I just watched a content update video by James Rolfe of AVGN fame. In it, he talks about how he's been doing the Silly Internet Videos thing for a decade now, and every year it seems like he has less and less time available to dedicate to AVGN and his other projects, especially now that he has a wife and children.
It got me thinking about the long-term viability of YouTube stardom, and if we'll eventually see a "legacy" generation of trailblazers who occasionally pop up in videos from new artists 20 years from now, making cameos that make old farts like me go "I know that guy!" Or, maybe they're all locked into a set period of notability and will then disappear completely from the public consciousness. I do find it hard to imagine Rolfe -- or industry pundits like Jim Sterling -- still making video game videos at age 60, but maybe I'm just being cynical.
What do you think? Will guys like PewDiePie go down in history as equivalents to some of Hollywood's golden age stars, or are they all just a flash in the pan? Can you think of any formerly popular YouTubers who have transitioned into more sustainable careers since hitting it big on the Internet?
(Also, I realize that there are many more genres of YouTube stars, and this thread wasn't intended to be only about video game critics. I just don't pay much attention to the rest of YouTube.)
It got me thinking about the long-term viability of YouTube stardom, and if we'll eventually see a "legacy" generation of trailblazers who occasionally pop up in videos from new artists 20 years from now, making cameos that make old farts like me go "I know that guy!" Or, maybe they're all locked into a set period of notability and will then disappear completely from the public consciousness. I do find it hard to imagine Rolfe -- or industry pundits like Jim Sterling -- still making video game videos at age 60, but maybe I'm just being cynical.
What do you think? Will guys like PewDiePie go down in history as equivalents to some of Hollywood's golden age stars, or are they all just a flash in the pan? Can you think of any formerly popular YouTubers who have transitioned into more sustainable careers since hitting it big on the Internet?
(Also, I realize that there are many more genres of YouTube stars, and this thread wasn't intended to be only about video game critics. I just don't pay much attention to the rest of YouTube.)