Sarah Austin.
News, comments and interviews around micro fame online. Pop17 is a two-to-three minute daily exploration to track, analyze and understand the new cultural phenomenon of online micro-celebrity. Who are these new influentials? What are their stories? How have they leveraged their online successes? These are the kinds of questions we will explore everyday at Pop17. Grab an RSS feed! Or you can find me on Twitter and YouTube.
20th
Magibon is a video blogger who lives in the US, but claims to be from Japan. She does not speak Japanese fluently and speaks English as a first language. However, all of her videos show her either speaking in Japanese or not saying anything at all. Some people ask why she gets an average of a million views per video. How did Magibon become a meme?
1. Controversy: She is fascinating because there is controversy over her being real or fake so many people tune in just to search for clues and information about her. She is like a well-kept secret. For more information on the eyelash-batting mystery see internetfamous.
2. Different: Here eyes are abnormally large. People get something they have never seen before when they look at her face because the shape and size of her eyes are unlike anyone’s eyes. She has puppy eyes and is really cute.
3. Sex: Men are more attracted to women they cannot communicate with says Caitlin Hill, a YouTube talent scout and video blogger. Because she doesn’t say anything in most videos it’s clear that people aren’t watching to learn, gain information or see a spectacle.
Magibon has received a lot of press. Playboy Japan wrote an article about her in their print magazine and she makes many television appearances in Japan. She says that she would like to live in Japan and improve her speaking skills, but so far she remains in the US. What is next for Magibon? Tell me your stories about this YouTube star- Sarah@pop17.com
