The videos I put on YouTube have expanded my audience beyond what I could have done at just a Hamburger Mary's. People saw the videos, started booking me, and literally 40-plus countries and thousands of gigs later I can basically say that YouTube has bought me a house.
Whether they're paying for it or not is not really relevant. They're investing a significant amount of time in our content. At some point, commercial opportunities will materialise for greater percentages of that audience.
If you want to make YouTube your career, you have to accept that it is also a business. I know everyone's like, 'It's my passion, it's my hobby.' And that's fine; I support that. But if you want to make it your career, it does have a business side.
As long as we're monetizing our content... we still win at the end.
YouTube does a better job of monetizing for the creators. Like, that is the home for me as a creator where, not only can my content be seen, consumed, digested, but also they pay.
I think it is valuable and should be valued by its consumers. Charging for content forces discipline on journalists: they must produce things that people actually value.
Do I think there's going to be a business in blogging? Yes.
If I said I was going to make a newsletter that made $2-$3 million a year, no one would question me. If I say, 'It's a blog,' everyone questions me.
I began tailoring my books to cater to one or another universe of readers. I found it incredibly boring; and frankly, it felt stultifying. I'd previously been in advertising. I felt if I was going to create something to fit a specific market, I might as well have stayed with advertising.
There's one site where you can buy pictures of me for five bucks a pop.
