Formerly Captain of the Starship Enterprise and more recently Master of the Twitterverse, William Shatner is taking his distinctive Shatneresque style to a whole ‘nuther level. He’s boldly embracing technology with a new iPhone app that enables users to convert poetry to “Shatoetry” with the push of a button. That’s right, trekkies, you can compose a poem, write a song or jot a thought and hear it read aloud with smooth baritone stylings punctuated by pregnant pauses. Shat that!
Whether he’s wrangling Tribbles, killing Klingons or locking lips with Lieutenant Uhura in T.V.’s first-ever interracial kiss, Shatner’s got game. He made space booties and spandex pencil pants look cool. Later, as Boston Legal’s legendary litigator, Denny Crane, William Shatner again owned the role and stole the show. In fact, Shatner has managed to stay relevant for decades – talk about personal branding. His Starfleet swag has multi-generational appeal.
What’s the secret sauce? Shatner seamlessly transitioned from Star Trek to a series of dramatic roles and product pitches by not taking himself too seriously. And he’s done it again with Shatoetry. The Shakespearean-trained actor is a campy icon at Comic-Con, an irreverent spokesperson for Priceline and now, in the ultimate self-parody, he’s starring in his own iPhone app.
Earlier this year, the irrepressible William Shatner took his millionth Twitter follower out to dinner and live-tweeted a grainy photo of the evening. He understands the importance of digital intimacy and authenticity. Who needs hashtags when you can sign your tweets “MBB” – the instantly recognizable Internet slang for “My Best, Bill”? Did I mention he recently celebrated his 81st birthday? “I love this app,” said Shatner, eyes twinkling, in a web video promoting Shatoetry. “I’m dazzled by it.” Shatisms aside, all I can say is Captain Kirk is the frikkin jam. In fact, he’s the Shat.
Shatoetry – The iPhone App By William Shatner
Image Credits: [Shatoetry] [New York Times]
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