I was starting to feel a little bad for him back in the day, but now I'm thinking maybe I was wrong for doing so.

There's glimpses of some real tragedy and dramatic irony from about 6:20 onwards, but sadly, Pruane's not got any natural showmanship and can't capitalize on his own story. Young man, already broken by life, living off the falsely optimistic memories of a time that never was; in someone else's hands that could be a great story, but instead, it comes off as boring and pointless as Pruane himself.

And drank a lot while pregnant.

Lucid, yes, thoughtful, no. He claims he was a celebrity, for chrissake! I don't know whether that's delusions, or Stockholm syndrome, or just flat out lying because the truth is too difficult for him to handle right now, but the internet was laughing at him, not with him.

Rasho-meme-on

I don't think "celebrity" means what you think it means.

Why, what do you think it means, and what do you think I think it means?

Being a celebrity isn't just about being known for something. It's about being well-known, AND about being able to parlay your fame into a network of career options and social connections. iJustine, Justin Bieber, Lia Marie Johnson, pewdiepie, and even Boxxy, they are all celebrities in the strictest sense of the word. Boomer, Jessi Slaughter, DemoniusX, Nick Bravo, and Daniel Songer, no matter how well known they may be in certain underground circles, are not.

Pruane is, at best, a minor ceWebrity, of the lolcow variety. He's a meme, yes, a historically significant figure, no doubt. A *celebrity*? Hell no.

It just sounds like you're jealous.

You *could* try to argue that he was an anti-celebrity (and I am assuming that this is what you wish to do, and why you're so confused), but here again, we fall into the problem of options and connections. While it's certainly true that some individuals are able to take their *infamy* and parlay that into something rather like a gross approximation of celebrity (Pauly Shore, Courtney Stodden), Pruane fails at this, too.

Well, I'm jealous for ChrisChan's sake, I'll give you that. If ChrisChan had of been offered even half the opportunities Pruane was, by a legit mainstream media outlet, then we'd be swimming in officially licensed Sonichu merchandise right now.

Are you sure "Chris Chan" isn't code words for "EvilHomer's soaring heart and infinite dreams" on this one? Maybe you should make some vidyos? We'll watch them.

What the fuck is this business about claiming The Weaz isn't a celebrity?

I like your list of celebrities and non-celebrities Homer. Your celebrities have sweet sounding names, your nons sound like a list of wrestlers, except maybe Songer. I wonder what that's saying?

I hadn't known about Pruane2, but it is cool that he got a call from 50 Cent, and an offer to appear on late night TV, though he didn't go.

Maybe it's that he grew up in the whole Youtube culture and doesn't have another reference on what celebrity really means. It's a feeling I was getting while watching the video, and I could see him thinking, you do videos and get popular, and that's all it's about, only to realize later there's more to the magic.

Boomer

Pruane was some poor kid who got gangstalked by 4chan and ED. They turned him into a meme - "Jawsus", on account of his misshapen teeth and distinctly amusing speech impediment.

iJustine is a Youtuber turned corporate spokeswoman and model. Justin Bieber was a Youtuber turned highly successful teen-pop idol turned universally hated anti-celebrity. Lia Marie Johnson was the Fine Brothers' ("Kids/Elders/Whatever Reacts") breakout star, now an actress and pin-up icon for the Reddit community. Pewdiepie is some Fred/Foamy-the-Squirrel type person who's apparently become a millionaire off of Youtube. And Boxxy is John Holmes Motherfucker's daughter, former Queen of the Internet; like iJustine and LMJ, she's gainfully employed as a professional actress now.

On the wrestler side, Boomer is you (obviously!), and while I think you've got a shot at becoming a successful celebrity (a "cult" celebrity, like Robert Crumb or Bruce Campbell), I don't really think that kind of phony existence is what you want out of life. Jessi Slaughter was another 4chan target from back in the day; a foul-mouthed little girl who was raped by the singer of Blood on the Dancefloor, beaten by her dad, and a whole mess of other terrible things that I won't dwell on here. DemoniusX is a big fat guy known for his sexism, racism, and comically gross behavior; Nick Bravo should be common knowledge to anyone here on poeTV; and Daniel Songer is one of the world's worst comedian - like Pruane, he was given at least one shot at celebrity (thanks Daniel Tosh), but he failed to capture the establishment's attention.

Anyway, you might be right, their names might have something to do with it! From what I've seen, the well-known "internet people" who later go on to become glitzy and glamorous celebrities, they tend to be the sort of people who might have succeeded at a Hollywood casting call anyway. They're pretty, pleasant, sweet, hip, and yet a little boring. They generally aren't very confrontational or thought-provoking, but they seem likeable and they've got a broad base of appeal. They also tend to go by names which reflect their inoffensive, non-specific nature: iJustine. Shane Dawson. Cayla Wood. Names which could appear on a business card.

But you've got to wonder, if these legitimate celebrities had pro-wrestler style names, would their channels have generated the same amount of interest? If Jenna Marbles, say, had instead called herself xXwolfraper87, would she be one of the top ten most-subscribed channels right now? It's something to consider.

Hi Homer, thanks for your explanation of who these folks are, the simple notes version is what I needed to get some idea of where they stand. I've seen some of the names, but the ones I look at mostly are U-Dog, and, really I guess just him, and I've seen Demonius, maybe a Boxxy or two that I didn't understand out of the context of all the other things she did, which was okay, I'm learning.

That seems right, having an inoffensive handle means they might have been aiming for mass appeal to begin with, or could have been just where they were headed anyway. I remember when Justin had just come out, wholesome from the start, a wrestler name just wouldn't have fit him.

Even in Dogs, would Pudsey have won Britain's Got Tailwags if his name was Rex The Killer, Thor or something like that? True, people might have taken it as a joke dealing in opposites, but I think, at least for Brits, Pudsey makes a tender impression from the start because his namesake is a charity bear with one eye covered.

Such is the power of names. People have said to me, 'You don't seem like a Boomer', but I think they get it more when I explain the original Dog and how it's a Dog's name, and not the football player, a bouncer or something like that. I think it does fit, I kind of like the different emotions it can cause.

Yeah, you're right Homer, I wouldn't want to be a pop celebrity, but then again if I could get paid a million dollars a gig for being a celebrity DJ, I'd go for that and use the bucks to advance my Canine Kingdom and broadcasting.

Boomer

Much like Dipper Pines, I think if Pruane's voice changed, we would all be less better off.

Get him a sulfur hexafluoride implant.