See, people can always say Ashton’s case is different because, well, he’s a celebrity, though it amazes me how some people can’t see how big a victory this is for the Web. We’re talking New Media going toe-to-toe with Old Media, because the final stretch saw CNN pulling all the stops with its TV appeals, which Ashton countered via live video streaming on UStream.TV. It doesn’t get more dramatic than that.

So how about a Filipino online celebrity doing something like this? I’d root for HappySlip against Philippine media giants

The problem with Old Media is that they want to turn New Media into old news. Whatever you might personally feel about Ashton, this is the day New Media took on Old Media — and won.

Not even CNN’s aggressive TV push could stop the Web from winning. So I guess you could say we Punk’d CNN Malaria no more!

* * *

Here’s an excerpt from my CNET Asia blog post.

I’m on sick leave right now and feel pretty awful, but I have to be part of this historic Twitter faceoff for a charitable cause.

Follow actor Ashton Kutcher at http://twitter.com/aplusk and help make him the first get a million followers on Twitter. If he wins, he will donate 10,000 mosquito bed nets to charity for World Malaria Day, and 1,000 if he loses.

Read the full story and follow http://twitter.com/aplusk

Let’s make history!