Vine star Jerome Jarre, comedian Hannah Hart, photojournalist Mosa’ab Elshamy, fashion video blogger Dina Toki-O and Farea Al-Muslimi, the Yemeni journalist and campaigner whose village suffered a drone strike just days before his testimony before the US senate judiciary committee finish atop our top ten of the most exciting people under 30 in digital media
10. Cara Ellison (@Carachan1)
Cara Ellison Photograph: Teri Pengilley
Age: 28.
Who? Games producer and writer.
Following: 11.1K on Twitter.
Originally from Aberdeen, Ellison became a full-time writer last year. She started her career as a games tester on Grand Theft Auto IV and worked at Gamestation before the retail chain’s closure. Her industry insight makes her a compelling video-game journalist, yet she writes about the subject in a way that even non-gamers can understand. No surprise that she’s built an impressive following in a male-dominated industry that’s worth an annual £540m to the UK economy.
9. Jerome Jarre (@jeromejarre)
Age: 23.
Who? Vine star and co-founder of GrapeStory.
Following: 4.8m on Vine.
In case you didn’t know, Vine is a mobile app owned by Twitter that allows you to create six-second looping videos. Jarre is not only one of the world’s most famous Vine stars, but he also owns the talent agency (GrapeStory) which represents 19 other stars. The French-born business-school dropout is famous for accosting strangers in the street, attempting to dance with them, serenading them and, sometimes, even playing with their beards – all in six seconds. His catchphrase: “I love life like crazy.”
8. Hannah Hart (@harto)
Age: 27.
Who? New York-based YouTuber and comedian.
Following: 1m on YouTube.
Hart, sometimes known as Harto, is most famous for her YouTube series My Drunk Kitchen, in which she attempts to cook something while getting increasingly intoxicated. She’s adored by her million subscribers on YouTube for many reasons, but one of them is how candidly (and hilariously) she has talked about her experience of coming out. From a conservative family, Hart jokes that before she came out she was the most homophobic person she knew. We love her for her honesty.
7. Mosa’ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing)
Age: 23.
Who? Photojournalist based in Cairo.
Following: 36K on Twitter.
Mosa’ab Elshamy’s photograph of two Mohamed Morsi supporters carrying the body of man who had been shot in the head was among the most powerful of the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath. His repertoire ranges from current affairs to in-depth socio-economic and cultural photostories and his work has already been seen in Time magazine, the Economist, Foreign Policy magazine and al-Jazeera English. In 2013, Time named the picture as one of its 10 best photos of the year. At 23, Mosa’ab is well placed to document Middle Eastern society – where around 60% of the population is under 30.
The top 30 young people in digital media: Nos 10-1
The top 30 young people in digital media: Nos 30-11