THERE have been a number of stories this week about a 24-year-old YouTube vlogger, Zoe Sugg (bear with me on this one), who has just published her debut novel, Girl Online.
THERE have been a number of stories this week about a 24-year-old YouTube vlogger, Zoe Sugg (bear with me on this one), who has just published her debut novel, Girl Online. The fuss has been about the extent to which the book was penned by a ghost-writer. If you're like me, not only will the name of Zoe Sugg signally fail to ring any bells, but the entire concept of vlogging will be utterly alien to you.
Vloggers (God, that's an awful word) are independent young video bloggers who record their thoughts, daily experiences and fashion purchases for the benefit of millions of viewers on YouTube. It is uncannily popular: Zoe, who vlogs about fashion and beauty, has more than 6.5 million YouTube subscribers.
Her book has enjoyed the highest first-week sales for a debut author. Her fans genuinely don't care about a ghost-writer. Zoe's boyfriend and fellow vlogger, Alfie Deyes, has more than three million subscribers; when he launched his own book in a London bookstore, an estimated 8,000 fans (mostly young and female) laid siege to the place.
Gingerly, I turned to YouTube and watched a few vloggers at work. The tone is relentlessly upbeat and the subjects are frothy, but there are only so many breathless descriptions of new eyeliners or latest fashions that one can reasonably be expected to take. The bubbly approach grates after a while. The vloggers are young, they're having fun, but it all seems relentlessly narcissistic; you find yourself channelling Chandler Bing and asking wearily: "Could you BE any more pointless?"
Except, of course, that it isn't pointless. These vloggers are the stars of tomorrow. Many of them have already become youth presenters on Radio 1. Lots of them coin it in by selling branded merchandise or mentioning specific products. One company that manages several vloggers says: "Social Talent is definitely the new celebrity. Far from being a 'flash in the pan' this is the result of a total shift in the way a whole generation consumes their entertainment and selects their influences."
He's right. Vlogging is evidence of the dizzying speed with which youth culture and new technology feed off each other and transform the media and entertainment landscape. In any event, the vloggers can look after themselves. As one of them, Sprinkle of Glitter, observes on Twitter: "I'm so so SO fed up of reading negative articles from (some) traditional media about YTers. get over it. we're here. JEEZ."
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