Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. That fact that people basically have mailing list for certain people can really explain the cult like mindset some of these followers have.
I do wonder if Vlogs have also been replaced a bit by tictok and youtube because you also have a bunch of people who record their thoughts and feelings but instead in written form it's more in a visual form. Granted, then I suppose video essays would fall into that category too.