James Patterson, Tom Colicchio and More on Popularity

—Patterson is an author. His nonfiction book All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row was released in January.

Susan Wojcicki

“To be popular means to be admired by a specific group. It’s different from fame, which points to a broader fan base and suggests that you earned recognition through some kind of notable achievement. The common definition of popularity may bring up a negative idea of high school: exclusiveness, cliques, beautiful people and mean girls. But popularity has a different meaning when it relates to media. In that arena, it’s positive; it means something is a hit. In regard to social media, one significant force of determining who is popular is this idea of authenticity—it’s the common denominator among popular YouTube creators. In many ways, authenticity gives a creator a richer set of dimensions, more than we might have seen with traditional media stars of the past who may be more concerned with a perfect, glossy image.”

—Wojcicki is CEO of YouTube.

Tom Colicchio

“I’ve been able to parlay whatever popularity I enjoy as someone on television into being a voice for social justice and change. I use it as a soapbox to express my views. But it’s a trade-off. I used to walk through the dining room of my restaurants to chat with people, but now it’s all about the picture. I get it, but it’s awkward at times because I’ve never been one to seek out popularity. I realize that my kids have grown up with an understanding that their father is well-known, and that bothers me. I want my kids to know that they have to work for it, and it doesn’t come easy. They weren’t around for the years and years of hard work. Of course, I still interact with plenty of people who have no idea who I am. For instance, I go fishing and keep my boat on a dock. I guarantee that to 90 percent of the people there I’m just another guy who likes to go fishing, and that’s fine with me.”

—Colicchio is a chef, the founder of Crafted Hospitality and the lead judge on Bravo’s Top Chef.

Lindsey Adelman

“Sometimes, as a designer, you can feel when you strike a nerve. When I started developing the Branching Collection in 2005, I had an inkling pretty early on that the pieces were going to connect with people. They became really popular. I had the intention of making a successful line in part because I wanted to be fiercely independent; I wanted to be my own boss. But I think it can be perceived that I wanted to be popular. I’m still not like that. Sometimes I design with the intention of reaching a wide audience. And then other times I design to express something, and that expression can be murky or dark or polarizing, but I just know it’s important for me to make it. The most important thing I can do is to make work that’s authentic and reflects where I am now. Beyond that I don’t feel obliged to put out any kind of one-hit wonders, because that is death to me.”

—Adelman is a designer. Her studio designs and manufactures lighting in New York and Los Angeles.

Jim Shaw

“When I decided to be an artist in the ’60s, artists didn’t make a living off of their work. That’s a recent phenomenon. Today, collectors determine popularity. The art world is an oligopoly in that a small number of individuals control value. So you can be successful without being popular, without having many fans. In the music world, if you don’t have fans, you don’t exist. The industry has moved toward the art fair as a way to view and buy art. That is not necessarily the best way to read art. Am I a popular artist? It depends on your definition. For years, people would say, ‘Oh, my son really likes your work.’ I was the artist young people liked, sort of a gateway drug, like Dalí in a way. My work is meant to be, at some level, readable to everybody.”

—Shaw is an artist. His work is currently on view at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in East Lansing, Michigan.

Lola Kirke

“Nowadays the prevalence of social media has made the idea of popularity seem kind of arbitrary. You can be popular, but the reason for your popularity can be quite obscure. That’s the reality of this new world—someone might achieve a level of popularity that would not have been possible prior to the existence of these platforms. I don’t think I’ve reached a level of popularity that has proven to be a hindrance to my everyday life. It’s only in certain restaurants in New York or Los Angeles where anyone cares, but otherwise I’m just like every other schlub in the city. That said, the benefit of any kind of spotlight, or visibility, is that I can contribute something to the greater good. I wouldn’t want to be prescriptive about anyone else’s behavior, but why wouldn’t I use this platform for those kinds of things?”

—Kirke is an actress. She stars in Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, which returns for its fourth season on February 16.