Acquiring fame through any medium is a very difficult process.

To be famous, having incredible talent, or an excellent idea is only the first step. For this talent or idea to reach a wide audience, you need to be incredibly lucky, know the right people, and market it in a way that is interesting or intriguing to the masses. YouTube used to be different; a place where one hit wonders could become stars with a single awesome trick shot video, but this medium too is starting to conform to this model.

There were some iconically classic YouTube videos that dropped in the mid to late 2000’s that most people have either seen or heard of. The Geeker dancing enthusiastically to Numa Numa, Charlie biting his brother’s finger, the antics of Harry Potter Puppet Pals, and the slightly disturbing video about muffins; these were all part of my early teen years. Most of these creators didn’t go for sequels or follow-ups, they just took the fame they were given and that was enough. Charlie from the Charlie Bit Me video has appeared on TV several times getting interviewed by his family, all for chomping on his brother in an amusing way. Back then the public loved this new and amazing site where normal people could attracting the attention of millions. These videos were the first to be labeled as viral.

Nowadays, millions and millions of videos go viral. The newest to reach crazy-level fame is “Salt Bae”. In this video, a well dressed Turkish man chops up a steak and sprinkles salt on it. That’s literally it. This good-looking guy who is a talented meat-chopper and salt-sprinkler has won the caprice of the masses and has been chosen for the ranks of fame. Of course, these days true fame comes from when someone makes a meme out of you, and Salt Bae has one. So many people are making viral videos, but unfortunately this decreases the value of viral videos. What’s special about something that everyone else can do? People who make a living creating YouTube content have had to adapt to this phenomenon.

Subscription retention is the new key to success in the YouTube world. YouTubers are forced to keep their viewers coming back for more as often as possible to stay relevant. They can do this by posting more often, and by creating click-baity titles and thumbnails. Content value is going through the roof as well. Take Dude Perfect for example. They used to just be some friends tossing trick shots in their back yard. Now they are all millionaires who work out of their own facility where they make professional-grade videos every couple weeks with modern sports’ biggest celebrities.

It seems that being a YouTuber has really become far more than just a hobby; it’s even become more than a full-time job. I think I’ll leaving the creation to them and stick to being a viewer.