YouTube, celebrated its eighth birthday last month and has become one of the biggest video platforms with over a billion people watching over 60 hours of video a day, but amongst all the hilarious videos of people falling off tables and dogs yelping ‘I love you’, there are people who have made a career out of YouTube.
From Shane Dawson to Jenna Marbles to Smosh, these people have showed us how getting in front of camera and simply talking can actually be entertaining and have brightened up peoples’ lives around the world for as little as 5 minutes, as well as creating a thriving business around them.
However, with YouTube partnerships being given out like free candy and with Google launching a new revenue-sharing program last April, where anyone can profit from posting an original video, it can be hard to find a true gem amongst the YouTube community as it’s inundated with teenagers full of angst getting a lot of views just for sniffing condoms for a laugh on camera.
I’ve always been intrigued by the different content on YouTube and how much talent there actually is hidden on the video platform so I spoke to Birmingham-born Matt, who goes under the moniker of LaytonTaylorJunior, who got a YouTube partnership 5 months ago.
Beginning his YouTube journey dubbing celebrity videos on YouTube he saw a gap in the market when it came to ‘vlogs’ or video blogs (for those out of the loop) and decided to jump onto the bandwagon.
Taking inspiration from famous ‘YouTubepreneurs’ Shane Dawson and Charlie McDonnell he decided to make his own channel that describes as the ‘anti-vlog’.
“I saw a bunch of ‘vlogs’ on YouTube with people just talking about their lives or the weather and I found it really embarrassing, self obsessed and uncreative so… using the fan base I’d gained from dubbing celebrity videos on YouTube, I decided to make ‘anti-vlogs’, videos that kind of emulate the style but are more satirical than vlogs and use them to be creative and to have a bit of a moan as well, for other peoples’ entertainment.”
If you have ever watched his videos, apart from his rugged good looks he has that funny man appeal which keeps you wanting more. He says that some of his inspirations are comedians like Russell Kane and Lee Evans who he loves because they make him “laugh without even speaking”.
So, where does this funny man see himself and his channel in the future?
“I’d like to see my channel grow, obviously, expand and reach a broader audience. I’d love the opportunity to work in TV either presenting or being part of a creative team. I think that’s the ultimate goal.”
So, if you have time to watch his videos I definitely recommend that you do, he has the ability to make you smile which we all need a bit of from time to time, right?