Broadcast Yourself

This post was written by tommyf on March 25, 2010
Posted Under: Videos, Writing

This is a response to a blog post by Ben Carr, a normally relatively sane and engaging person, which you can find here.

In it, he outlines how the community built around Youtube is falling apart now that certain people are treating it as serious business to, y’know, make a living out of what they love to do. The people to blame for the fall of the community, Ben says, are people like Nerimon and Charlieissocoollike and Blade376, all of whom are successful youtubers who are capitalising on their success and trying to squeeze more out of what they have by suggestively titling their videos and jumping on bandwagons.

The example he uses is ‘The Zone’, which he claims is “the new concept from Myles and Charlie”. If it were indeed a new concept for a show by Myles and Charlie, it would back his point up excellently, because it would serve to further themselves with no consideration for the lesser-subscribed members of the community. As it happens, it was Tom Bacon’s end-of-year university project for his course in television production, which both Charlie and Myles (and Alex and Ed and I, as it happens) gave their time for to help out. For free. Tom Bacon has under 1,000 subscribers.

It’s this ignorant, furious approach to trying to kill the cancer that is killing the community that makes nobody any friends and hurts the feelings of a shit-ton of people, myself included. I’m good friends with Alex, and I work with him a lot on his music projects. His new album is something we have both poured our hearts and souls into to make it as exciting, fresh and enjoyable as possible. Alex has put a whole lot of his own money into it too, and won’t see a profit from it for months. I don’t see why an insatiable urge to create and give is something that needs to be derided by people who do the same thing but on a smaller scale.

Nobody is killing the community. The community is shifting and evolving, and you’re angry at how you no longer share the aims that Alex and Charlie are reaching for. Here’s news for you - there was a community way before you even discovered youtube, and you’re as insignificant a speck in it as anyone is. Alex and Charlie are two people who love to communicate, create and entertain, regardless of the commercial success that comes their way. That’s how we all are. And now they’re entering into the real, big, scary world of content creation, they’re having to behave like adults. Does that scare you? Because it fucking should. You can piss around on YouTube making wacky little comedy videos all you want, but if communication and entertainment is your aim, making things that will appeal to a wide range of people and entertaining them successfully is the most admirable and sensible thing to do. Who are you to mock that?

YouTube and the community around it was a freak accident that worked beautifully for so many sweet months before it became bloated and putrid from the accelerated growth it received by people all wanting to cash in on this success. YouTube is a platform for art and creative content, and friendship is for friendship. The two mixed well at the start and friendships and collaborative partnerships have been formed through it in many amazing, successful ways, but the creative aspect outgrew the community a long time ago.

The fuss you kick up about ‘only being in it for the views’ is utterly nonsensical. What else IS there on YouTube? We have our friends, and we have our work, and we keep them separate, and if that offends you, I have no idea why the hell it should. It’s healthy to abandon twitter, it’s healthy to abandon facebook and formspring and tumblr and all the shit that’s out there, because all it does is serve to disseminate informal, poorly-constructed ideas that could be so much better if only you fucking worked on them for a bit. Go for it Ben, say you’re sick of twitter and then whore out your new private twitter account, let people boost your ego without you really doing anything, do your blogtv shows, post your blogs, because people will follow you and tell you you’re brilliant until your head is the size of Antarctica because they’re NICE PEOPLE. But to be a communicator, an entertainer and a proper content creator, some of us have realised that we have to leave all that sickening fake friendy-lovey bollocks behind and focus solely on making things that have some element of worth in the real world with our friends - our real, true friends - the ones we respect enough to collaborate professionally with and strive, through all the difficulties and hard work, to create something that is better than anything ever created before.

Now THAT is a community.

  • Paddeh!!
    nicely said. also your link doesnt work? im pretty sure the blog your tlking about has been deleted...
  • Ashley
    It annoys me when people say that some people only make videos for whatever they can get out of it. It take a lot of passion and effort to make videos that are popular on youtube. Nobody would put that much effort into doing something just to get money or fame out of it, you have to love it.
  • Ellie
    *claps* My, that was an impressive piece of writing and even if I didn't agree with you to begin with, I'd probably be rethinking my opinion now.
  • Youtube isnt falling apart
    if it were id be crying by now.
    but yeah what ur saying is true
  • The internet was invented so the world could enjoy Tom in high dudgeon. This may be heretical, but I enjoy a Tom Milsom screed as much as a Tom Milsom ditty. I consider myself lucky to be living in a world that conspires to keep Tom irate. Long may he rave.
  • Hi Tom. My foot fell asleep and caught pins-and-needles while reading this but I ENDURED THE PAIN to make it to the end. Now I'm gonna go stomp around to make it stop.

    Cheers, beautiful !
  • Olivia
    Agreed.

    And as an active member of a collab channel with less than 100 subscribers, I can truthfully say I am not in it for the views. I do it because it's something I love to do. It's fun, and it let's me express myself in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible. For someone to come on and say that people are only in on it for the money is ludicrous.
  • I just wrote my own blog post (on a unrelated topic) that said the following "But aside from that, keep putting passion into the things you love doing! When that stops coming through, and it starts meaning something else, is when you will stop converting people like me." which I felt had some significance to this topic.
    I have only recently been shown this "community" and as a new viewer I can tell you that it's the ones that put the effort in and show passion for what they're doing that get my subscription. If there's no feeling, or it seems like it's being punched out for revenue, then I'm likely to not even finish the video, let alone click the sub button!
    I don't see why people have to go out of their way to say that what people are doing is wrong? Who the hell are we to judge other people's lives so definitively anyway?
  • The communities of the internet have come to expect unlimited entertainment provided to them for free. From free (pirated) software and television shows, to free YouTube content and everything in between. As a result, an atmosphere of utter scorn has developed around any person or website trying to gain any sort of revenue; they're seen as just "taking advantage" of their popularity.

    While it's easy to understand this feeling when gigantic corporations with multi-million dollar profits try to gain more money, it is disappointing to see it directed at individuals trying to live on doing what they love. Though I still unconsciously cringe every time I see an advert one of your (and other partners') videos, overall I am really happy that you are able to make a living while creating the fantastic things that you do. It is precisely for that reason that I am more than happy to buy CD's and comics and t-shirts and avert my eyes from adverts for Avatar Porn. You deserve to get paid for the work that you create.

    And let's face it, much of the content on YouTube wouldn't even exist without this. People can't and won't spend the massive amounts of time required to create that level of content if they're not getting any money from it; sooner or later they'll end up with a job at a shop... and we wouldn't want that.
  • Shoshana
    I agree with what Johnson said about Johnson. (Really, genuinely well made and heartfelt point. Bravo.)

    Would you mind, possibly, fathering all of my children?

    Nah, I kid you. On a less serious note, and fairly unrelated, though relevant to me, my girlfriend's been talking about the death of smaller Youtube users, through the same effect as the 'Walmart goes here and your store goes here under the bottom of Walmart's big ugly boot' theorem. I somewhat agree, minus the big ugly Walmart boot, that the more famous Youtube users are somewhat taking the fame, because, though there is no proof for it, there is really only so much space for fame. It's not as though we have an endless supply of ever-expanding fame in this given time period. As the future progresses, however, Youtube users will move on to non-Youtube endeavours and newer, spunkier, spryer peepz'll show up on their recently-vacated doorsteps. Therefore, I essientially disagree with my girlfriend and think that Youtube is all fine and we should only worry once Skynet begins to infiltrate.

    And, because I can already see her (in my mind's eye) reading this in indignation, I will simply say... Coo-coo-ca-choo Mrs. Robinson! (Snap?)
  • diadee
    yeah, you tell em, tom!
  • itiselizabeth
    *nods*
    Tom, I think you are magnificent.
  • Hazel
    Amen.
  • Mike Clark
    Every small enterprise -- with products, creative or otherwise -- eventually reaches a point where it must expand to survive. It's a choice, of course. Some choose not to gamble, not to abandon the family feeling, etc. And those wither and die.

    YouTube (etc.) has created similar phenomena. The people there who have true creative talent need to make that kind of choice. When they face that decision will vary, of course, but it will happen, and it can be painful. It involves, along with the obvious benefits of spreading your work and making some money, allowing distance between yourself and your fans. Ouch.

    Is Milsom talented enough to earn a living simply for being Milsom? Be serious. He is, many times over. But as that happens, he (and Alex and Charlie and Dave et al.) will necessarily give up the intimacy they've had with their followers.

    But that's all right, as long as they're motivated to continue creating for us all.

    Let's face it -- we're lucky to get this blog from Tom!
  • Holly
    @bencarr "You should have posted a link to the blog, then people would see that I didn't blame Charlie, Alex and Myles at all. Suddenly I'm not allowd my right to an opinion?"

    He's telling you why you're wrong, not that you're not allowed to be wrong.

    "I don't like what you're saying, but I'd die for your right to say it"...or words to that effect.
  • NSG
    I Like Trains....
  • Ben Carr
    You should have posted a link to the blog, then people would see that I didn't blame Charlie, Alex and Myles at all. Suddenly I'm not allowd my right to an opinion?

    If you have an issue with me Tom, come to me before slating me. The only reason I posted a blog on it is because I don't have Myles Charlie and Alex in my phonebook.
  • Since I don't have Ben in my phonebook, I'm posting here to say there's something seriously F'd up with Ben's blog. Everytime I land there, I'm instantly redirected elsewhere.
  • He DID post a link to your blog. It's right at the top of the entry. xD

    I can see where both 'sides' (for lack of a better word; it pains me to reinforce this idea of a divide) are coming from on this, and it's interesting to hear people's thoughts on the topic. Addressing this subject in public blogs - as both you and Tom have done, and as others undoubtedly have/will - brings it out into the open and allows for frank discussion, instead of keeping it all hush-hush in Tweets or Skype chats.
  • xx
    Word!
  • magicmarkers
    Amen to that, Tom. What did he say, about having lost respect for people like you and Alex? What bollocks. I've always respected people like you, Alex, Charlie, etc, but over the past year or so my respect has only grown. You make amazing, creative, wonderful things that I know have been produced, not because you want to make money off me or show off, but because you love doing it. The end results are fabulous, and half the time are offered free or at a very low cost. I respect you all so, so much because of that - you do hours and hours of work without expecting a profit, and because you enjoy it. I've brought all of Alex's albums, despite the fact that he offers them for free onhis website. Why? Because I respect him greatly, and I try to support him any way I can so he can continue to do tis. DFTBA could offer all it's wares for free, and I'd still pay. Because I aspire to do something half as brilliant and exciting with my life, and I'm amazed every day by what you all do.

    Wow, that was quite some tangent. Basically, you all rock, long live community :L
  • NotWinter
    All i have to say is Wow.
  • Englishous
    PWNZORZ :D
  • 'I don’t see why an insatiable urge to create and give is something that needs to be derided by people who do the same thing but on a smaller scale.' - this. So, so much.

    There's an underlying assumption that if you're popular and make a profit from your content, you're automatically a sellout. This definitely isn't something YouTube-specific; TVTropes has an entire page, 'It's Popular, Now It Sucks', dedicated to this phenomenon: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ptit...

    Of course, there are those who will do anything for fame and fortune. But the fact that so many talented and creative people have been tarred with the same brush is just ignorant and upsetting.
  • Amen.
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