How social media has created a new breed of paparazzi

On Halloween night, Davis posted a photo to Instagram: her dressed as an angel in a pink wig; him in a devil costume.

Although she didn’t name the hotel, Diggs noticed distinctly patterned carpet and curtains in the background. He trawled Midtown hotel Web sites until he found rooms advertised with the same interior design.

Diggs and Peña are a new breed of paparazzi, cursed and blessed by social media. Celebrity selfies and fan-snapped shots on the Internet have cut the prices they can charge for their pictures. But those tweets and Instagrams and Facebook posts allow them to track down and trail boldfaced names like never before.
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“A picture that now costs $400 was worth $15,000 to $20,000” before Instagram, Peña said. “It was harder to get pictures, harder to get stories.”
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The duo also searches Twitter for celebrity names or for phrases like “just saw Beyoncé,” “Jennifer Aniston is at” and “spotted Jennifer Aniston.”
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Many of their tips come from what Diggs and Peña call their “little agents,” a half-dozen teens and college kids they’ve befriended who stalk celebs to take selfies with them.
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Splash News, their agents. 
http://nypost.com/2015/11/08/paparazzi-reveal-secrets-of-tracking-stars-on-social-media/