YouTube's Battle For Supremacy, But Youth Wins

So, there is a currently a huge battle underway on YouTube to be the #1 most subscribed channel. Smosh, who has been #1 since April 2007 -- an eternity in Internet time -- is currently just barely ahead of nigahiga and Fred. And checking the actual subscribers counts on the channels themselves (which are usually more up to date than the chart excerpted above), Smosh's lead is down to just over 700 subscribers.

(Smosh fans say: Oh noez!)

Now, it might be noted that this unholy threesome appeal to a lot of teens and kids who are more than able and willing to game subscriber numbers, at least when they are not hacking Sarah Palin's email. But, to their credit, these video creators also consistently get huge viewcounts on their vids, and I haven't seen any evidence of cheating.

When Smosh bypassed lonelygirl15 as the #1 most subscribed channel 17 months ago, it only took just over 91,000 subscribers to edge out Bree. Smosh now has well over five times more subscribers. Yet the lonelygirl15 channel stalled and never exceeded 115,000. YouTube is fickle like that, as its stars of yesteryear (anyone remember Geriatric1927?) are being replaced by more youth-oriented content, which itself is becoming semi-professional as these stars reel in some cash.

See also: YouTubeStars' Top 100 Chart

ETA 9/24/2008 11pm PT: Nigahiga just edged smosh sometime in the last 10 minutes, nigahiga has 531,009 to smosh's 531,006.

Official YouTube chart updated:

Kenny from YouTube stars comments: "Thanks for the links to our blog and the Top 100 Chart! My guess is that Nigahiga will pass Smosh in the next week and then Fred will move to #1 in the next few weeks. Will be interesting to watch and see!"

And over at Smosh.com, the fans brush away the tears:

... I have never seen a Smosh video that didn't make me at least snicker. SMOSH IS BETTER.

The problem is that everyone knows about NigaHiga at schools... And yet when I mention Smosh people are like "who now?" It's like "WTF how'd you find out about NigaHiga then...

i ownz ensurantz compinny?

I feel very unknowledgeable about the true import of what is going on in the US economy this week ... wade in if you dare ...

So the news is telling me that the Fed finally decided to bail out AIG. I assume most people have not heard of AIG until recently, but it is one of the top 25 companies, in size, in the entire world, and the largest insurance company in the U.S. (not sure who is bigger worldwide, but AIG is one of the biggest).

And in return for a line of credit up to $85 billion, the Federal Reserve Bank now owns 79.9% of AIG. The press releases don't say it quite this way -- but we have nationalized this company. what the hell is going on?

Among the questions that occur to me is why Chapter 11 bankruptcy (a reorganization bankruptcy - you keep operating subject to bankruptcy law protections from creditors, like the airlines have done many times) was not acceptable for AIG?

Do we get to fire those in charge of AIG now, and take back their surely huge corporate bonuses, or cut their salaries?

according to one article, one analyst says this "not a nationalization because the Fed does not intend to run AIG. The Fed will get a profit on this, which it should." so, we own 80% of AIG, but don't intend to have any say in how it is run?

Is this like the (much smaller) 1979 bailout of Chrysler, which this conservative org. article from 1983 lambasted?

I am trying to figure out how these recent government decisions from people supposedly dedicated to the free market (including the retaking of Fannie and Freddie) are not socialism. (opinion piece here from unvetted source - "the New American?" - that seems to agree) McCain can say nationalized insurance for health care would be bad, but we just nationalized the largest insurance company we have!

ETA: Even that idiot Jonah Goldberg at The Corner doesn't seem enthused about the buyout.