<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Actor and Internet sensation George Takei turned 75 on Friday.\nFor nearly 50 years, George Takei has been famous for his portrayal of Hikaru Sulu on the original '60s television show Star Trek. Takei appeared as Sulu for three seasons and six subsequent movies.\nAfter Star Trek, Takei continued to act and perform voice-overs. Yet, like many members of the cast, his identity remained synonymous with Star Trek. It wasn't until Takei started his Facebook page on March 23, 2011 that his fame took on a whole new dimension.\nTakei posts funny photos, memes and other\u00A0positive\u00A0content to Facebook multiple times a day, and these posts see massive engagement. \u00A0Many of his posts are submitted by readers. With 1,624,780 likes on Facebook and 348,019 Twitter followers,\u00A0Takei has reinvented himself as social media celebrity. (For the record, his Star Trek co-star William Shatner has roughly 145,000 Facebook likes.) While Takei has amassed a sizable following on social media, his rate of engagement might be his most impressive digital achievement.\nIt's not uncommon for one of Takei's posts to receive up to 50,000 likes and 30,000 shares. There are very few celebrities who regularly see engagement numbers as high as Takei's. Even Rihanna, the most liked person on Facebook, doesn't hold a clear advantage over Takei when it comes to engagement.\nRihanna boasts 54 million Facebook likes \u2014 roughly 53 million more than Takei \u2014 yet her posts attract similar engagement numbers. Takei's Facebook fans are an extremely responsive group.\nRihanna recently posted a clip from her new movie Battleship, which received roughly 20,000 likes and 1,800 shares. By comparison, a recent video from Takei doing a \"Happy Dance\"\u00A0received 30,000 likes and 10,000 shares.\n\nHow Did George Takei Become a Social Media Superstar?\nThe simple answer is: Takei knows his audience very well. \u00A0While he has expanded his following through strong involvement in the gay rights movement (his\u00A0It's Ok to be Takei initiative, for instance) and Asian American groups (he is on the board of the\u00A0Japanese American National Museum),\u00A0his core\u00A0fan-base\u00A0consists of Star Trek fans who appreciate Takei for his self-aware humor. \u00A0Takei gives his audience exactly what they want, which regularly includes Star Trek jokes and other references from geek culture.\n\nSEE ALSO:\u00A0George Takei Brings Peace to Sci-Fi Geek Feud [VIDEO]It has been established that\u00A0positive\u00A0posts are far more popular on Facebook than negative ones.\u00A0\u00A0Takei seems to understand this. He puts a cheerful spin on his Facebook posts and tweets \u2014 and his audience is clearly responding.\n\n@GeorgeTakei You make me smile everyday, thank you. Have a marvelous birthday Mr. Takei!\n\u2014 Wendy C (@meeknowit) April 20, 2012\n\n\u00A0\n\n@GeorgeTakei Happy birthday, sir. Thank you for making me smile most days, and for disliking Twilight as much as I do.\n\u2014 Nancy Clanton (@NancyClanton) April 20, 2012\n\n\u00A0\nTake a look at some of the best posts from George Takei. \u00A0Also, help us wish him a happy birthday below!\n\n\n15 Hilarious Memes Shared by George Takei\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBad Touch\n\"From a fan. Oh, myyy!\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBob Ross and 300\n\"And a happy Spartan here, another one here...\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCee Lo\n\"Cee Lo, Sweet Chariot...\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDuck Dog Mask\n\"This has been dogging me.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGeek Life\n\n\"It gets better.\nImage courtesy of Joy of Tech.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nImperial Walker\n\"Redefines Imperial Walker.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJersey Peeps\n\"Where Peeps go after Easter.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKid Toilet\n\"As they say, 'Fail.\"'\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKitty Nip\n\"From a fan. Addiction comes in all forms.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPittsBorg\n\"They fire chipped ham torpedoes and have Klondike shields.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpock\n\"From a fan. Like and share when you get it. (I needed it explained to me...)\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTupac Hologram\n\n\"Kanye handle this? \n(Someone asked if I'd see the Tupac hologram. I thought he was talking about the Vulcan security officer on Voyager...)\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWatch Your Sodium\n\"Watch your sodium.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou Shall Not Pass\n\n\"Drive, you fools!\n(This phrase is correct, if you know the books.)\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDiGorno\n\"From a fan. Lemme give you a pizza advice.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWish George Takei a Happy 75th Birthday\n\nCreate a photo, meme or graphic to wish George Takei a happy birthday. Be creative and make your image embody the Takei style of humor.\nUpload your photo to Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Instagram or the photo-sharing service of your choice, and drag and drop it in the picture widget below, OR\nTweet your photo to @mashablehq with the hashtag #MashTakei.\nWe will gather the entries and post them in a gallery for George Takei to see.\n\nUse your own image or one of these to create your Takei birthday wish:\n\n\n\nThumbnail courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore.\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/04/20/george-takei-social-media/>