Youtube and the Vine Revolution

     Whether it be Zoella, Tyler Oakley, Nash Grier, Jerome Jarre, O2L, etc, etc, this wave of internet sensations has been building up overtime and has finally exploded all over the face of the entertainment world. The term "youtubers" has slowly become equivalent to that of "popstars," "actors," etc. They're just that big now! Those of you who aren't even slightly aware of what I'm talking about have probably heard of one of these youtubers but just weren't aware who they were. Making videos and posting them on Youtube is something people have been doing for years so why has it become so important all of the sudden? Simple. Certain people *usually attractive or funny and 9 times out of 10 have some sort of amazing accent* make videos where they do various things like play video games, vlog, give beauty/style advice and tutorials, or just be completely random and entertaining. These people have gotten so popular and have raked in hundreds of thousands of subscribers who watch their videos every week that they are now able to "do Youtube" for a living. In other words, they get paid to make videos on a somewhat regular schedule as long as they keep the content coming and generate more subscribers. Sounds pretty freaking amazing if you ask me. A hobby that turns into a career. What else could you want? Oh, well maybe things like Playlist Live and Vidcon where these Youtubers get to go and meet their adoring fans, perform live, and be praised for hanging out with friends, meeting new people, and making videos for a living. Sounds like the best way to become a household name without being a reality TV star. If you're like me and watch what seems like MILLIONS of youtube videos every week, you know how easy it is to become obsessed with some random person who films themselves talking to a camera in their bedroom everyday. But.we.just.can't.stop. Some of my all-time favorite Youtubers are: Crabstickz, Tobuscus, Sawyer Hartman, Tanya Burr, Troye Sivan, BribryOnTour, and LukeIsNotSexy. *Just to name a few*
     Moving on to something a bit similar……VINE!!! If you haven't seen or heard the phrase "Do it for the vine" then you've probably been better off than the majority of us meaning not sitting in front of your computer watching 6 second videos of baby ducklings, chubby toddlers dancing, or terrible twerking attempts. Good for you! For the rest of us, no matter how bad vines have gotten recently *were they really ever good though?* we can't stop watching them. There are tons of Facebook accounts that just post these 6 second videos so you can literally sit there for hours going through thousands of vines. Vine has caused some sort of hysteria where people will literally do ANYTHING for the vine. They'll cause public disturbances, prank people, and even hurt themselves all in the name of a good vine which may or may not even turn out to be funny or interesting in the slightest. Names like Jerome "beautiful squeeeeral* Jarre, Nash "eyes" Grier, and Dem_White_Boys *um…* have become common in social media. As usual, some popular viners use their good looks simply to get attention but all in all, something as simple as a 6 second video of you talking about cats in sweaters is enough to get you internet famous in this day in age. So, have at it!


Who are some of your favorite Youtubers or Viners? :)


YOUTUBERS AND VINING~AS TOLD BY MADS
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2013: The Year of the Cyrus? Has Miley really gone crazy?

     When we think about 2013 as a whole, something that stands out pretty prominently in all of our minds is the one and only Miley Cyrus. Some may call this streak of wild behavior her "going off the deep end" but for me and probably the minority of the public sees this as a sort of transition into something greater for her. Yes, no one can argue that the old "7 Things I Hate About You" Miley isn't a guilty pleasure for us all but once she hopped off that plane at LAX with that crop top and short shorts, we should've known something was up. I still laugh at how much people basically freaked out when she was some sort of skimpy mystical birdlike creature in "I Can't Be Tamed." We obviously underestimated how far she was willing to go to make a statement. That statement of course ultimately being something along the lines of "I've grown up so stop asking yourself why Hannah Montana would be acting this way." Even though this Miley Cyrus craze only started in late August of 2013, it is something that defines a lot of aspects of 2013 pop culture simply because NO ONE COULD STOP TALKING ABOUT IT. Speaking of the VMAs a.k.a. the start of all this madness, personally for me (which is probably quite an unpopular opinion but one I'm going to make anyway), her performance was justified. Well, if a performance can be "justified." I mean it is after all called artistic expression. The VMAs are predominantly about celebrating music videos and how the artists behind the most popular videos of the year go about expressing themselves through their music.
     Let's change gears a bit and look at Lady GaGa. She opened the VMAs with a powerful performance in the most expected and GaGa-esque way anyone could hope for. She did also do this while wearing a thong. I mean, I don't know about you but that seems like a GaGa thing to do because, well first off she is known for pushing the boundaries in the name of artistic freedom, but also it perfectly represented her music video for "Applause" which was being honored through this performance. That is simply what the VMAs are. GaGa wore a thong because it represented an aspect of her video and if one was familiar with the video would have praised her for doing it.
     Back to Miley...of course there was an uproar when the "We Can't Stop" video surfaced but knowing that Miley was performing this song at the VMAs and knowing what goes on in the video and what the song is about, what were we expecting? Not even mentioning that part of her performance was a duet with Robin Thicke who's "Blurred Lines" video was no more controversial or risque than Miley's. Artists' performances at the VMAs are meant to honor their videos and when you mix "Blurred Lines" and "We Can't Stop," the uproar was a bit unnecessary if you ask me. People can say that they were upset because the performance was inappropriate and obnoxious blah blah blah but ultimately the majority of people were upset because Miley is a Disney girl and they will never get over that fact. The sad fact is that she will be held to that standard the rest of her career. That puts a lot of stress on a young star. She's bound to act out even more than she may intend to at times. Above all, Miley does what she wants and does a good job letting people know that she wants to leave the preteen pop life behind and move in a more....mature....direction.....and boy has she shown us.


THE MILEY CYRUS PHENOMENON~AS TOLD BY MADS
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Leave a comment on what you think about all of this madness!