> I can't think of any internet stars I'm particularly desperate to see go into politics, and that's not because I'm delighted by the status quo

This is a good point, but consider how a lot of politics is kept off of typical social media channels, either due to overarching censorship or decency concerns, because of concerns about repelling advertisers, or simply because the main issues we are fed have mostly to do with what powerful interests want (fear of Islam, fear of Russia, fear of immigration, fear of global warming, etc.)

Certainly such a system would be full of many of the same noise and garbage that fills social media, but I think it would be very interesting to see what would emerge if the constraints imposed by elites were not relevant.

Right now, the only people who focus on social media are the Kim Kardashians and Donald Trumps of the world. More serious people avoid it. Even Michael Moore, in an attempt to use social media to spread his views, now acts like a B-list celeb and plays to a very large, mainstream audience. He essentially plays the part of earnest lefty filmmaker, but he's not anywhere near power.

I think you must inhabit different social media worlds from me. I see an enormous amount of politics on social media, which tends to be even more lowbrow and fear-driven than the mainstream media for reasons which have nothing to do with capital and everything to do with clicks.

Well, I'd argue that what you're seeing is a second-tier of power/wealth-hungry individuals. The first tier occupies our political leadership.

The behavior is basically identical, but with dramatically different payouts. Both involve finding a tribe and riding that tribe's enthusiasm to greater notoriety and wealth.

Slate star codex/Scott Alexander is a good example of internet-driven democratization of opportunity. A trainee psychiatrist from somewhere in the Midwest, the quality of his blog posts on economic and social issues has led to him being one of the most influential thinkers around at present.

I think you just demonstrated the fat-tail balkanisation of the web - Brit here, never heard of this dude.

For many still, the first time they hear of someone outside their own bubble will be when e.g. old media invites them on as a guest, due to their Internet fame.