Chronically Online Magazine, which began at Manychat, beat out a decade-plus of legacy media at the internet’s most prestigious awards show, The Webby Awards.
AUSTIN, TX, UNITED STATES, April 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Award announcements flooded feeds this week. People’s favorite celebrities and creators crowned among the internet’s best. The Webby Awards celebrating another year of digital excellence.
But what you might have missed: the Creator Economy turning point that came out of it.
Chronically Online Magazine (COM) is a publication started by the team at Manychat and it’s all about internet culture, the people building careers on social media, and the communities they’re creating.
And it just won the Webby Award for Best Writing (Editorial). The first creator-focused publication ever to do so. (Yes, ever. We checked.)
The New Yorker won four years in a row. Then came BBC, ESPN, National Geographic, Variety. The kinds of names with entire floors of editors, legacy distribution, and at least one Pulitzer framed in the lobby.
But now? Creator and social media culture resonate with the world.
The Creator Economy Is No Longer an Emerging Story
The creator economy has long outpaced the traditional media industry’s willingness to take it seriously. This Webby win signals that the gap is closing. The same voices building audiences in comment sections and DMs are now earning recognition alongside the most storied institutions in media.
Manychat’s CMO, Ido Mart, says “Content is only as good as the culture that feeds it. The creator economy has grown from a fancy of the youth to an undeniable part of the cultural zeitgeist. We’re proud to play a role in this unfolding story.”
Creators have been building audiences, businesses, and genuinely great work for years while fighting the perception that what they do isn’t “real work.”
A Webby win for a creator-focused publication chips away at the long-time industry response that being a creator was basically a cute hobby. It puts creator-focused content in the same conversation as some of the most respected editorial voices online (or offline, if we’re being honest).
Creators have known their stories were real. And COM did too.
This year, the public finally caught up. And that’s the turning point not just for Chronically Online Magazine, but for every creator who ever made something that mattered to them and their audience, and waited for the world to notice, too.
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About Manychat
Manychat is a global leader in social media automation, helping businesses and creators engage their audiences through intelligent, automated conversations and connection at scale. With over a million users in 170 countries, Manychat powers billions of conversations optimized for driving engagement, nurturing relationships, and maximizing monetization potential across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Follow Manychat at: manychat.com | IG: @manychat
About Chronically Online Magazine:
Chronically Online Magazine (COM) is a publication about internet culture, creator stories, and the communities shaping how we live online. It’s a passion project built by the writers, artists, and creators who work at Manychat — people who are deeply embedded in the creator world and write about it like it. Read COM at com.manychat.com or on Substack @chronicallyonlinemag
Mady Lanni
Manychat
madyson.lanni@manychat.com
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