YouTuber, crabstickz, uploaded a video a few months back venting out his issue of what it means to be a YouTuber nowadays. He pointed out the struggle to be relevant is more challenging as more YouTubers create content that are very professional and sophisticated. Feeling a loss of not connecting with his audience was another challenge that was pointed out.
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It seemed like crabstickz felt isolated in facing these challenges as a YouTuber. However, several YouTubers reached out to him by making response videos that reflect these challenges with their perspectives.
Thethirdpew, YouTuber known for venting out the sex scandals some YouTubers were involved in 2014, uploaded a response video to crabstickz. The content composed of Thethirdpew acknowledging that there is a struggle to stay relevant. He also states that he chooses to stay relevant his own way by providing content that enlightens his audience to be proud of their own ethnicity.
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Thethirdpew admits that not following trends, which help YouTubers stay better relevant, is a struggle. Not everyone may not find his and other YouTubers' original content appealing. Another YouTuber, OlanRogers, advises his audience and YouTubers that it's worth being original and authentic for the long run.
YouTuber OlanRogers uploaded his response video to crabstickz stressing the value of making content that is original and authentic. According to olanrogers, making original and authentic content consists of truthfully expressing oneself. The reward of making such content will be longevity in staying relevant on YouTube.
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One would assume that someone like OlanRogers would have a complete understanding of the YouTube career world. Despite having 10 years of being a YouTuber, olanrogers admits that he's still learning his purpose as a YouTuber. He does add that he's having fun along the way.
My Opinion:
Despite YouTubers having long years of experience in their career, some are still figuring out what their purpose is. The demand of frequently making content to stay relevant causes this strain. YouTubers that haven't figured it out may not have the luxury to put some time off to think of their purpose and who they are. And if they do, they risk not being relevant because content from other YouTubers have caught their subscribers' attention away from their channels.
Being educational and reflecting in one's content risks being unappealing. Unless a YouTuber established it early on, their subscribers may lose interest on future video posts thus being less relevant as a YouTuber.
The generations that grew up with the change of technology around the early 2000's until now struggle in being social. Access to most of our interests and needs can be obtained without the use of face-to-face socializing. In reaction to this phenomena, the trend to socialize through online platforms, such as YouTube, emerged.
Eventually, YouTube started paying those that used their platform to socialize. This attracted other people to venture to YouTube as a means of a career. Now that there's a big saturation, the original YouTubers that did it to socialize are left with creating content that may have been themselves at one point but now is being used to ensure the loss of subscribers/viewers is minimum.
As stated earlier, YouTubers can take a break to figure out a way to be relevant while being themselves. But besides their career, YouTubers may not want to lose their viewers for it may be their only source of socializing. Unless they'll be fine risking being isolated, it's not a surprise if YouTubers will do anything to ensure that their source of socializing is secured.
An understanding of oneself from the very beginning will help tremendously throughout one's journey as a YouTuber. Doing so will help create content that truly expresses oneself that ensures relevant longevity. Not doing so bears the risk of having to create content that doesn't reflect oneself which ultimately leads to a loss of purpose. Unless a YouTuber is fine with risking a loss of subscribers, in demand content that doesn't resonate to one's identity will be uploaded repeatedly.
These challenges are what YouTubers, old and new, face in terms of their identity. Know yourself well before getting into this career.
"The people that are remembered are usually people that aren't the most popular people you know. They're usually the people that went the other way."
- OlanRogers -
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