Fred Figgelhorn (Lucas Cruikshank) is one of the most subscribed and viewed videomakers on YouTube. He has used this fame to leave YouTube, sell stuff, and get his own TV movie, as well. "His videos are centered on Fred Figglehorn, a fictional 6-year-old who has a dysfunctional home life and 'anger management issues.'"[cit]

Community on the internet has been a focus for academic study. "Research into Internet communities and online behavior constituted one of the earliest and most dynamic fields of interest in the new field of Internet studies ... including understanding how social order was possible in mediated environments, the social and political dimensions of community, the impacts that online communities could have on their offline counterparts."[cit] Users have been drawn to YouTube, and other web 2.0 platforms in the name of community.

"Fred went from an Internet-only phenomenon to the first YouTube-based intellectual property to migrate successfully to another medium." [cit]--Shelby Beauchamp, LFYT 2015

One of my three founding calls for this project is integrating theory and practice with the local and global. YouTubers can lead and learn from conversations in real communities about the impacts, meanings, and power of the media. This should be done through site-specific and problem-based projects where we create solutions communally.