Supplemental Post #6

A new kind of star

Movie and TV stars have always been the go to image for a ‘celebrity’. But with the internet explosion over the past decade a new kind of star has come to light. What I am referring to are the YouTube celebrities. For the most part, they are within the 16-34 demographic and make videos from daily ‘vlogs’ to how-to videos. But what is most interesting about this new group of star is that because YouTube is an open source these ‘celebrities’ have risen out from the masses. The most popular YouTuber PewDiePie, who makes video game videos is worth $12 million with his 36.3 million subscribers and 8.6 billion channel views. Many of these stars have used their YouTube popularity to boost other projects. Grace Helbig (ItsGrace who has 2.3 million subscribers and 93.8 million channel views) has used her online popularity to fund a movie with her friends (Camp Takota) and just recently got her own show (The Grace Show) on E! Or the even more successful YouTuber, John Green (Vlog Brothers) whose books, The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns have been turned into movies. 

Many can agree that this is the golden age of television. But it also seems to be the decade of the online celebrity. It is interesting to see how the idea of celebrity has changed over the years. Morphing with the changes in technology and it offers the average person a platform to get recognized and the possibility of stardom. This transition to include online celebrities is in an interesting transition. Many YouTubers are extending their reach beyond the website to explore other ventures. While there are many more hopeful people waiting to take their place, because of the evolution of the web, it does not necessarily mean that the online stars today will be relevant tomorrow.