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| ALEX GONZAGA: YOUTUBE QUEEN |
ALEX GONZAGA is the reigning local queen of youtube earning millions even if she doesn't have a hit TV show or movie. Now, everybody who is anybody wants to be on youtube and social media. Press conferences used to be organized affairs where invited writers can ask celebrities on the panel peacefully during the Q&A.
Not anymore, now that everyone wants to be a youtube star, all of them troop and stand up in front all together to get a good video coverage of the stars as they answer questions from the press. Then they try to upstage each other by rushing on who will be the first to upload their video footage on their respective youtube outlets.
Everybody wants to earn a fast buck and get rich since youtube pays you according to your number of subscribers.
A lot of writers now also have their own youtube shows and they all want to be seen doing interviews on cam. And we can’t blame they if they want to be rich and famous.
But this is true not only among writers/bloggers but also on celebrities themselves. As we've said, the leading youtube celebrity among local stars today is Alex Gonzaga, with 4 million subscribers who lap up all the wacky antics she uploads regularly. She has become so influential that when her sister Toni got envious of her youtube popularity, she also put up her own youtube channel and quickly gained 1 million followers!
It’s not surprising everyone wants to be a youtube star since, through its Partner Program, youtube enables individual content creators to earn by monetizing their videos and earn their livelihood from directly posting their content. So Alex Gonzaga earns more now than some superstars even if she doesn’t have a hit TV show or movie.
So it's not a surprise that all the big stars have not just their own social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram but their own youtube channels.
This trend actually started with the reality TV shows like those of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians when viewers enjoyed taking a peek into the private lives of stars on TV. Only, it has become worse as the stars themselves now even open up their very own houses and give youtubers a first hand tour of their homes.
But the fact that you’re a big name star is no guarantee that you’ll quickly gain millions of subscribers. Sharon Cuneta and Kris Aquino have their own channels but they don’t even have one fourth of the following of Alex Gonzaga or a relative uknown like Donnalyn Bartolome.
Youtube has really revolutionized the world, especially the entertainment industry, since its inception in 2005. So where is all this leading to? First, it has affected TV viewing and moviegoing. People would now rather watch youtube on their cellphones than go to the mall and watch a movie.
You can be even watch it right in the comfort of your own home or even inside the car while you’re held up in traffic. So is it any surprise that movie after movie flop dismally at the box office?
It has surely affected the advertising industry. A lot of companies now devote a big chunk of their budgets to youtube and social media rather than resort to traditional print or radio-TV media. Because on youtube, if you get hooked, you can watch movies, shows, web series, or video after video for hours, all for free!
The most affected are the stars themselves, It has surely affected adversely the way ordinary people regard movie or TV stars that they once put on a pedestal. Since it’s now so easy to find out what’s happening to your fave stars first hand by just accessing their social media and youtube accounts, no one would bother to watch showbiz talk or magazine shows anymore.
In the olden times (60s or 70s), big movie companies order their stars to refrain from being seen too much in public to put them in their own heavenly firmament, so that their fans would be eager to watch their next movies. But now, the stars have become so accessible and cheapened themselves in the process. They have lost all their mystery and mystique.
And by opening up themselves to the public, they have also become the sorry victims of bashers and haters who find perverse delight in making celebrities feel miserable. Well, you just get what you bargained for.
But of course, youtube has its advantages. It can be educational. Before, we learn about other countries and its people by reading books or watching docus. Now, you can just click youtube and watch the videos of actual people living in foreign countries who’ll guide you to everything you need to know about their culture.
It has really opened some new doors. Unknown talents can be discovered on youtube. Best example is Justin Bieber whose mom uploaded his videos and were seen by music industry people who made him an icon. But examples like him are more like the exception rather than the rule. The fact that you cannot ignore is that youtube and social media have really changed our viewing habits, our lives forever.
