Online fame crossing into traditional media predates the YouTube era by years

Evidence

Historicizing beyond the popularity of YouTube in Singapore in the early 2010s, prolific bloggers who had acquired online fame were similarly roped into traditional media projects in the mid-2000s. One such example is mrbrown who has been blogging since 1997 and is affectionately known as the “blogfather of Singapore.” — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 201

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth checking how far back this blogger-to-newspaper pipeline goes and whether other platforms preceded blogs.
• XREF: connects to: Early viral-web pioneers formed a scene crossing art, comedy, and network science — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 945; Online participatory culture predates the dot-com boom by years — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 80; The public information film became a talisman of 1970s paternalism now revived by YouTube — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life: Writings on…, 322 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The rhetoric celebrating YouTube and blogs was first applied to zines decades earlier #exemplifies (0.82) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 83
• Early viral-web pioneers formed a scene crossing art, comedy, and network science #exemplifies (0.78) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 945
• Online participatory culture predates the dot-com boom by years #exemplifies (0.78) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 80
• The public information film became a talisman of 1970s paternalism now revived by YouTube #exemplifies (0.75) — Mark Fisher, Ghosts of My Life, 322