We all love YouTube for the multitude of amazing videos, posted on all kinds of subjects. We also admire the people that are ingenious, innovative, and have the ability to create these absorbing videos. But you might be surprised to learn that YouTube actually invests in making some of the best channel owners famous.
YouTube holds an annual contest, called NextUp, where the company highlights the channels that deliver the most interesting content and gather an impressive number of subscribers along the way. 16 winners are picked.
These winning channels have varied topics: how to apply make-up, how to cook, a DIY channel, even a channel about the currently hot-trending Pokémon. The winners are then gathered together in a hotel function room and trained by a professional YouTube team. They prepare these 16 fortunate people to become emerging, shiny new YouTube stars.
After each day’s training, the group assembles in the evening to learn how to make cocktails (and drink them), while getting to know each other and develop their team-building skills.
It’s great to see an Internet mastodon like YouTube making a committed investment in talented young people. After all, they are the future. Their channels prove that they can think outside the box and show far-reaching potential.
What kinds of people win such a contest?
Most are regular folk. Some start a channel to pursue personal interests. Others create their channels out of curiosity.
A guitar player started a YouTube channel at age 12, when his mother posted a video with him playing at a venue. Another young woman wanted to demonstrate that a vegan diet is neither complex nor expensive. Through her “Cheap Lazy Vegan” YouTube channel, she’s showing her viewers how to make simple, delicious vegan meals that are easily affordable.
Read more entertaining stories of successful YouTube channels and their creative owners here.
It is great to see young people being encouraged to do what they like, to be creative, and pursue their dreams. Even if a channel starts out as an experiment, many of these YouTubers have realized that their passion can turn into a real job.
A win-win situation.