YouTubers

How YouTube Shook Up TV and Created a New Generation of Stars

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Pub Date 2 May 2019 | Archive Date 31 Jan 2020

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Description

Jake Paul, PewDiePie and Zoella have millions of fans in their thrall. Their videos zoom around the globe, from LA to London to Lagos. And their power is growing. Nearly two billion people now watch YouTube.

Yet the world’s biggest video site remains a mystery to the public and media. What is the secret of its appeal? How do its stars cope with being in front of the lens? And who is behind their success?

Journalist Chris Stokel-Walker has spoken to more than 100 insiders for the first independent in-depth book on the video sharing phenomenon. He charts YouTube’s rise from single home video to multi-billion-dollar business – while uncovering the truth about brand deals, burnout and authenticity.

Take a peek into the real lives of YouTubers, discover YouTube’s outsized impact on society, and see what the future holds.

'No one understands the intricacies of YouTube like Chris Stokel-Walker. His reporting on the platform and its creators has been ground breaking and unparalleled.' – Taylor Lorenz, The Atlantic

'If you want to understand the inner workings of your favourite YouTube influencers, or perhaps if you want to understand why your children are always talking about them, you should read this book. It’s smart, sweeping and significant.' – Simon Clark, YouTuber



Jake Paul, PewDiePie and Zoella have millions of fans in their thrall. Their videos zoom around the globe, from LA to London to Lagos. And their power is growing. Nearly two billion people now watch...


A Note From the Publisher

UK and Ireland distributor: Combined Book Services (https://www.combook.co.uk)

US and Canada sales and distribution: Casemate https://www.casemateipm.com

UK and Ireland distributor: Combined Book Services (https://www.combook.co.uk)

US and Canada sales and distribution: Casemate https://www.casemateipm.com


Advance Praise

'YouTube is a global phenomenon. Such is its immensity, deeply integrated in the world of young people, that any description of the website will always come up short. Like blind men grasping at an elephant, aspects that may seem fundamental to one observer will be totally absent from the account of another. To gain an overview of any credibility, one must not only consider YouTube through many lenses - economic, sociological, historical - but also multiple perspectives. Stokel-Walker’s YouTubers succeeds as a cutting-edge account of one of most important websites in the world, as seen through the eyes of some of its top creators, industry experts, and researchers.

'Drawing on interviews on topics ranging from extremism to mental health to finance, Stokel-Walker weaves a tapestry of impressive scope. Speaking as a YouTuber, he captures the feel of the website, what it is to be a YouTuber (warts and all), and in particular highlights many of the less-publicised struggles of creating content to offer up to the almighty Algorithm. I suspect that in years to come, YouTubers will be viewed as an important historical account. It is a front-line report of a key time in the history of digital content creation and consumption, a meticulously researched history of online video, and a deep anthropological study of the often misunderstood Homo influenceris.

'If you want to understand the inner workings of your favourite YouTube influencers, or perhaps if you want to understand why your children are always talking about them, you should read this book. It’s smart, sweeping, and significant.'

– Simon Clark, YouTuber

'YouTube is a global phenomenon. Such is its immensity, deeply integrated in the world of young people, that any description of the website will always come up short. Like blind men grasping at an...


Marketing Plan

External publicist running national campaign

Major TV, radio and print expected

Social media campaign featuring YouTubers and YouTube book reviews

External publicist running national campaign

Major TV, radio and print expected

Social media campaign featuring YouTubers and YouTube book reviews


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781912454211
PRICE £20.00 (GBP)
PAGES 352

Available on NetGalley

Send to Kindle (EPUB)

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

Being a YouTuber, it was very interesting to read about it. There's a lot of information about YouTube dynamics from a lot of perspectives. From vloggers with varied contents to viewers.
I really enjoyed this book which was a backstage to fascinating YouTube World.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy.

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I really enjoyed looking into the Youtube world. Having been an avid watcher since 2009 I understood the world on the surface level but this book goes so much deeper. The sheer amount of research that the author did is incredible.

The book includes the views of a wide range of Youtubers including one of my favourites, Lucy Moon. It is an easy read and I read it happily in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canbury for this book.

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This book caught my attention because I am both an avid YouTube watcher and a not-so-avid YouTuber. I thought I had a fairly good understanding of YouTube’s beginning and workings but reading this was really eye-opening. I love a good backstory and have to say that my eyes were opened to the nitty-gritty of my favourite app. Now I seem to be coming across more stories that reinforce the book’s salient points which I never noticed before. It’s a well-written book that canvasses and the length and breadth of the contexts, motivations and ideas that combine to form YouTube’s story which is also, I think, a story about our evolving civilisation and rapidly morphing social norms.

One major thrust of the book which I don’t agree with, however, is the responsibility heaped on the organisation to police content. While not a supporter of unpoliced publications that spread radicalisation, conspiracy theories and other misinformation, I believe these things are really only a reflection of humanity itself. It is humans themselves that should be addressed. We somehow need to address the root causes of these issues – in which case I see policing content as merely suppressing the problems. I realise this might be a bit of an idealist point of view, but it seems a bit unfair to shove this responsibility on emerging tech and then call their responses overreactions.

This is very much a book relevant to current times. I feel like the conclusion could have been a bit stronger, although, at the same time, the author is very right in leaving it open-ended. YouTube is really too novel a phenomenon to predict a solid trajectory for and there is little/no baseline for permutations. How can one really make conclusions about what YouTube will hold for humanity? I give this book 4.2 stars.

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What a great book, sharing the secrets of YouTube’s success. I was fascinated by the start up story and found the book full of interesting information. I also enjoyed hearing about famous YouTubers and the secrets to their success. Highly recommend this to anyone who’s thinking of starting a YouTube channel or anyone who wants to understand contemporary business.

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A really interesting read giving a good insight into YouTube from many different perspectives. A good informative read.

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