YouTube top earners: A seven-year-old making $22M

Post by LanceH » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 5:51 AM UTC

zanek wrote: post #29

My 7 year old son watches Dude Perfect on YouTube, which I had never heard of. Apparently its all the rage, in elementary schools and he heard about it via other kids. I watched a few to make sure they were ok, but they mostly came off as older guys doing elaborate stunts that kids would do on a much smaller scale (like throwing balls off tall buildings, fat suits on cars, etc ) I'm not shocked they are making $20M o…

Post by tootie » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 5:52 AM UTC

buzzy_hacker wrote: post #32

TravHatesMe wrote: post #16

What I find interesting is that many of these youtubers have created personas to appeal to their audience, like true entertainers. However loyal viewers are fooled into this false sense of reality, where they are friends with content creator and this is not a persona at all, he's my friend. Over time, the content creator and the audience share so many moments together, it becomes an emotional bond and a substitute fo…

> Over time, the content creator and the audience share so many moments together, it becomes an emotional bond and a substitute for people's social needs. I've wondered about this for podcasts too. I noticed a scary habit where I would play podcasts when I was feeling lonely. Over time, you feel like you're pals with the hosts and something about the audio format checks the social needs box in your brain, thinking th…

Post by cowmoo728 » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 5:54 AM UTC

sjg007 wrote: post #30

lynnetye wrote: post #21

I just watched a few minutes of "Ryan disappear[s] through a Secret Portal in the house to the North Pole" and am thoroughly impressed. Clearly a lot goes into the concepts, sets, and overall production of these videos. I don't know all of the details, but I can imagine how building a business like this could be one of the cooler ways for a family to spend quality time together.

These YouTube families are great. I hope they keep perspective though and don't go all Disney child actor. I mean maybe they can have hollywood careers etc but kids need to be kids.

Post by jakeinspace » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 5:57 AM UTC

nautilus12 wrote: post #48

Something still feels wrong about something that takes comaparatively so little effort making so much money. I’m not saying it’s easy but it’s much much easier than many other proffesions. Think of software engineers slaving over brilliant designs staying up night after night for a few hundred thousand per year, or even NFL stars that expose their brains to permanent damage. It’s almost like a new form of the lottery…

Post by saghm » Tue, Dec 04, 2018, 5:57 AM UTC

codetrotter wrote: post #37

ehsankia wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you're being serious, but that video was honestly minimal amount of effort when it came to effects, sets and production. There are channels on Youtube with a fraction of the following that produce content orders of magnitude more professional than that. This kind of video can be made by some amateur producer in their bedroom. Considering they make 22M, you'd really think they'd spend money on at least…

OTOH, maybe the family enjoys doing as much as possible themselves. If everything needs to be professionalized, where does that leave the hobbyists and the amateurs? Should there not be room for them? If not, why?