THE YOUTUBE phenomenom
Profession: YouTuber
Online celebrities using the platform have millions of followers worldwide and have rock-star fame; the Swede PewDiePie earned almost seven million euros in 2014 thanks to his videos
Are YouTubers just a passing fad? Perhaps. Right now it is difficult to say. The truth is that these celebrities on YouTube have millions of fans around the world and also move millions of euros just as though they were rock or film stars. Even Time magazine has included the popular YouTuber Rubius in its list of the most influential young people in the world for the new generations. Over 21 million fans have catapulted him to the top of the digital pedestal as the YouTuber with the most followers in Spain. Yet, at the same time, his character and his peculiar sense of humour have earned him an equal or even higher number of detractors. It is not for nothing that he qualifies as a kind of Belén Esteban 2.0.
Luckily, there are more fish in the YouTube pond. The sucess of young YouTubers is based on their large number of followers who flood the network with all kinds of videos not only showcase their creativity, but also their loves and hates in the field of video gaming in particular.
Most popular of all is Sweden's PewDiePie. His nearly 50 million fans have made him a global star, while his bank account has grown accordingly. Data he himself made public shows that in 2014 he earned about seven million euros thanks to his videos. It is far from a negligible amount, and yet it gives us an idea of the importance of these young stars among advertisers.
Fernanfloo is a YouTuber from El Salvador with over 16 million followers, closely followed by the Chilean, JuegaGerman. Then there is the American Markiplier, noted mainly for his sense of humour, with 15 million. Meanwhile, Irish YouTuber Jacksepticeye, who posts daily videos related to video games, has 13 million. Then there is American iHasCupquake, who shows that while there are more males than females in the sphere, women are slowly making their presence felt on YouTube talking about video games.
Mexico's ALK4PON3 MYM, although ‘only' having just over a million followers, is one of YouTubers with most presence in the Latin American scene.
Closer to home
Returning to Spain's YouTubers, after Rubius we have Vegetta777. His dry humour and his fondness for Minecraft has attracted nearly 16 million followers. This fan of Dragon Ball is one of the most influential in the Spanish-speaking world. And along with Vegetta777, we must not forget WillyRex. Although they started out separately, in recent years they have joined forces to form an unbeatable digital duo. Their almost eight million followers guarantee their ability to attract young people around the country and in Latin America. They have also joined forces with aLexBY11 (more than six million followers). All three put aside their egos and jealousy and stick to the maxim: “unity is strength.”
iTownGamePlay has more than seven million followers and his speciality is horror videos. Luzugames has more than six million followers by sharing video games, geek skits and monologues. Mangelrogel has more than five million and is a friend of Rubius, and together they share some videos on the network. AuronPlay is also a prominent on the YouTube network. His parodies and his criticisms have helped to attract more than four million followers on the service.
We have to go back to 2.6 million followers to find the first female, Sarinha. While the types of games she comments on are similar to other YouTubers (with special attention to Minecraft), her style and personality bring added value. With a little over a million and a half fans there are young stars, such as Josemicod5, KillerCreeper55 and Alexelcapo.
They all have youth in common, expertise in social media and the ability to communicate with an entire generation accustomed to consuming digital products and who, gradually, are moving away from traditional media, such as television. Will the Youtube bubble burst one day? Perhaps, but for now things are still looking good.