Dane Cook is one of the most divisive standup comics in the business. He fills arenas, has 2.5 million fans on MySpace, a million Facebook friends and 700,000 followers on Twitter.

Yet his haters find his physical and observational humor distinctly unfunny, filling the Web with so many insults, he made a self-deprecating joke about his reputation in his most recent Comedy Central special.

“At one point, I sat down and Googled myself,” he told the crowd (see clip below). “There were 87 Dane Cook sucks pages and four videos of why I should die and all these innuendos… I read for four and a half hours and said, ‘This Dane Cook is a douchebag and I’m not a fan anymore because all of this is true!’ ”

Cook actually doesn’t believe any of that is true. “What people think of me is none of my business. My fans are there and have been there for 19 years. That’s what matters,” he said in a phone interview earlier this week to promote his Philips Arena appearance Saturday.

Plus, he realizes from celebs such as Howard Stern that as long as people are talking about you, positive or negative, you’re having an impact. “Look at Aerosmith,” he said. “I don’t always love everything they do. But the thing is I’ll always check out what they’re doing. That’s what I’d like to be. You may not always be on board with everything I’m doing, but you’ll check in to see.”

The 37-year-old Boston native was, in many ways, the first big-time comic to build his career thanks to the Web. In the early days, he’d answer every fan email, which is impossible now. “Ten years ago, I was jazzed if I could reach 100 people on AOL Instant Messenger,” he said. “Now I can reach five million people with one click. It’s overwhelming.”

Cook said he’d like to emulate Steve Martin in terms of career path. Martin was selling out arenas as a standup in the 1977-78 period, then carved out a movie career starting with the breakout hit “The Jerk” in 1980. Martin ended up focusing exclusively on film for much of the rest of his life with hits such as “Roxanne” and “Father of the Bride.” But Cook’s work in Hollywood didn’t quite achieve that level of success (”Employee of the Month” anybody?”). So he is back to what he does best: standup.

And while many people think the man still revels in fratboy partying jokes, he’s changed a bit. On this current tour, he even throws in a few cracks about his parents, both of who died not too long ago of cancer.

“When I was doing a massive college tour in 2000, the audience didn’t care about hindsight or regrets or what ifs, things I talk about now,” he said. “Now I’m dealing with issues with my life and family and my fans are growing up with me. I can’t be Johnny Bravo singing the same old songs.”

He worried the heavier content would weigh on his fans. “Some of it is so personal. There are so many cathartic moments,” he said. “But it’s the same connection beyond just the written jokes.”

IF YOU GO
Dane Cook
Philips Arena
8 p.m. June 27
$30 to $100
www.ticketmaster.com, 404-249-6400