Top Ten Internet SuperStars of 2009

Marina Orlova is self-described as "too hot for words" and a "cunning linguist (puns intended)!" Born in 1980, she is a Russian-born etymologist who has become an Internet celebrity hosting one of the most popular channels online, entitled appropriately: "HotForWords." While Marina exploits her blonde-bombshell looks to the max, appearing scantily-clad in her video clips, she is far from being an "air head". To the contrary, while being attractive is certainly an asset on the Internet, many would be hard pressed to compete with Ms. Orlova on an intellectual level. As her bio indicates, she received degrees in philology from the Nizhny Novgorod State University in 2002, and taught English and world literature to high school students in Moscow, before moving to the US. And as testimony to her online popularity, her video on the derivation of the word "HOOKER" has received over 3 million pageviews on YouTube.

Matthew "Matt" Harding (born September 27, 1976) is an American video game designer and Internet celeb. Known worldwide as "Dancing Matt," his viral videos show him gyrating in front of landmarks and famous international street scenes in various locales around the globe. As the story goes, Harding was known by his friends for a particular dance, and while videotaping in Vietnam, his travel companion suggested he add the dance to the videos...and voila'... the rest is history. Harding has since received widespread coverage of his travel exploits in major print and broadcast media outlets,and was hired by Visa to star in their Travel Happy campaign, proving that becoming Internet famous can lead to a lucrative career! His second video has been viewed over 20,297,423 times on YouTube,and is the product of 14 months'of traveling throughout 42 countries.

The press has said that "it's easy to dismiss Julia Allison as little more than a rank narcissist" — and many of her vocal online critics have agreed. However, in Wired Magazine's August 2008 cover story entitled: "Internet Famous: Julia Allison and the Secrets of Self-Promotion." details how she managed to storm the Internet with publicity stunts that have received widespread attention. Recently she invited handbag designer Mary Rambin and Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to dance in Jazzercise outfits in Times Square to Martha and the Vandellas' '"Dancing in the Street," which was filmed and documented by cameramen. Her new web sites juliaallison.com, itsmejulia.com, and juliajuliajulia.com — are dedicated to sharing almost every waking moment of Allison's life. Internet fame similar to other forms of fame, doesn't come without an emotional price tag, however. Linked romantically with former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., her relationship was used as an attack ad by the National Republican Senatorial Committee in Ford's unsuccessful run for United States Senate in 2006

Here, Julia Allison chats with Wired's Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson about her recent magazine cover story, Reputation Economics 101 and her obsession of emulating Oprah Winfrey's business model for fame.



According to Wikipedia, Justine Ezarik, born March 20, 1984 is considered a viral video comedienne, freelance graphic/web designer and video editor. She is best known as iJustine, a lifecaster who communicates directly with her hundreds of viewers on her Internet tv channel, ijustine.tv. She has appeared in more than 200 videos, including satires on such subjects as Lost and Twitter. Her videos have received more than 25 million views, with 16 million on YouTube alone. Her popularity is such that a video about her wanting to order a cheeseburger got 600,000 YouTube views in a week. She was also featured as one of my Top Ten Twitter Song Singers of all time. Ezarik is most notably known for her "300-page iPhone bill" video which followed the first month of service after the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. The viral video earned her international attention and celebrity.The bad publicity resulting for AT&T actually led the phone company to change their billing procedures for iPhone users.



My number one pick for Top Internet SuperStar is Nick Thune. A Seattle-born comedian now residing in LA. Nick is purusing the American dream in the entertainment field, which started online. Internet Celebrity is not lost on Nick Thune. He appreciates what it has done to help mold his persona and allow him to appeal to a  sizeable and growing fan base. But when asked if he tracks his website traffic, Nick mockingly points out that he has “someone monitor his websites," as he doesn’t “wanna know numbers. I tell them to tell me if the numbers are low, and then I’ll put more work into it. Do you think Picasso knew how many people had or will have seen his work? Is anyone (really) keeping count?”

On his second appearance on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show in August 2007, Nick’s aptly named “Instant Messenger” stand up routine became an ‘instant’ success attracting millions of fans to this YouTube video clip...



More of Nick Thune's latest online exploits including his new webseries, "Nick"s Big Show" can be viewed in a recent zMogo feature and at his website.

While Internet Fame may be fleeting for some, these Top Ten SuperStars stand out from the pack. They have found new and innovative ways to go beyond the ordinary to intrigue, entertain and beguile us. They offer up content and perspectives that while off-center, strangely and astutely hit the mark! Internet fame is the new space for one to experiment and explore dreams, as long as you can come armed with ideas and just the right amount of imagination.

Take our survey and vote for your favorite Internet Celebrities. The final results will be revealed May 15, 2009.