15 megabytes of fame

English

Alternative forms

• fifteen megabytes of fame

Etymology

From 15 minutes of fame.

Noun

15 megabytes of fame pl (plural only)

1. (humorous) A modest amount of fame achieved in the world of computing, as by inclusion on a popular video or audio clip available on the Internet.
   • 1995, The New Yorker:

     Culture is your friend who likes to draw […] . / The web is an opportunity to make good our fifteen megabytes of fame. / The more widespread and grassroots the Internet, the more difficult it will be to dominate and control it.

   • 2015 July 22, Caitlin Dewey, quoting Trebor Scholz, “You don’t know it, but you’re working for Facebook. For free.”, in Washington Post‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Even when the time commitment becomes incredible—some would say insane—they argue they’re “compensated” accordingly, whether in pleasure or new knowledge or what Scholz calls their “15 megabytes of fame.”