PewDiePie: Herald of the YouTube gaming revolution

When asked to think of Big "C" creatives, my first thoughts are of intellectual giants such as Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, and Neil deGrasse Tyson or of business moguls such as Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, or Mark Cuban. But I felt that I could not really relate to any of them, they seemed so much larger than life. Which brought me to my next question: do Big "C" creatives have to be these larger than life figures. Certainly, they did not have such prominence before their work, but after, it seems almost necessary for a Creative to gain such prominence. So I thought about this for a while, and I found a loophole in my thinking: YouTube celebrities. Although the most prominent YouTube stars gain the prominence of conventional celebrities, they are often a mere click away. Unlike, conventional celebrities, their content is largely personality based rather than based around a product they produce. Accordingly, each video represents a more intimate interaction between the creator and the viewer than music of videos of some sort. I knew what kind of person I wanted to do, but I was not too sure. I knew I couldn't just pick my favorite You Tuber because they might not hold the prominence necessary, so I picked the most popular You Tuber I could think of: PewDiePie.

Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (2019)

College dropout turned YouTube sensation, Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg joined the ranks of YouTube creators in 2010 - five years after the site opened. Felix had been a self proclaimed gamer all his life and had been interested in recording his videos for a long time. YouTube in 2010 was full of vloggers and sketch comedians (I'm sure we all remember Fred), gaming channels on YouTube weren't really a thing yet - but some did exist. Without a mold to adhere to, Felix was free to create his own material without much influence from other creators or fear of being unpopular for being different. He posted
"let's play"videos of himself playing horror games - and later Minecraft - which gained lots of views very quickly, but the crux of his popularity game from montage videos he created. It was in these videos where his goofy, energetic, and endearing personality was able to shine. Viewers couldn't get enough of it. By July 2012, he had 1 million subscribers, in 2013 he had 10 million, and reached 19 million near the end of 2013. He now sits at 101 million.


Minecraft loading screen

Felix popularized gaming on Youtube, and changed it in a profound way. In 2016, he shifted from content driven posts to personality driven posts. That translated to less gaming videos and more "try not to laugh" videos. This shift from the content to the creator changed how YouTube was used and influenced every other gaming channel that popped up. Felix's channel became the blueprint for a successful gaming channel on YouTube influencing the type of games played and even how they are played. As a gamer, he knew that he could not always be the best at whatever game he played, so he didn't make it about him being the best. He made his channel about him being himself and just having a good time. Felix Kjellberg was among the first to create a brand based on his personality on YouTube and make millions off of it, recreated gaming on YouTube and influenced other creators, and gained international prominence and popularity in doing so,which is why he is a Big "C" creative.

PewDiePie subscriber count

References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aopyONlY51k
http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1477/how-youtube-developed-into-a-successful-platform-for-user-generated-content
https://www.google.com/search?

rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS793US793&biw=1920&bih=969&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ACYBGNQngLw1RlH0BB2NoeoTnqUSajKbhQ%3A1569961533855&sa=1&ei=PbaTXdHwM8mosgWipIWwBg&q=pewdiepie&oq=pewdiepie&gs_l=img.3..35i39j0l9.180091.181802..182059...0.0..0.101.693.8j1......0....1..gws-wiz-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PewDiePie
Images:
img.......0i67.hHE5V3N36Us&ved=0ahUKEwiRg6W88vvkAhVJlKwKHSJSAWYQ4dUDCAc&uact=5#imgrc=-YoI-T0kj_RCoM:\
https://www.google.com/search?

q=pewdiepie+channel&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS793US793&sxsrf=ACYBGNTWWfXp70voFMgwrxzgkb1ITJTY5w:1569961760787&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF57-o8_vkAhUsmuAKHdsGD74Q_AUIFCgD&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=hi0k9VUbVMeiBM:
https://www.google.com/search?

q=minecraft&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS793US793&sxsrf=ACYBGNTqHJ73C8sowiT5XmKCkuki3AxYfQ:1569961745540&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikmJ2h8_vkAhXBV98KHVQDBHwQ_AUIFCgD&biw=1920&bih=969#imgrc=qCGu62FOHXd78M: