I hate to say it, but everything in life is a popularity contest anymore. Don't get me wrong, I understand what you are saying, but really everything in life really comes down to getting followers. Do you want to write a book? Great. But you aren't going to make sales unless you have a ton of followers. I've seen some amazing books go flat out unnoticed becaues they don't know how to play the marketing game. Same thing for becoming a YouTuber. You can make great videos but you need a following for it to matter.