Is this considered a real career? People are getting paid just for talking about themselves and recording it. I find that kind of insulting to people who have a skill set, a degree and are working their way up the ladder. Considering the amount of money sponsors pay these YouTube "stars", what do they really bring to the table?

Educational videos are the only ones I can see being worthy of a paycheck because they are using their knowledge to educate people through tutorials or reviewing products.

Its apparently called self employment. If you are really popular, YouTube will pay as much as 2 million dollars. You have to be charming and unique to make a living off of YouTube

Remember Hotforwords, the Russian stripper who got some word-origins books and convinced people she was an expert on the English language? What a weird thing that was.

>>3 That chick has two degrees in philology - one for Russian and one for English.

It's all a popularity contest like that girl who quit Instagram after revealing she was miserable having a career taking photos of herself and posting them.

>>2
Doesnt that Swedish guy make $7 million a year?

>>6
He's made ~$7m. Whether or not he does that in a year, every year remains to be seen. It's not like it's a salary.

Yep, self-employment, free agents, entrepreneurs.

Bright people become free agents, dullards get jerbs and vote GOP.

I was so sure you'd praise them. That would be the unpopular opinion.

>>9
Not everything I say is an unpopular opinion. It's there in case an occasion arises where an /lounge/ tries to start crap with me. The joke's on them for not reading my username.

I figgered.

Dude, I gotta get in on that; sounds like a great deal. I wouldn't do tutorials, though. Where's the scam in that? If the whole point is to evade work, evade it. The greatest challenge would be to be one of the few who succeed in making it big by just blathering on about whatever.

One of the flaws of a YouTube "career" would be that you don't have a real purpose.

"I am a doctor and I help fix people"
"I am a teacher and I help educate students"
"I am a construction worker and I help build homes"

Every career has a purpose unlike...

Does every career have a purpose as elevated as educating, housing or "fix[ing]" people? Plenty of people make a living entertaining others, you know, like people in the entertainment industry. Even more people do one thing for their employment and then do something more purposeful on their own time. Lucky thing that is otherwise entire organizations like Habit for Humanity wouldn't exist and there'd be no such thing as soup kitchens.

Entertainment isn't a "real purpose" because you say so?

You come off as very jealous of their success.

It's the current economic system of the United States of America.

"Success is assured. Enormous wealth and advanced age have made our enemies pampered and weak."

It depends on how appealing and entertaining the vblogger is...and it's pretty subjective (I can't stand Shane Dawson, Fred, PewDiePie or the Nostalgia Critic...but I do like the Angry Video Game Nerd and a number of the YouTube Poopers and other Let's-Play-ers...)

Tim (aka the Slipperman)

Surprised no one here has mentioned tech/phone reviews. That's a huge sector of this. They are making tons.

They are no different than any talkshow hosts or actors.

>>19
99% of them would get nowhere near a tv camera.

Actors have a craft/skill set. They aren't even close to YouTubers.

Talk show hosts don't get to talk about whatever they want. They have to go by a script. It's different.

YouTubers have no skill set?

Sorry to be the one to break this to you...but they actually do have a lot of skill in order to do such a thing.

Getting millions of views per video is NOT an easy task.

That alone means they have SOME kind of skill. Even if it's purely for entertainment.

Any idiots can take a camcorder and film themselves talking about current events and then post the video on youtube.

But it takes someone with a lot of talent and organization to make such videos...and consistently get MILLIONS of hits per video every single day.

Those people deserve the fame they have.

I think yer just jelly!!! lol

You should become a YouTube star. You should buy a puppy, and make a video journal of you and your puppy's adventures. Be real cute, and you'll start getting hits.

Getting millions of views per video is NOT an easy task.

You're right. It's sheer dumb luck.

it takes someone with a lot of talent and organization to make such videos

You mean like spilling your guts and personal life onto the internet for the sheer purpose of entertaining others? That's not talent and seems highly unorganized.

I think yer just jelly!!!

lol No, just annoyed. People who want to become famous YouTubers are no different than the Kardashians and their fame whoreness.

It's all manufactured for the masses anyway. These so-called YouTube personalities were personally selected and funded to do what they do.

In a free market system, if they can prove they have a marketable "product," they can make money. In this case, they can get enough eyes watching their channel, and just like on real TV, viewers can get sponsors. They're not getting my viewership. That's how I have my say in the matter.