The Top 5 YouTube Vloggers And Why People Love Them
Social video sites like YouTube have given people the ability to express themselves in a whole new way – vlogging. People can sit down in front of their video or web cameras and talk about anything, from politics to pop culture, upload their videos to YouTube and share their opinions with the world. But what is it exactly that makes some vloggers rise to the top while others fall by the wayside? Let’s take a look at the top 5 YouTube video bloggers and find out just what makes them tick and why everyone loves them.
#1 Nigahiga
Nigahiga, the YouTube channel of vlogger Ryan Higa, a Japanese-American comedian from Hawaii, is currently the most subscribed to YouTube channel. Ryan, who broke 2,000,000 subscribers last month, vlogs in the form of humorous sketches, rants and music videos. He does a great job of poking fun of current trends and subjects that everyone is familiar with, such as his Hooked on Phonics spoof, ‘Hook on Fonik’ and, most recently his Snuggie spoof, ‘The Snuggo’.
Nigahiga also shares a wide variety of views in Skitzo, a show that he has been uploading periodically to his channel since last October. In Skitzo, Ryan vlogs as a number of different characters. He plays himself, the ditsy Regina, the thuggish R-Dizzle and the very Japanese Hanate. Each of Ryan’s characters embodies a different stereotype and the show is utterly hilarious, racking in millions of views.
Ryan also rants in a series of videos he calls “Off The Pill”, because he records them when he is off his ADHD medication. Ryan’s Off The Pill rants are quick, disjointed and crazy funny. One of my personal favorites is his rant about Farts, with over 4.5 million views.
#2 Fred’s Channel
Fred Figglehorn is a fictional character, portrayed by Lucas Cruikshank, who vlogs at Fred’s Channel on YouTube. The character Fred is a 6-year old boy with a dysfunctional family life and issues with anger management. Through Fred Figglehorn, Lucas vlogs about adolescent issues like school dances, girls, annoying parents, dating and more in a funny, entertaining, and sometimes-vulgar way. Lucas has described Fred’s videos as “programming for kids by kids.”
The character of Fred has become something of a phenomenon on the web, with over 1.6 million YouTube subscribers. Viewers love Fred’s high-pitched chipmunk voice and hyperactive quality, and log online to watch his videos in droves. Each of Fred’s videos is new, fresh and relevant to what is going on in the lives of kids right now.
#3 Smosh
Smosh comes in at the third most popular YouTube channel, with over 1.4 million subscribers. Smosh vloggers Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox regularly upload funny sketches, including spoofs of popular movies like Twilight and Lord of the Rings, video games, pregnancy, kung fu and more.
Anthony and Ian first started out on YouTube four years ago, when they uploaded a series of videos of themselves lip-syncing to cartoon theme songs, including the Mortal Kombat and Pokemon themes. Since the early days, the duo has grown into a truly professional comedy team, producing high quality, viral comedy sketches that the YouTube community loves.
#4 Shane Dawson
Shane Dawson, who blogs at ShaneDawsonTV on YouTube, is currently the fourth most subscribed to blogger with just over 1.4 million subscribers, and won the award for best vlogger last weekend at the Streamy Awards.
Like Ryan of nigahiga, Shane has created a variety of different characters that he uses in comedy sketches that he uploads to YouTube. However, what differentiates Shane from the bloggers mentioned above is that he still vlogs in the traditional sense from time to time, sitting in front of the camera and simply talking about his feelings.
Shane also uploads new videos on a very regular basis. Fans can expect a new video every Saturday, usually poking fun at the celebrities, songs, movies, television shows and trends that happen to be hot at the moment.
#5 Equals Three
RayWilliamJohnson, who hosts a bi-weekly review of viral videos called Equals Three (=3), comes in fifth with over 1.1 million YouTube subscribers. Ray posts a new episode of his show every Monday and Thursday, in which he vlogs about the most popular and funny viral videos of the last few days.
Ray’s vlog is great because it delivers exactly what YouTube users are looking for – the very best videos of the moment. When you don’t have the time to look for funny videos yourself just tune into Equals Three and you’ll be treated to an array of YouTube gems, complete with witty commentary from Ray.
It is important to note that all of these vloggers have been vlogging for a while. Don’t give up if your vlog doesn’t take off running after your first video. If you keep at it and can consistently post creative, humorous and viral vlogs you may just find success in video blogging on YouTube.
Who are some of your favorite vloggers and what do you think makes their blogs successful?
Image found via Stepping Stones
