Thursday, July 22, 2010

What the Internet Did For Me Today!


Often, at our apartment, A will return home from work and I will shout "LOOK WHAT THE INTERNET DID FOR ME TODAY!", opening up tab after tab of bookmarked websites that I thought she would like, or that I was so proud of having found, I simply had to share it, whether I thought she would like it or not. So, I will let you be privy to exactly what A has to deal with every day by starting a new segment called (yep, you guessed it) "LOOK WHAT THE INTERNET DID FOR ME TODAY".

Todays gems: The British Vlogger. I have recently found myself returning to the same youtube channels over and over again. It's not because the bloggers in question are the funniest people on the internet. It's because they have managed, in their own way, to take over a small portion of the internet. And that's impressive. .

The particular bloggers in question are Alex Day and Charlie McDonnell. McDonnell started his vlog when he was 17 (he is now 20), and quickly gained a little bit of internet notariety. He has been on several British chat shows, and his youtube channel is the most subscribed youtube channel in the UK. His channel is a mix of commentary, original tunes, and (my favorite) challenges. He accepts challenges from his subscribers, be it learning to juggle, or painting his entire body purple (with the help of his mom).

How did I discover McDonnell? First, I found the vlog of his best friend/roommate/band mate, Alex Day. Alex also has lots of amusing commentary webisodes, but he also has a FANTASTIC segment: Alex reads Twilight. It's brilliant and spot on.

While researching for this guest entry, I discovered something very cool about these two young men. They, along with their two friends, created a project called Chart Jackers. The concept? Get an original single in the top 40 UK charts, with all of the proceeds going to charity. Even cooler? All of the work was done via the internet community. The lyrics, the melody, the actual artists singing the song, the video, all of it was submitted by folks on the internet. I think it's a fantastic feat- daily I claim my love for the internet, but in this case, I am impressed with their ability to use it in such a positive way. They hit number 36 on the charts and raised 10,000$ for charity. Hells yes.


After forcing A to watch yet another Alex Day video (he discussed the sexuality of Harry Potter.... with research), she noted that it's not that these boys are HILARIOUS, it's that they are just very amusing- the sort of thing you would find your own best friend ranting about, and so they are relatable. It's your living room on the internet.

This leads me to my next thought. I'm pretty sure that A and I would have a kick ass web series. I know that at the very least, the two of us would watch it.



1 comment:

  1. Ahaha losing it over the video of you guys. Please make a web show. Audience of (at least) one.

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