Many people who commented on the posts did not agree with my point that many bloggers do not provide meaningful content that deserves to be followed by thousands.
As I was browsing most subscribed youtube channels- which are essentially just videoblogs- I found some really interesting/funny ones. However, most seem to confirm my general opinion.
I’ll give you an example: CarlieStyle's Channel (#2 subscribed channel on youtube,
After watching this video, do you believe that the channel has over 200,000 views and over 25,000 subscribers?
I did not find it particularly funny, or informative. I personally would not watch someone sitting in a bathtub and telling me to shave my legs with dishwashing liquid.
This made me wonder: What made people want to watch or subscribe?
Trying to answer this question, I looked through the comments people left- maybe I can find some hints there. Here are some of them (I picked comments to summarize various reasons to subscribe).
Top 4 reasons to subscribe:
1. snipercolt99 “she is hot”
me4uk “blondes win the internetz :D”- no comments
2. BlenderBabies “Hey Carlie! Cool channel "If cheerleading was easy, it would be called football." That cracked me up.”- some people actually find it funny
3. KmanCentral “Hey Carlie please subscribe? :)”-trying to get Carlie to subscribe to their own channel by subscribing to her’s
4. Jennatopia “Hunny... i adore you... but you gotta make it so stupid people cant leave dumb comments on your vids. soooo rude... and i think for your third video your doing great. :)
You have my 100% support!!!
Love, Jenna”
Interesting spelling choices there… I guess some people love to create illusions that they are friends with someone they don’t know
I could not find any meaningful (to me, at least) reasons to subscribe by looking at people’s comments. Maybe videoblogs are different from regular blogs- but does it mean that the actual content/information is less important?
It's hard to come up with any sort of response to this. The video isn't funny, it's barely interesting, and in fact it's one of those videos that you watch and then wonder about the state of the universe.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that there are people on the planet who want to share even their most banal thoughts. What does surprise me is that other people want to listen.
This video IS a sad commentary… but I think it condemns the people who watch and subscribe more than videoblogs in general. True, when you provide the public with a medium, they will use it -- even when they have nothing useful or productive to say. I would also agree that, as you say, “many bloggers to not provide meaningful content that deserves to be followed by thousands.”
ReplyDeleteBut my recent foray into the blogosphere has made me rethink my position on blogs as a medium. As in any other case, it’s not the media but those who utilize the media who determine its usefulness.
I think you guys are being a little harsh on Carlie, I mean yes it is sad and pathetic that she is in a bathtub, and yes I have never shaved my legs before, so I would have no idea what worked and didn't; however looking at some of the responses on her youtube channel, it appears as if some of the stuff actually worked. People tried it and appreciated the advice with the soap and exfoliating. Sometimes people are just not exposed to certain information.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I'm not giving Carlie any credit at all for her keen insight for the reason she has that many subscribers. One I didn't notice as Anya stated was that many commentators try to make their comments personal. At the same time, I think most of the people placing comments are actually friends of Carlie in real life because they make reference to her sister and how she is just starting to do videoblogs on her own and how her sister is jealous and giving her tips and support.
So yea she has a ton of subscribers because she tagged the fact that she is in a tub, congrats you get a bunch of sketch balls following it, but I'm not gonna condemn the girl for it, I 've seen a lot dumber video blogs get higher subscriptions and these people put in way more time to their blogs.
also I think that is the only one she is in a tub, i saw another and it is her in a car just talking...yea I was bored within a few seconds of her talking about her life. lame for me, but hey it is your time your wasting and like the others said, i'm the idiot for watching it.
ReplyDeleteTo vman24
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I'll address them in order of appearance:
"People tried it and appreciated the advice with the soap and exfoliating."
Her advices are not useful. If someone wanted to find out about shaving, they would probably Google it. Besides, the part of using dishwashing liquid (I think/hope) was a joke. You cannot make yiur skin softer by doing that. It can actually be dangerous to use on skin because of the concentrated chemicals (that is why many use gloves for dishwashing even with small amount of the chemical). She kind of states not to take everything too seriously, but if someone misunderstands her and actually follows her instructions, it may lead to skin damage. And from my blog's comments I get an idea that most do not understand this "joke".
"One I didn't notice as Anya stated was that many commentators try to make their comments personal. At the same time, I think most of the people placing comments are actually friends of Carlie in real life"...
What makes you think the subscribers are her friends if you say they don't leave personal comments? Maybe her sister had a link to Carlie's profile, but the people do not know neither Carlie nor her sister.
Do you really think her sister has 27 000 friends each of whom watches her videos around 8 times (since the advice is so useful)? The number of subscribers has actually increased by 2,000 since this post appeared on my blog last week.
"I 've seen a lot dumber video blogs get higher subscriptions and these people put in way more time to their blogs."
That is the most subscribed this month, exceeds #2 by almost 50% of subscribers. I do not mind her putting it up on youtube and the 200,000 views the channel gets, but shouldn't there be something more interesting/informative/entertaining on Youtube? If so, why people choose to subscribe Carlie's channel instead? That is the question that puzzles me with this video.
I presume why people find such youtube channels watchable is their unconventional nature, regardless of its worthiness.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, there are many shows, such as Jackass, that lack content. But, people think, they are just funny even when we don't necessarily get something practical out of it that we could use for our own endeavors.
You said her channel is #2 on YouTube. I just wonder if you have also checked her other uploads? Do they follow a similar pattern of talking about banal things or evolution happens through her videos? If most of her viewers can be categorized into the four types that you summarized from comments, I can't imagine her channel still enjoying a stead steam of viewers. I will never visit her channel after seeing this one.
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ReplyDeleteI've never shaved my legs, so I don't know if there is any validity to her advice, but it seemed like she was trying to be helpful. It also seems like there are more efficient ways to get that information. That content of the video could have been expressed easily in text, but then she wouldn't have been able to show off her legs...
ReplyDeleteI am always shocked at the kind of videos that people watch on Youtube. A lot of times my friends blitz out youtube videos that are "hilarious". And a lot of times I simply don't understand them. Commonly, people post things on Youtube just to make themselves feel important...
ReplyDeleteThe true question is why do people actually watch the videos?
I think that it's harder to find video blogs worth subscribing to because the sphere is extremely crowded. Writing regular blog posts requires a certain amount of time investment and concentration. Most people are able to easily talk off the top of their head about a subject that interests them for two or three minutes. If you asked them to write down a two minute speech about that subject that would require a lot more of their time and effort (no rambling or "uhhh" in your writing!). Because of this, I think the bar of entry to video blogging is significantly lower than traditional blogging.
ReplyDeleteThe instant nature of taking a video also means that you don't HAVE to take time to plan it out before hand. Sure, good vloggers do, but as Anya proved, some people are just recording random moments of their day. This results in the current state of YouTube and videoblogs--a scary place, to be sure.
Its easy to criticize videos like this for being vapid and uninformative--but I think it's important to realize that we are speaking from a unique perspective (that of well-educated students at an elite liberal arts college). We should recognize the inherent bias that we bring to the table when we make comments like this.
ReplyDeleteI think there is something slightly positive about the blog phenomenon that we're missing: the fact that EVERYBODY has a voice, no matter how banal and trite that voice is. Similarly, everybody has the power to ignore as well--and that's what I choose to do, in this case (after all, my swimming career has taught me that the combination of Skintimate and the Gillette Fusion is the best way to silky smooth legs).
This is an interesting thread.
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of offended. I'm not even sure why. There are tens of millions of videos on youtube. Millions of different people with different likes, dislikes and interests search for videos, and clearly a couple hundred thousand people decided this one was interesting enough (whether good or bad) to watch. Who are we to determine what is useful or informative, or worthy of views? You don't like Carlie? Fine. I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of other videos that might interest you. That's what makes the internet amazing. There's something for everyone!!! And as Doug said, it gives everyone a voice- why would we ever want to censor that?
It is my firm belief that online, you can attract an audience for pretty much any topic (this is doubly true if you are blonde and attractive). In fact, I have a friend who posts similar video blogs on girl fashion- where to buy clothes for a good price, what’s popular, and even, “how to” videos for make up and the like which are reminiscent of this blog. I knew that she had a respectable amount of subscribers, but I never realized how strong her fan base was until her youtube account got hacked by someone. Up to the moment that my friend was able to reestablish another fashion video blog, she received hundreds of supportive messages from her fans. Can you imagine? I would never have guessed that people actually cared so much about techniques on how to put on eyeliner. It goes to show that online citizens and bloggers such as this blonde woman, should not be dismissed, nor should their influence be underestimated.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify:
ReplyDeleteI do not suggest there should be an IQ test before you can post something on youtube.
I do not hate or want to censor anyone. That is not my purpose at all.
All what I am trying to do is to understand: if everyone has a voice and there are so many other great videos to watch on youtube, why this is #1 subscribed channel this month?
What does it say about/vlogs/youtube/audience/us/future?
I agree with Doug and Jaja that giving everyone a voice and allowing the flow of ideas is a good thing, no matter how "banal or trite." But I think Anya is making a really interesting point--why do some things which, on balance, are less interesting than others get so much attention?
ReplyDeleteJohn Stuart Mill famously coined the term and discussed the "Marketplace of Ideas" where everyone was free to contribute and the best ideas, or the Truth, would arise from the dialogue.
He appears to have been wrong, though. The market place of ideas is a as expansive as its ever been, and this video is what rises to the top? Really? The most viewed videos on Youtube don't contain the best ideas or rigorous public debate, they contain the most hilarious!
Or look at the political dialogue today...no more need be said about that.
Is the Marketplace of Ideas still functioning when so much is out there at literally ANY position can be justified and evidence can be found for anything?
I don't think it is reasonable to compare Youtube to the "Marketplace of Ideas" considered by Mill.
ReplyDeleteYoutube was not created to find "the Truth". If the best videos of youtube are the most hilarious, perhaps that speaks to the reason why people use youtube- not for rigorous public debate but for entertainment.
That is the point that this post's argument misses.
Hi Jaja,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate both of your comments to the post. You are right- I should have elaborated more on how people use Yotube just for intertainment, without trying to find any information or "deeper meaning".
I mentioned humor as reason #4 people subscribe to Carlie's Channel, but I did not elaborate on it because I personaly did not find it so funny or interntatining in any other way.
I am still puzzled why so many people subscribe? If people are looking for information, is this the most imformative video of the month based on the number of subscribers? If they are looking for intertaiment, is this the most intertaining video out of the thousands posted this month?
Just like you, I also think I am missing something in my analisys. Maybe one of that:
1. For some reason (maybe cultural?) I do not share the tastes of most youtube users in terms of information/intertaiment people are looking for in the videos. This video may be the most intertaining for most youtube viewers, but not for me. In that case, I am being puzzled by the video because I assume people generally think in the same/similar way.
2. Maybe the number of subscribers is not a good proxy for how engaing the video is. In that case, if people do not actually find it the most engaging/intertaining this month, my original question is not relevant.
However, I am sure there should be some correlation between the # of subscribers and the ability of the video to engage/intertain/ inform the audience.
I think we are often ready to discredit certain things just because we don't enjoy them. Taste is very subjective, and i cannot decide if something is funny just because i dont find it as such. Also, one would be surprised how many people spend hours on youtube just "wasting" their time, searching through these videos. In my opinion, their primary purpose is entertainment, and if they can pick up a useful information, even better. It is a personal judgment is someone will take Charlie seriously and take her advice, but frankly you wouldn't find me as one of the subscribers.
ReplyDelete