that matters most.
I completely agree.
No one can deny Justine’s energy and drive. And I didn’t — and while others may use my criticism as an excuse to start ripping apart the lady’s entire being, I intend to criticize just one thing: She’s not a particularly great performer.
Maybe her looks factor into it — I don’t really think so, there are millions of conventionally pretty women vying for attention. I bet a lot of it is her energy and drive. That drive can get someone far within small circles. But in the world at large, it takes more — either a hook for mass appeal (shitty things can be popular!), or actual talent. And Justine doesn’t have enough, not right now. I’d love to see her get it and star in something bigger, or at least some better-produced commercials.
But I feel Justine is one example of a sinister truth: Internet fame is nearly always mere personality-worship or weirdo-gawking, and it has little to do with talent.
Not always, obviously. Plenty of talented people start their artistic careers online: The Lonely Island, Alison Weiss, Brandon Hardesty. They have as much energy and drive as anyone else, but they also dedicate themselves to being better entertainers. And my initial post was a reminder to myself: Pay attention to my work first before I try to build my audience. Or I’ll end up hawking computer repair.
