iStardom Inc. announced the 2008 year-end web celebrity rankings for the Entertainment, Model, and Expert categories. A web celebrity is an individual whose fame is primarily derived from their Internet presence. iStardom rankings are based on over 45 weighted attributes from many social networking sites across the entire Internet.

“Across the web, the iStardom Top 10 are seeing monthly fan growth rates in excess of 8%,” said Bryan Barton, Co-founder of iStardom. “Many of the top web celebs have a proven following that rivals popular television programs. Specifically, the iStardom Top 10 has a fan base exceeding 8 million people.”

"Web celebrities are an entirely new breed of stars and ones that have rising influence," said Daisy Whitney, TelevisionWeek's new media reporter and host of the New Media Minute. She continued, "Brand marketers, production companies, and traditional media should pay attention to who's hot online and find creative ways to partner with them."

The Top 10 Entertainers

1. Smosh

2. Fred

3. Nigahiga

4. Chris Crocker

5. Michael Buckley

6. Tila Tequila

7. Sxe Phil

8. Athenewins

9. KevJumba

10. Hot For Words

“2008 was a great year with traditional media slowly starting to understand the new media,” announced Michael Buckley. He continued, “I am thrilled with the success of the What the Buck Show and am grateful to iStardom for creating a search engine dedicated to Internet Celebrities!”

The Top 10 Model Category

1. Tila Tequila

2. Jeffree Star

3. Bobbi Billard

4. ForBiddeN

5. Metal Sanaz

6. Kaila Yu

7. Mandy Lynn

8. Stella Stewart

9. Kristin Marie

10. Dazza Del Rio

"It is very exciting to be recognized by iStardom as a top Internet Celebrity!” exclaimed Top 10 Model Mandy Lynn. She added, “It's about time someone created a site showcasing how awesome Internet Celebrities are!”

The Top 10 Expert Category

1. Hot for Words (Linguist)

2. Angry Video Game Nerd (Video Games)

3. Kicesie (Sex Ed)

4. Perez Hilton (Celebrity Expert)

5. Panacea 81 (Makeup)

6. William Sledd (Fashion)

7. Pursebuzz (Makeup)

8. WowHobbs (W.O.W)

9. Irate Gamer (Video Games)

10. Chris Pirillo (Tech)

"iStardom has become one of the hottest words on the web," said Marina Orlova (AKA "Hot For Words"). She continued, "The fact that I'm number ONE in the Expert category proves you can't get more sexy than with philology and linguistics!"

About iStardom

iStardom, Inc. (“Your Internet Celebrity Search Engine”™) specializes in the development of metrics for tracking and documenting the fame of web celebrities. iStardom is dedicated to the promotion of web celebrities, including the creation of educational opportunities about optimizing fame levels, e.g., the annual iStardom Starfest Web Celebrity Conference.

iStardom tracks over 20,000 web celebrities and has developed a patent-pending web celebrity ranking algorithm. Statistics are derived from popular web properties including YouTube, Twitter, and other social networks.

“iStardom” is a trademark of iStardom, Inc.

“YouTube” is a trademark of Google, Inc. “Twitter” is a trademark of Twitter, Inc. “MySpace” is a trademark of MySpace, Inc.

MEDIA: For re-publication and syndication of the monthly web celebrity rankings, please contact Bryan Barton (bb@iStardom.com), Chief Marketing Officer, and request access to the ranking feed.