YouTube™ for Dummies®

Chapter 9. Getting Famous on YouTube

In This Chapter

• Creating YouTube specialty accounts

• Finding performers on YouTube

• Accepting an award from the YouTube Academy

Sudden fame is a very strange and interesting phenomenon of the Internet age. You don't necessarily need to be beautiful or talented, and you don't need to move to Hollywood, either. Suddenly, you can get famous from the comfort of your own home — famous just for being you.

At the 2007 Academy Awards, Jennifer Hudson took one very giant leap from former American Idol contestant to Oscar winner, and in that one moment, it was reality TV that really took home the award. With so many videos and so many viewers, it's only a matter of time until YouTube makes someone famous — very famous.

YouTube fame is already a reality. Many Tubers have used their videos and channels as a portfolio to score record deals, television appearances, acting roles, and comedy gigs. At the end of 2006 — the year young YouTube came of age — YouTube's breakout star Lonelygirl15 was featured on many "Top 10" lists in newspapers and magazines throughout the country. She was even interviewed by none other than the "gray lady" herself — The New York Times. That's validation.

In this chapter, we look at YouTube from the perspective of fame. We show you how to create a specialty account and get yourself listed as a director, a comedian, a musician, and yes, a guru. We also look at video clips of various players — teachers, musicians, comics, filmmakers, and so ...