Why is a celebrity's reputation so important?

Answer 1

Reputation is information used to make a value judgment about an object or person.

It is a critical tool that enables us to make decisions, both large (like where should I go to college?) and small (Where should we eat for dinner tonight?). The reputation of anything is a important time-saving mechanism so we don't have to develop a personal relationship with each and every person, company, organization, or product in the world.

But the flip-side is just as important and pervasive-there are a multitude of reputations currently in place evaluating you, your performance, and your creations. This is also true for the groups that you are a member of: work, professional, social, or congregational. They all have aggregated reputations that you are a part of, and their reputation reflects upon you as well. These reputations are often difficult to perceive and sometimes even harder to change.

[Excerpted from http://buildingreputation.com by its author exclusively for WikiAnswers]