Fifteen minutes of fame now has a new meaning: the fifteen minute time limit on the upload of one’s first YouTube video may be the first step to fame.
“I feel like YouTube celebrities are more famous than actual celebrities,” said junior Stephanie Troumouhis.
YouTubers are ranked by the amount of subscribers they have. Subscribers are only people who have their own YouTube channel [which is basically an account with YouTube], and they subscribe to other channels in order to receive updates on their channel: when that channel likes/comments on a video, and when they upload new videos. Whether or not you upload videos to your channel is your choice; you can have an account to subscribe to other channels, or comment or like other videos.
The currently highest ranked is “RayWilliam Johnson,” with 5,228,087 subscribers (http://vidstatsx.com/youtube-top-100-most-subscribed-channels). Following him is Ryan Higa’s YouTube channel “NigaHiga,”the virtually more popular as he is watched by more teenagers.
“Ryan Higa is funny, I like his videos and his puns. And I like how fast he rose to fame and how now I see him on Nickelodeon and other networks like Cartoon Network with his friend Kev Jumba. Also, I like how that show ‘Supah Ninjas’ said that they would take him and give him a lead character on the show if he took off all his videos from YouTube, but he said no. That shows his loyalty and dedication to fans. He knows his fans are the reason he’s famous,” said junior Kathleen Gobin. “I always find myself quoting lines from his videos. And he doesn’t have to use vulgarity to get his humor across, unlike other YouTubers.”
While the majority of Ryan Higa’s videos are comedic, some of them have a more serious tone to them. Many famous YouTubers, such as ItsKingsleyB***h and LuanLegacy upload rants that people find funny. Serious topics, controversial topics, beauty advice, home videos; YouTubers post videos about whatever they want. Or, whatever their viewers want.
A YouTube account isn’t necessary to be able to watch the talent unfold online. However, if you want to post videos of your own, or like, comment on, or subscribe to other YouTube channels, you have to make a YouTube account.
“Millions of people are into online video sharing sites,” said sophomore John Kang. “Especially since the evolution of mobile phones, more people can view their favorite YouTubes at the time they cannot access their TVs.”