Cyber-world Celebrities

I first started blogging on a semi-regular basis on the 11th of November 2011 over on Blogger.com. I did my first ever blog post a year before that. I have changed my blog site twice and now I call WordPress.com my blogging home.

I also started my first YouTube Channel way back in 2007 mainly so I could leave comments on videos I’d seen that I found comment worthy. I uploaded my first video in March 2010. It was of a Tonka toy commercial I had done back in 1989. I didn’t upload a  “proper video” until October 2010, it was a tour of my new apartment that signalled the start of my new life.

I’ve been tweeting since 2009 and I was a very late convert to Facebook. Twitter became a solace when my marriage was crumbling to dust and Facebook gave me a chance to see how a few friends and family were getting on.

I was, for better or worse, now part of the social network. Since my internet debut things have never been the same.

Since I started “YouTubing” and blogging I’ve had a chance to interact with folks from all over the globe. Most have been nice. A large amount have been funny, erudite and interesting. Very few have been tacky or unpleasant or rude. The folks who have been unsocial (0r just plain weird) are always unceremoniously blocked.

I have the privilege of 355 subscribers on my first YouTube channel, 114 on my second joint channel (with my daughter) and a combined 150 or so followers on my blog. I am still amazed and surprised that so many kind folks like tuning in to see what I’ve written or filmed (unfortunately I’ve not done a lot of filming lately but that is due to change very soon).

I also appreciate the folks who take the time to ‘click’ that like button or to leave a comment on any of my social sites. I find it hard finding time to do much more than click that like button, though I like to leave a comment or two if at all possible.

I will admit that I suffered from a huge amount of naivety when I first started blogging. I didn’t realise that it was required to respond back to someone who left comments on your blog. I had a sort of “old-fashioned” view about blogging. I felt like I was writing an editorial article or amusing (hopefully) essay or the odd film review that would be sent out into the cyber-world for anyone to read…or not.

I was pleased to see that someone had commented, but, I had written my piece and had moved on. I did not think about the article after it was posted. As I began doing more regular blog posts (or articles, I still think of them that way) I began getting more comments and I felt rude about not answering back even if it was to thank the commenter.

I had always thanked the people who commented on my YouTube channels. I don’t know why it took me so long to realise that I needed to do the same for my blog. To be honest, if I hadn’t read a “How to be a Successful Blogger” article, I probably still wouldn’t be interacting.  I can’t remember who wrote that little “how-to” blurb, but I’m grateful that I found and read it.

The point that I am slowly getting to (aka going the long way around the barn) is that the world is now an ever-increasing Cyber-world. It is becoming increasingly easier for “normal” folks to hop onto the net and broadcast themselves or their thoughts to the entire Cyber-world.

I have written a couple of posts about YouTube. I have had a fascination with it since my daughter Meg introduced me to it in 2007. I will also admit that I am slightly addicted to it. I talk about it quite a lot at work and I was amazed to find that my co-workers were not as ‘offay’ with YouTube as I was.

I was a bit shocked. I was one of the older chaps at work and I knew more about YouTube than a lot of my younger co-workers. I don’t mean that they weren’t aware of its existence, but they didn’t know how it worked. Talking to other people outside of work I found that my colleagues weren’t alone.

There are a large number of folks who still view YouTube as a fad or something that the “young folks” are interested in. They haven’t yet realised that this Cyber-world is rapidly becoming the norm. South Korean rapper PSY used YouTube to promote his career and is now the proud owner of the most viral video ever. He also has the added bonus of being just a little bit world-famous right now.

Andy Warhol once said that, “In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.” It now seems that with the ever-increasing numbers of people who use YouTube and sites similar to it, that 15 minutes is not so unreachable. That Warhol quote has been bandied about for years and generally taken out of context, but in this instance, I think it fits.

Watching the Channel 4 news tonight I saw that their “feel good” piece at the end of the news was about English YouTubers who have earned a solid fan-base and steady income from their channels. I have asked the question before about YouTube becoming the new tv and the same question was asked tonight on the news.

I don’t know if that is the case or not. But I do know that with more homes having computers and camcorders and creative, talented occupants the odds are ever-increasing that you may be living next door to a Cyber-world celebrity.

Don’t laugh. My daughter has a small channel on YouTube. She started it aged 16 and only started uploading videos a few years ago. She has amassed a ‘hard-earned’ following of over 7,500 subscribers. I say hard earned because posting a regular video on the “Tube” is a lot of work. In case you haven’t seen it here’s a link: Meg Elisabeth Smith.

As more and more folks discover that they have the ability, talent, skills and tenacity to broadcast themselves or their thoughts or opinions to the world and that the world will not only pay attention but will come back to pay attention… Well, the possibilities are endless. This whole Cyber-world Celebrity thing sort of beats the “getting discovered in the local Schwab’s Drugstore” to pieces and it’s a lot more proactive.

So don’t just sit there!

Film yourself sitting there.

You never know, you could be the next Cyber-world Celebrity!

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