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Tina Chen was a youtube sensation. She became an instant youtube phenomenon by posting humiliating lip syncing videos on the popular video site. Bloggers online, including self-proclaimed Queen of Media, Perez Hilton, became obsessed with the young video maker, and has posted many blogs with titles like “How Could they do this to her (Again)??”, “Tina Wants to Remain Pure”, “Youtube leaves Tina Heartbroker”, and “Rejoice”.
Tina’s video collection includes popular songs made famous by artists like the Backstreet Boys, the Jonas Brothers, High School Musical soundtracks, and numerous other teen sensations. In her videos, Tina lip syncs and dances to the beats, and speaks in a difficult to understand voice. Many of the comments bash Tina, or make fun of the videos, for example: “You sound like a Cat Being Strangled” , “fat bitch”, and “i dont hate you cuz youre fat, youre fat because I hate you. Dude. Buy a bra. Those puppies are everywhere. I dont need to see that. Stop being a horrid singer and get a new day job. Arnt you like 16. Get friends and a life. really thought… you suck.. Epic Fail. ”
Many of the videos Tina has made have been removed from youtube, it is unclear if this was due to hackers or Tina herself. Either way, Tina’s music have been watched by many, and have given thousands of people a good laugh, whether or not that was their intent.
Every few weeks a new video on Youtube becomes extremely popular, and the number of views received skyrockets. This is exactly what happened to the video “Charlie Bit My Finger – Again”. The video has over 89 Million views, making it one of the most watched videos of all time on Youtube. Many people wonder what’s the big deal? The video was posted on March 22nd, 2007, and is about two young brothers – Harry and Charlie. Charlie bites Harry, who then repeats the phrase “Charlie bit me”.
Numerous parodies, remixes, and even self-descriped “adult versions” of the clip have surfaced on the internet, with many individuals trying to get in on the fame the video has garnered.
Like most internet sensations, the kids (or their parents) continued posting videos, attempting to stretch their 15 minutes of fame. They wanted to achieve comparable success; however, the videos did not achieve anywhere near as much attention as the Charlie Bit My Finger video did. Harry and Charlie have recently started blogging (http://harryandcharlie.blogspot.com/), but their success has dwindled, and their (parents) should accept the success they have had.
Like everything else, money making was involved in this simple Youtube video. Everything from Tshirts, to hats, to bags, to even bandaids were made to capitalize on the success of the video.
Andrew Keen describes an amateur as “a hobbyist, knowledgeable or otherwise, someone who does not make a living from his or her field of interest, a layperson, lacking credentials, a dabbler.” (The Cult of the Amateur, p.36)
He discusses the impact amateurs are currently having on the entire media industry: “What happens, you might ask, when ignorane meets egoism meets bad taste meets mod rule? The monkeys take over. Say good-bye to today’s experts and cultural gatekeepers – our reporters, news anchors, editors, music companies, and Hollywood movie studios. In today’s cult of the amateur, the monkeys are running the show. With their infinite typewriters, they are authoring the future. And we may not like how it reads” ( The Cult of the Amateur, p.9)
Fred Figglehom is a six-year old fictional online character made up and played by Lucas Cruikshank, a 15 year old American who decided to be an amateur online video maker. He became famous on Youtube, and is the most subscribed channel on the entire site. The Fred videos may seem random, but are actually following a storyline, that has gone into three seasons.
Cruikshank has achieved success outside of the internet, as he has been featured on an episode of iCarly (Nickelodeon), and was also nominated for a People’s Choice Award. This is a perfect example of how amateurs are being incorporate, and taking over, the entire media industry.
Chris Crocker is an online celebrity, who had his 15 minutes of fame thanks to his “LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!” video clip which first appeared on Youtube on September 10th, 2007, after the backlash Britney Spears received for her 2007 MTV Video Award’s performance. This clip alone has accumulated a total of 24 million views, and is This amateur video maker has a combined total of over 153 million views on his vlog channel on Youtube.
This video has done been featured in all forms of popular culture out there. Crocker was interviewed by CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The Today Show, Maury, The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and was discussed on Leno, The View, and others. Numerous parodies of the video have been made on several occasions, and remixes by other amateur video makers.
Performance Videos on Youtube
Music related clips account for over 20% of all the videos found on Youtube. Performance clips make up a large portion of that 20%. People either sing, or lip synch in their performances. During singing performances, individuals can showcase their writing abilities by performing original songs, but more commonly cover popular songs. Lip synching is usually more humorous, as individuals move their lips to appear as the singer.
Bibliography
Cheng, X., Dale, C., Jiangchuan, L. (2007). Understanding the Characteristics of Internet Short Video Sharing: Youtube as a Case Study. Retrieved February 16, 2009 from http://arxiv.org/pdf/0707.3670
Hunt, K. (2007). Copyright and Youtube: Pirate’s Playground or Fair Use Forum? Retrieved February 17, 2009 from http://www.mttlr.org/volfourteen/hunt1.pdf
Youtube Clips Used:
adventures of a university student 