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« Duke or The Count? | Main | More YouTube Finds »

July 06, 2006

New-Style Video Stardom

Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

As the video universe moves onto the web, we're seeing a new kind of video stardom emerge. Amanda Congdon and Rocketboom may have parted ways but, with more than 400,000 hits so far, YouTube cutiepie Emmalina is taking up some of that slack. Much-loved for her sweetly goofy overbite, her Tasmanian accent, her sincere Christian belief, and her tendency to "dance like a strippa," Emmalina posts a new videoblog around once a week. In my favorite so far she expresses her reservations about looking at pornography and confesses that amateur porn suits her tastes the best.

I can't make sense out of MySpace pages -- they hurt my eyes -- but, fwiw, here's Emmalina's. I have no idea what this is about -- a dating site maybe? -- but there it is. (Does Emmalina's b.f. know about it?) Emmalina wants the whole world to understand that, appearances to the contrary, "I'm naturally a private person." On her LiveJournal blog, Emmalina confides a piquant fantasy that ran through her mind the other day ...

I notice that Wikipedia has immortalized Emmalina, and that the Washington Post has covered the Emmalina phenomenon too. Self-described "YouTube loser" LazyDork made a hilarious rap video about Emmalina. He also sings an ode to "Emmalina time" here.

Best,

Michael

posted by Michael at July 6, 2006




Comments

Emmalina's post commenting on porn has had over 509,000 viewings. Holy cow!

I've spent 20 hours watching YouTube this last month ,mostly watching music videos made when I was in 7th grade. Yet, I notice that all the "most viewed" entires are personal/silly diaries like Emmalina's.

I got into a debate with my wife over how we would feel if our own daughter was to make a public video diary like this. My wife seemed to think it would be a waste of time and devalue her sense of privacy. I like the idea. Yes, the quality of Emmalina's posts might not stand up well in comparison with some classic teenage handwritten diaries. Yet, it's a new medium and full of promise. Also, we've been very good at emphasizing writing skills in public schools, comparably much worse at teaching speaking skills. Nothing sharpens your mind as much as speaking to... 509,000+ people?!?

And, as seen by her livejournal entry, the net gives a whole new avenue for unleashing teenage creativity. Neat. I'm really looking forward to watching this develop.

All that said, some of Emmalina's topics are a bit risque for me, given her age. Michael, do you feel guilty watching them and being over 30? I feel a bit like a dirty old man.

That "Beckers" girl, though (Emmalina's main competitor it terms of gross popularity I think)... she's just a goofy kid. Hee hee.

Posted by: Holzbachian on July 7, 2006 7:25 AM






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