Using the example of a famous online vlogger, you will see how social media may help a person achieve a fair amount of fame and notoriety. However, just like in the music industry, the chances of you finding your fame via social media is as likely as a record producer hearing you sing in a working men’s club.
Ben Yahtzee Croshaw
This is a man who works for the Escapist Magazine. He lived in the UK but moved to Australia when he got his job Vlogging for the Escapist Magazine website. He is one of the few genuine examples of people who have become famous thanks to social media. Most people become famous because of who they know, who their parents are and how rich they are.
Ben started out making YouTube videos of all shapes and sizes. He kept making them on the topic of computer gaming. He came across the idea of reviewing games and started adding animation to his videos. He now makes animated video reviews of the most recent video games and that is the topic of his video blog known as “Zero Punctuation.”
The name on his video blog is no doubt due to his style of talking, which is very fast and littered with jokes and funny comments.
Make enough stuff and eventually you find your voice
Ben admits that when he was younger he made a lot of crap and put it online. At convention question and answer sessions he said that his secret to success was his persistence. He said that he made a lot of crappy videos but that he learned from them and eventually found his voice. It was then as he gathered followers on YouTube that the owner of the Escapist Magazine got in touch with him.
Give your work an angle
This is something that Ben advises and that Ben has done. His angle is that his content is littered with jokes and funny comments. It is also that he is often comically harsh and that he speaks so fast that one may think he does not punctuate. He actually sounds a lot less engaging when he is not talking very quickly. Another trick he uses is animation as oppose to his own face, as people using themselves as hosts very rarely pull down the big audience numbers. Plus, he uses very poor animation which helps him make his point in a funny manner.
Sound quality is everything
This is a big tip that Ben has also given out. The quality of your sound is very important. People may watch a poorly done video if it has great sound, but no matter how good your video is there are few people who will keep watching a video with bad sound.
Conclusion
Ben made it to the top with persistence and a lot of luck. If you wish to take his advice then deep trying and improving what you do. Keeping it up and continuing to improve every time is important.
