What started in 2005 as a low-budget video sharing website has quickly grown into YouTube, a household name platform that now hosts celebrities, musicians, artists, and more. Since it’s beginning, YouTube has been responsible for the success of countless young stars, including Rebecca Black, The Lonely Island, Tyler Oakley, and even Justin Bieber. Deemed to be this generation’s version of television, YouTube has so much content on it, that it can be hard for a person looking to get involved in the YouTube community to know where to start.
Personalities
Some of the most successful youtubers are those whose charismatic personalities come through the computer screen. Troye Sivan is one of the most popular and well known YouTubers. His likable and bubbly personality has won over 2.98 million subscribers. His success also includes a music career, kicked off by the release of his popular single, “Happy Little Pill” in 2014. Troye’s disposition and also, the work he does as an activist for the LGBT community makes him likeable enough that his viewers can’t stop coming back for more. Similarly, Orion Carloto makes videos talking about any subject she feels is important or fun for her viewers to watch. Her 86,869 subscribers can a range of videos where Orion talks about makeup, friendship, relationships, and travelling, while especially preaching messages of optimism and feminist values.
News/Health
Let’s face it: getting the news can be boring. YouTuber, Philip DeFranco makes the news enjoyable. An episode of The Philip Defranco Show is released every day. Usually 2-3 minutes long, they consist of world news, celebrity gossip, and interesting stories. Over 3 million subscribers tune in daily for DeFranco’s sarcastic and humorous take on the world around him. This trend of making boring subjects fun is an area that YouTubers are experts in. Laci Green hosts Sex+ on her YouTube channel, a project that is used to teach viewers about feminism, sex-positivity, consent, and sexuality in a way that makes it less uncomfortable and more enjoyable. Her online version of sex education reaches over a million subscribers and his given her the opportunity to become a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood and give interviews on sexual harassment and consent to outlets like the BBC, Discovery, and Channel 4 news.
Creators
Some YouTubers prefer to stay behind the camera. Rafi and Benny Fine of The Fine Bros write, direct, and produce several successful series on YouTube. They are most well known for their series of React videos, where they show popular or viral videos to groups of children, teenagers, elders, and YouTubers. They also produce an online show called MyMusic that stars a variety of other popular Youtubers. Rafi and Benny’s success includes filming an episode of React with Seth Rogen and James Franco, as well as the series winning a DayTime Emmy in 2012. Their shows are viewed by more than 10 million subscribers.
You name it, it’s on YouTube. The names listed above are only just the beginning of all the content that the domain has to offer. Millions of other personalities, educators, and creators exist just beyond the computer screen. No matter who it is, YouTubers have made a huge impact on social media that is quickly growing out into the real world more and more every single day.