The Views: Trucks, Books, and Reality TV
YouTube and its technology creators have been in a frenzy ever since Elon Musk debuted Tesla’s first-ever CyperTruck. One of these includes Marques Brownlee whose almost ten million subscribers rely on him to rant and review all of the latest tech and gadgets that hit the market. On his channel, Brownlee reacts to new releases, unboxes new tech and gives thorough and thoughtful reviews about the newest phones, headphones, computers and more. While the truck may look like it belongs in a video game, Brownlee highlights some of the reasons people may buy one, including its speed, solar power, and unique design. He discusses Tesla’s success of the CyberTruck because of its ability to stand apart from any pickup truck on the market with a viewership reaching four million. Although Tesla will not begin producing the CyberTruck for another two years, hundreds of thousands of consumers have ordered one already, including Brownlee. Why? Because it disrupts the tedium of the current motor industry, as Tesla often does.
More and more YouTubers with animation styles have been making their way into the trending page. The cute art styles that many of these creators produce offer a nice break between similar videos of real people talking online. YouTuber creator, Emirichu, shares her adorable animation style with 1.86 million subscribers. She uses her talent to recall stories in her personal life, opening herself up to her followers. In her most recent video, she illustrates some of the strange habits that she has acquired throughout her lifetime and asks her 600,000 viewers if they can relate. Her strange habits range from smelling everything to buying two drinks because she can’t just decide on one. In this video, Emirichu adds some extra characters into the mix and even has her friends voice them to add another personal level to the stories she recounts. All viewers can relate to Emirichu’s habits on some level, whether they periodically check their bag to make sure they have their wallets and keys, or they always make sure the car they are in is locked, no matter whose car it is. Emirichu brings relatability to her audience with every video while also enticing viewers with beautiful illustrations and punchy thumbnails.
What started as an innocent game has now become a full-blown phenomenon for Noel Miller and his channel. After impersonating the many accents that surround the British reality television show, Love Island, Miller and his friend, Cody Ko, have taken their obsession to the next level. The duo plays the mobile game based on the show with Miller’s 1.66 million subscribers. The show features a group of singles who are placed into a large villa and have to couple and re-couple to try and find their perfect match through dates and challenges, all while avoiding elimination. With the mobile game, you can become one of the lucky singles who tries to find love in paradise. Always playing as a female character, the duo combined their names to produce “Codel” who enters the villa with one thing in mind- to find love. The two comedians then take their 900,000 viewers on a dance through Love Island troupes, NSFW banter and hilarious conversations. Fans of the show will recognize the format of the game, but Miller brings a whole new spin to the beloved show. This has since become a series on Miller’s channel- the most recent being episode 11- as the two start new games, meet new characters and try to find love again and again.
Kaushal, of Kaushal Beauty on YouTube can attest to the hidden talent and diversity hidden within the beauty community. Her videos focus on beauty, hair and makeup with the occasional vlog or conversational style video. In her most recent video, she transforms “Indian wedding style.” She shows her 2.22 million subscribers how she gets ready for an engagement. This includes dramatic eye-shadow, flawless skin and a natural look. Using a voiceover, Kaushal explains every move she makes. 35,000 viewers tune in to learn the tips and tricks she executes. She also gives a hair tutorial video, showing how she applies her head pieces with the tails hidden flawlessly in her sleek hair so that the viewers who have important events coming up can try something new. Kaushal combines her Indian heritage into her modern content with ease, truly proving that she has videos for every viewer from anywhere in the world who loves looking and feeling beautiful.
Book lovers have constantly evolved new ways to talk about and share the joys of reading. Most recently, this has manifested into “booktube” or the discussion of books on YouTube. This has become a huge community on YouTube as creators read together and discuss their favorite books with their audience, but also with other creators. Booktuber Naya of the channel, NayaReadsandSmiles, is no exception. She discusses new releases, reviews books she has read and does book haul after book haul of books she has yet to read. A popular video for booktubers if the “reading vlog” where creators take you through their week or day and share what they are reading, how they like and how they spend their time when not lost in a book. This is exactly what Naya does in her most recent video. Other than explaining her thoughts on her current read, Naya shows her 62,000 followers an unboxing of a recent book subscription box and how Naya packs her books for upcoming trips. Her liveliness succeeds in exciting her 10,000 viewers with the delights of reading, convincing any viewer to pick up a book and dive in.