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Few have defined the eternal strife between man and corporation quite like PewDiePie does. His ascent into the nine-digit subscriber club was weathered by the fiercest winds of policy change, algorithm tweaks, and a latter fight for the number one spot with T-Series that the internet would meme about ad nauseam before the Indian entertainment hub overtook Felix and shuttled safely into the top.
Kjellberg’s history on the platform is worth looking at, if only for the fact that the cards once seemed to be stacked against him in a significant way. Back when I’d personally heard of PewDiePie, it was always brought up in a negative context-” Why is this guy screaming all the time? “ the strand of criticism usually went. While it is true that PewDiePie howled a significant way of his journey through stardom, what he’s done to distinguish himself from other creators by commanding a respectable knowledge of internet memetics and wielding it to better connect with his audience is nothing shy of impressive. To hit virality in the age of the internet, is to speak its language, and PewDiePie showcased a distinct ability to learn — and subsequently shape — that language as his channel continued to grow.
