The second most powerful button on the Internet behind the ubiquitous "Search" button
What I do get: people are expressive. YouTube is a fantastic media in which we can express multiple ideas and feelings towards a myriad of subjects, whether it be via vlogging, singing cover and/or original songs, or even full-blown movie-like sketches/sequences. So, if you're willing to put in the production effort to put your thoughts/rants/musings in a digestible form then hey, go for it. What's even better is that Google ACTUALLY pays you if you consistently reach view quotas (a.k.a people really like you) and therefore essentially help drive web traffic (read: ad revenue) to YouTube. The Internet's adulation, your devoted fan base, and new income stream drives the onus to create more content, and the cycle is thus perpetuated.
What I don't get: it's possible that I am way off base here, but it doesn't seem to me that these folks are particularly talented or engaging in any sustainable way. Sure they're cutesy and/or attractive, exude a likable personality, and are clearly hard and nurturing the fan base that ultimately generates $$$, but I feel like I don't need a thousand more Tyler Perry-esque "I'm going to play every character" types doing just vlogs. I realize this is drinking some powerful Haterade here, and I don't even expect for my blog to be particularly insightful outside of my family and friends. Talent has and will be plucked out from YouTube forever more, so I just feel like these guys are the best of what's left.
That being said, please humor me and suppose my previous thesis could be moderately accepted. What is their popularity an indictment of? Subscribers. Maybe this vlog medium projects a faux-intimacy that engages in a personal way not unlike when you scroll down Facebook's news feed. (You aren't really friends with them though.) These subscribers' need to consume such large amounts of Internet media shadows the possibility that the content could be inevitably subpar, and therefore, it doesn't really matter to them. I guess you can like what you like, but don't try convincing me that this is somehow a Big F'ing Deal.
What I do like: in a nutshell, potentially viral material. I watch it, know why it's funny without much introduction, and I'm out. No developing of relationships with the vlogger and the viewer, just a simple concept and/or subject done entertainingly, notably:
- iTr3vor: (My sister Katie's favorite) This [pretty effeminate] kid goes to Apple Stores to uploads videos of him dancing wildly to songs in front of the demo MacBook webcams. What's refreshing is that he simply doesn't care and just does his thing because he clearly enjoys it.
- Epic Meal Time: "We make your dreams come true, and then we eat them." They make gluttonous versions of meal time staples and eat it, complete with fat/calorie counter while you watch them cook it.
- Professional Russian: I'm not too big into this but it illustrates my point well. This guy just shoots guns. That's it. Granted, he has a lot of them. If Major Payne went into his own version of Toys'R'Us, it would look like this web series.
- Cat videos: Man, no explaination required.
