In class, we talked about the power of Youtube as both a marketing tool, and as an overall buzz-generator. Our book, "The New Influencers" , devotes a special section to the importance of Youtube, and it's counterpart, Myspace, in the emerging world of Web 2.0.
The book discusses the success of several different youtube-rs, such as the incredibly popular "lonelygirl15", and, as we watched in class, the Mentos example. These are of course really powerful examples of how a video can be distributed virally, and essentially become a sensation on the web. More than that, Youtube has the power to turn the average joe-schmo into an internet star.
For example, take William Sledd. Sledd, a 24 year old Kentucky native, worked at the Gap. He purchased a Mac, and with the help of his new computer, made a youtube profile, and started uploading videos. In time, he came to be a Youtube sensation. To this day, he has 3,534,187 channel views on his youtube profile, and that doesn't count the views of his individual videos. Due to his buzz, Sledd has been offered television deals, was asked to participate in New York fashion week, and, was offered a chance to interview Issac Mizrahi:
What I'm getting at here is that anyone can become a viral sensation these days. Like the book says, Youtube is an excellent way for marketers to reach coveted demographics. Just as importantly, it serves as a marketing tool for individuals to market themselves. In the movie Ratatouille, Chef Gusteau claims that anyone can be a chef. Thanks to youtube, if the content is worthy, anyone can be a star.
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5 comments:
I agree with your article, almost anybody can become a celebrity these days just by posting videos on YouTube. It makes me sick! I hate that we live in a society that is making people famous for posting amateur videos on YouTube. For example, I do not know his name but the guy who did the "leave Britney alone" videos, I thought he was so annoying. Nonetheless, he is still famous for making those videos. I guess it is just something that I am going to have to get used to because I predict this trend is just going to get even worse.
Talk about a new way to become a star!! If only we all could have seen this coming! I personally love that people like this Gap guy are recognized like this...it shows individual talents that most jobs or opportunities don't put much worth on at first glance. There are some more ridiculous examples like the Britney Spears guy, but like my post "Swag for Beauty Bloggers" discusses, real people are receiving the benefits. People like us can take advantage of it!
It's true that any Joe/Jane Schmoe can get noticed, but how many really take it to the next level and make actual money or a career out of it? As opposed to being a well-known weirdo.
Youtube is a video version of Facebook. This can be good and bad. It all depends on how it is used. People can use it to keep their friends and family up to date on the crazy happenings around the world or what is going on in the news through video. People can use it to make a name for themselves by creating their own videos that can talk about any issue they choose. Lastly people can use it as a popularity thing, and just randomly post pointless videos or comments about anything that does not matter.
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