The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Who is Stampy Cat?
The reaction to the visit of internet phenomenon Stampy Cat was one that would typically be associated with the arrival of a Hollywood A-list actor or a global pop star.
At least 2,000 schoolchildren packed the Caird Hall, and parts of Dundee city centre were closed, as YouTube video blogger Joseph Garrett arrived to give this year’s Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) Christmas Lecture.
The online profile created by a 24-year-old former barman from Portsmouth has enjoyed phenomenal success, gaining more than 6.7 million YouTube subscribers and more than 420,000 Twitter followers.
To put that into perspective, Joseph’s alter-ego, Stampy, has more YouTube followers than such superstars as Lady Gaga and One Direction.
Similarly, his Twitter page has attracted more than four times the number who follow Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown.
His 428,000 followers could fill Scotland’s four largest football stadiums twice over.
TV and video production graduate Joseph, as Stampy, uploads a video a day for his subscribers, which could be making him £200,000 a month in advertising revenues.
He refused to confirm this amount but conceded income from the videos and merchandise has allowed him to quit his job.
The videos give advice on Minecraft, the globally successful game in which players adventure and build their own worlds from textured cubes.