I am unashamedly in love with Grace Helbig. Can you say girl crush?
For those who might be unfamiliar with this hilarious human being: she’s a long-time YouTube star who makes daily (now, three-a-week) videos and has since created a mini web empire that’s included a movie she helped write, produce and star in.
Recently, Grace released a book called Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-up. Of course, I pre-ordered this bad boy and read it cover-to-cover as soon as it arrived. It tells you great things like how to make mac and cheese nachos and how to hide in the corner at parties.
Over the weekend, her book topped the New York Times bestsellers list in the “Advice” category, which also has other big names like Joel Osteen, the creator of PayPal and a little star named Oprah.
I can’t say enough how interesting it is that Internet celebs are becoming big-names beyond the reach of those who spend their Friday nights on Tumblr. I think when these content creators began being a mainstream thing, people thought that was the end of its reach. Now, you see people connecting and caring more about these web stars than any “normal” celebrity.
This is causing them to be able to capitalize on their reach and I think that’s pretty darn awesome. Web beauty gurus Zoella and Tanya Burr both released their own makeup lines. Bethany Mota had a clothing line at Aeropostale and is on this season of Dancing With The Stars. Long-time web sensation Shane Dawson released a movie that he wrote and starred in. Ingrid Nilsen, another beauty gal, is a judge on the new show Project Runway: Threads. The list goes on and on.
There’s several festivals throughout the world like Vidcon and Playlist Live that bring creators and fans together for live shows, panels and meet and greets. Many of these creators also do their own tours or live shows throughout the country. Other YouTubers have been doing podcasts or other forms of entertainment.
I’m a huge YouTube fan, so I find all of these advances great. There’s more ways for me to get my favorite entertainment! I can’t wait to see what’s next for this type of entertainment. My hope? A show staring Grace and Tina Fey. A girl can dream, right?
Sophie Kruse is a junior studying journalism. What’s your favorite YouTube channel? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu or tweet her @kruseco
