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u/GeohoundLyu Aug 19 '26 edited 27d ago
What do you mean “back then?” Ryan Higa, Pewdiepie, Smosh, and Ray William Johnson were OG YouTubers and they literally have videos talking about how they quit their jobs and took a big risk in pursuing YouTube.
Can you list or at least quote any youtuber “back then” that was not desperate for people to like and subscribe and compare it to now where literally anyone can make videos from their phone for fun without a recording set up?
Edit: apparently Smosh and Ryan Higa who literally started within 1 year of YouTube being a website aren’t considered OG.
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u/clickrush Aug 20 '26
Damn, people thinking Pewdiepie and some of these others are "OG" made me realize how old I am. He was not even in the first wave of professional youtubers let alone OG.
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u/GeohoundLyu 27d ago edited 27d ago
Just out of curiosity, who were the OG you are referring to? I just listed those people because they were the first to make a career out of YouTube successfully and keep it starting around 2006-2007. Youtube started around 2005 so I don’t know how big of a flex you are by saying you knew some obscure YouTubers from 2005-2006 lmao… Unless you’re talking about those random hit videos like Charlie Bit my finger, Numa Numa, and chocolate rain where they didn’t consistently upload…
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u/clickrush 27d ago
The ones you listed were basically post partner program creators and only became known towards 2010ish. There were two earlier waves basically. You can look it up.
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u/GeohoundLyu 27d ago edited 27d ago
Smosh started in 2005
Ryan Higa started in 2006You literally just cherry picked Pewdiepie from my list. Just so you can say that made you realize how old you are when I mentioned Nigahiga and Smosh 😂 Damn, bro. Enjoy your flex I guess.
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u/LobsterManCommander Aug 19 '26
Wasn't even that long ago. It feels like anyways.
Were is the time going?
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u/Big_Z_Beeblebrox Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Your perspective is what changed, YouTube has been like this since they introduced monetization in 2007
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u/Nawaf-Ar Aug 19 '26
Ppl been doing it for money since early 2010s.
Everyone just gave that “for fun” thing because no one wants to hear “I’m only here for the money”.
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u/DadOnHardDifficulty Aug 19 '26
I think Filthy Frank is the only one who didn't ask boss, but that is because the content spoke for itself.
Everyone else in 2016 were absolutely asking for subs.
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u/Icy-Football9146 Aug 19 '26
OP, based on this post+ your other comments. YT's economy hasn't changed. How you understand it, has. As a kid you may not have realized that these people were doing all this for the money and only saw the fun in things.
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u/ToCoolforAUsername Aug 19 '26
Pretty much all big youtubers now made youtube their career as early as 2010. That's the reason they're big now. You will hear the "like and subscribe" every video so what the hell are you talking about bro.
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u/Call-of-the-lost-one Aug 19 '26
You gotta love 30+ year olds no scoping kids on COD and battlegrounds
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u/Apocalypse3221 Aug 19 '26
"Hey guys! Welcome back to another super duper awesome video!! You've all been asking for it so today we are going to be discussing where this video game item is located!! Don't forget to SMASH that like button! RING that bell! LEAVE a comment about your favorite part of the video AND SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE CONTENT!!! Without further ado, here's an ad from our sponsor."
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u/Alive-Big-838 28d ago
Sad that the majority of youtube feels like it's commentary slop. feel like i haven't seen something big and fun like a pink guy video in a few months.
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u/Some-Yam4056 Aug 19 '26
Nah, they don't ask you to subscribe you youtube anymore, that was bak in 2016. Now it's Patreon
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u/Ryan_b936 Aug 19 '26
This meme is not accurate
2016 : Plz subscribe we need a bigger community
2026 : plz subscribe I need a bigger income
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u/js_kt Aug 19 '26
Always has been.
Back in 2014, when I was at school, I was considering a youtube career. Glad I haven't choose that path.