#2: Programming Trends

Growing up practically an only child gave me loads of time to discover the many corners of the internet. Around the age of 13 I discovered YouTube videos which, at the time, sufficed as the prehistoric era of binge watching; and same as today, we called it getting lost. As time went on, I grew and developed and so did the value, production, and distribution of www.youtube.com.

YouTube was founded back in 2005 as a social platform for "users to upload, view, rate, share, add to favorites, report, comment on videos, and subscribe to other users."  The site went by the slogan: "Broadcast Yourself" from 2005 up until 2012, and that is just what people did. Today YouTube serves as an outlet for several artists, concepts, and personalities. In all actuality, the most prevalent distinction between the "old YouTube" (2005- 2009) and the "new YouTube" (2010-present) has major dealings with self-promotion and advertising. It has become a permanent staple for exposure in any field from amateur to professional.

About 2 years later in 2014, the cyber entertainment subculture was already more than booming. Everyone became obsessed with skits, parodies, and other forms of comedic release. While indulging in this society, through one of my religiously watched channels (qbanguy)  I stumbled across a YouTuber with the username LaToya Forever. In the beginning of her YouTube career, she projected herself as some crazy, Trinidadian girl from Canada who loved to make people laugh with her friends and family. Throughout the years she brought her "Crazies" through her life tribulations and has yet to fail  in utilizing YouTube as a host for her many niches across the web. Today she is a wife, mother of 2, fitness enthusiast, and entrepreneur all while maintaining her two successful YouTube channels full time.

LaToya Ali began her first channel, LaToya Forever, in 2009 where she created progression content through her YouTube personality "LaToya Forever™". She began her second channel, LaToya's Life, to separate her scripted comedy from the reality of her everyday life through a reality vlog-series. The first channel excels in the idea of collaboration while the seconds channel gives her viewers a more personal relationship with her. Latoya is what I like to call an imperial vlogger. An imperial vlogger is someone who uses their credibility to build those around them creating a sort of empire that strengthens relevance of their social presence. Since her start 2009, LaToya has exposed her followers to over 50 other YouTube personalities from the 5+ countries including Dianá aka Tootsie Time from the UK and Jamie and Nikki from Australia. She also frequently features her many connections with family and friends like Auntie Jillian, her real life aunt, whom is one of several that she inspired/helped to create a YouTube channel, and established model and friend Winnie Harlow. Latoya skillfully navigates her content around her personal strengths and turning points. Her strongest attribute overall is her appeal to emotion. LaToya Forever is an inspiring character that dared  the average female to take risks and make changes. LaToya's Life incorporates the LaToya Forever everyone knew and loved but appeals to growth which triggers the viewers sense of apathy by basically living through her and comparing their own lives as inferior to hers. LaToya's social strategy made a drastic change from keeping up with the latest trend to focusing more on family life. 

#1 : Personal Video Habits

Many times I have prided myself over the restraint that I can put against my media browsing rituals, and how I can hop in and out of a cyber rut at any time. But let's face it; I'm a social junkie and I am willing to blame it on my peers for the constant temptation. Well, maybe it's not entirely their fault, but they definitely do help me stay posted on the latest season of American Horror Story. They also seem to never skip a Queen Bee or Kardashian ultra sound, but who does?

As a college student, and a Mass Communications major if I may add, the most used video source I have would be Facebook. I spend countless hours scrolling through videos that have been shared all over the world. It usually starts with a couple of flicks on my screen to find posts of interest to view, but once you click a video, there are several featured or similar videos under it that will automatically play if the screen is left idle in order to make your lazy day even less occupational. I constantly switch between Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter videos while almost never missing a conversation or group chat message. For my generation, binge watching is not just a pass time. It is a tradition! And my friends and I enjoy the strong connection we can build between the emotions of a Netflix series; we even like how lost we feel once the series is played out and our lives no longer have meaning. YouTube, however, is more of a tool rather than an entertainment experience. I usually use it to conduct product research and to find tutorials while providing the occasional awe to the many commentators and entertainers that utilize YouTube as an outlet for their art.

My personal video habits are not only secondary. On pretty much any social media platform, any one person has the ability to create video content and to upload it publicly. If you were to add me on Snapchat (@itxxmimi), you would see that I post to my Snapchat story several times a week. Usually it will be an instance from my everyday life, but sometimes I will even promote myself and my own content with commentary, support tactics, entertainment, comedy, and recently a fad or two just to get people thinking in the direction of my future. I aspire to be a YouTuber one day, and I usually observe current artists mostly through video to create my own name.