Meanings
alternative fifteen megabytes of fame
- humorouspluralplural onlyA modest amount of fame achieved in the world of computing, as by inclusion on a popular video or audio clip available on the Internet.
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.”
2015 July 22, Caitlin Dewey, quoting Trebor Scholz, “You don’t know it, but you’re working for Facebook. For free.”, in Washington Post, →ISSN1 more example
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.
1995, The New Yorker
Origin
By analogy with 15 minutes of fame.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
15 megabytes of fame. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/15%20megabytes%20of%20fame
“15 megabytes of fame.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/15%20megabytes%20of%20fame. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “15 megabytes of fame,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/15%20megabytes%20of%20fame.
Source: 15 megabytes of fame on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.