http://bigstory.ap.org/article/708a5ff37548459990647343c608e701/self-published-sensation-acquired-penguin-random-house
I think fears about being stigmatized once you self-publish have been founded simply because self-published work had been so very....bad. Bad in quality of content, and bad in production. But there is also something to be said about those folks who see a need for some type of publication to fill a specific void and then create that something for that specific purpose.
That is the back story behind this book, which was self-published by a Psychologist, and has now been picked up by Penguin Random House.
Self-publishing is a means to an end, but never discount that the traditional publishing route is closed off for you. Both are ways to get your work out to the masses. Shouldn't matter in the end which way you choose, so long as you get it out there.