By Susan San

Among many popular social media sites like Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. YouTube is definitely one of the most used websites daily. It was founded in 2005 by three former PayPal employees, and it was bought for $1.65 billion by Google.

YouTube is a video-sharing website that has content available for any viewer from documentaries and tutorials to simple entertainment videos. “The great thing about YouTube is that it’s always there; people are constantly creating. I can’t imagine a world when I go home and there aren’t new videos waiting,” says a student from Westborough High School.

There are many content creators around the world that publish videos monthly, weekly, or even daily. In Brighton, England, specifically, two youtubers that go by Zoella and PointlessBlog run very popular YouTube channels that are meant to entertain viewers.

Zoella, with 11+ million subscribers, and PointlessBlog, with 5+ million, have been in a relationship since 2013, which has been partly documented through their daily vlogs. Their fans like to combine their real names, Zoe Sugg and Alfie Deyes, to make the “ship” name “Zalfie”. Sugg’s main channel was founded in 2007. Many of her videos include beauty-related topics like monthly favorite beauty products or clothing hauls. She also creates comedic videos with her friends or brother, who also have immensely popular channels. Deyes mostly publishes videos intended to make people laugh, collaborating with many YouTubers as well. These videos that they make with other youtubers allow viewers to access a variety of different people and content, not only just within their group, but in general. This is why collaborating with others on the site is such a big part of growing one’s channel. If a popular creator uploads a video with someone else, their viewers will check out the other person too.  

PointlessBlogVlogs, which is Deyes’ second channel, with over 3 million subscribers and 800 videos, has content published every day. Sugg’s second channel is called MoreZoella, which has over 4 million subscribers, and it has vlogs uploaded occasionally. Each video is a vlog showing their everyday lives, which consist of simple things like taking their dog out on a walk or big opportunities like attending important conventions.

YouTubers like Zoella and PointlessBlog not only make videos as a hobby, but also as a job. The site pays the YouTubers based on the amount of views they get on each video. This is the reason why many famous creators do not have separate jobs that are not based from YouTube.  “I think it’s inspiring that they do YouTube as both a hobby and a job because it shows teens that they can express their interests and talents to the world while also benefiting from it,” comments Samantha Steinberg, a Westborough High School student and Zoella fan.

Other companies may reach out to YouTubers to sponsor their products, which profits both the company and the individual. The YouTuber gets paid to spread the word about their products, and the company gets more interested people.

Sugg has her own line of beauty products called Zoella, which can be found in many British drugstores. The products include many of her own favorite things such as bath bombs and body lotions. She also has a series of books out that were written by her called Girl Online.  

Deyes has books out that were made by him, called The Pointless Book series. All of their books are very popular, especially in the United Kingdom.

They are both great examples of people that have gained success on YouTube and are now able to achieve these things and many other great opportunities.