PewDiePie - The Most Subscribed to Youtuber of All Time.
The Face of a Generation.
The Internet King.
Felix Kjellberg uploaded his first video on the PewDiePie channel in October 2010.
It took little under 3 years for a legend to be born… but…what if it never happened?
Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest Questions… the channel that loves many things…
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I am your host Rebecca Felgate and Today I am asking WHAT if PewDiePie didn’t exist?
What a question…what a day.
Before we get full on into this, why don’t you guys let me know 1 – if I pronounced
his name right, and two if you think the world would be different without Pewds?
Let me know all of your thoughts in the comments section down below and leave a thumbs up on
this video also clickety click that Notification Bell to stay up to date with small, medium
and big answers.
Pewdiepie.
Apparently originally intended to be pronounced Pew DIE PIE after his online gaming name,
Pew, Die…and…er…his love of pie.
I feel you on the last one, Felix.
PewDiePie is the most influential online personality of the last decade.
In July 2012 he hit the one million subscriber milestone but 2013 was his big year in which
he went from 3.5 million to 10 million and then UP to nearly 20 million by the time the
New Year Bells were tolling.
That year he became the most subscribed to Youtuber in the world and , despite being
briefly dethroned once by Youtube itself, since 23rd Dec 2013 held on to the title.
PewDiePie is an old timer and one of the founding pillars on which YouTube as a platform built
its strength.
Named as one of Time Magazine’s World’s 100 Most influential people in 2016, while
you mum and dad might not have heard of him, you would be an absolute fool to downplay
his significance and influence as a historical figure during the boom of social media.
So… what if he didn’t exist?
Well right now PewDiePie has 85 million subscribers, although the number is almost irrelevant as
it keeps on changing.
Beyond those 85 million is a wider network of people who know his name.
Without Pewdiepie, the levels of personal impact would vary.
It would be dramatic to say that the lives of 85 million and change people would be significantly
altered on a personal level.
I am subscribed to pewdiepie…I watch his content every now and then but he doesn’t
factor into my day to day.
Some core members of the BRO army might be devo but then, how could they miss what they
never had?
WELL… let me tell you.
PewDiePie perpetuated the Let’s Play genre.
It is hard to tell if he sole driving force, or just the most prevalent figure riding the
waves, but with his influence I would say he certainly gave a lot to the gaming industry
at the time it was really growing…his presence popularized gameplay and gaming as a spectator…which
likely fed into the growth of E-Sports.
He hit it big with The Last of Us and he provided a lot of coverage for Indie Games…which
may never have found as big an audience without him.
Beyond Gaming – PewDiePie provided commentary for online culture – I am going to go as
far as to say that MEME culture wouldn’t be the same – his Meme reviews have been
some of his best content.
BUT I do have a more serious point to make here.
When PewDiePie started commenting on culture he broke out of a very important box.
From online gamer, he became a Youtube personality…and a youtube personality with opinions, which
very much upset traditional media.
PewDiePie broke the cookie cutter image of celebrities – hosts, presenters… he was
mainstream, but he was akward and he was kind of crude.
All of a sudden being famous… like..super famous.. didn’t mean having to look or act
a certain culturally accepted way.
In some ways PewDiePie championed the everyman.
Early on in his career he was noticed and discussed by the New York Times and Billboard
etc… this is my own speculation have you ever noticed how traditional media platforms
are happy talking about reality TV stars and B list celebrities but when it comes to Youtubers…they
literally only discuss a handful of the utmost successful for their own story gain?
Pewdiepie didn’t have to play nice to the press to get a platform like some reality
stars – worryingly for traditional media – he became bigger than them….
Drawing attention to the platform of the selfmade that had old media shaking in their boots
– that platform is Youtube… something PewDiePie’s success helped perpetuate…but
of course, love it or hate it, which he frequently does…neither could exist without the other.
Pewdiepie’s success came at a time that the concept of how to become successful was
changing.
Previously being a quote un quote celebrity came at the mercy of producers and people
with big money to give you big opportunities.
As a case study, PewDiePie is a really interesting figure in history.
He dropped out of University because he didn’t like it – something that many people would
consider failing.
He then found something he liked better and excelled at it.
PewDiePie as a historical character helped the shift of opinion towards higher education.
10 years prior it seemed vital for all young people to attend university to succeed in
life but now it seems people are finding better ways for them.
I wonder without figures like Pewds saying that that is okay, if a lot of kids would
still be pursing business degrees that their hearts aren’t in.
The big question I suppose is – If Pewdiepie didn’t exist….
Would Youtube monetization have taken the blow it did following his many content scandals,
specifically the 5iver Jews incident in 2017.
Some could argue that without Pewdiepie Youtube as a platform wouldn’t have grown as successful
and therefore received less brands placing their money in it – but others say someone
else would have filled the void left by pewdiepie’s absence, like Jacksepticeye, or Markiplier…but
these people have been a little more responsible with their content.
Pewdiepie, being so successful and making jokes in such poor taste did reveal a worry
for big brands - they don’t tow the clean cut party line that brands are used to dealing
with to deliver their message exactly as they imagine it.
Pewdiepie made marketing team worry.
Of course I am not defending his actions at all.
… it did seem to coincide with Youtube tightening regulations around content creation and made
it harder for smaller youtubers to earn a living… but was that par for the course…would
it have happened any way?
I do wonder if, without pewdiepie, Youtube would be less of a boys club….
With such a prominent male rising through the ranks and creating what he actually called
a BRO army… was he promoting toxic masculinity – pushing females out of the gaming genre
and leaving them to make up and shopping hauls?
I honestly don’t know but I do find it interesting that he changed his fan base name to Squad
fam….
So what if Pewdiepie didn’t exist?
Well the internet would likely be different – who is to say if someone would have filled
his shoes or his gaming chair… probably… but that would be, like with all other what
if they didn’t exist questions… a whole other reality!
For better or worse… he is here.
Get used to it!
Comments from What if T Series Beats Pewdie Pie
Don’t sub to me said… the the world would end.
Quite.