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Perez Hilton, Scrivs Says STFU
Written By Scrivs on Jan. 3, 2008.
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(This is a writing challenge from Mike. One of my resolutions was to simply write more, but doing so with topics that I am familiar with won't help me at all so I asked Mike to pick any topic he wants and I would run with it.)
I don't know any of the background for this so what I say might have some fallacies behind it, but in this case I really don't care. It is the thought that someone would complain knowing what they are getting into that is going to set me off. Perez Hilton apparently complained that he only made $5,000 from the videos he posted on YouTube. That may seem like a lot, but I guess when your videos have been viewed millions of times you expect a bit more.
What is funny is that I am guessing he would've put them on YouTube even before they invited him into their exclusive revenue sharing club. However, the fact that he made a little dime opened up the can of worms that is the man with the pink hair. As humans we do this all to often, when we do things because we want to life is good. Add money to the equation and everything gets wrecked.
Add this little drama queen to the equation and no doubt he ranted to maybe find a better deal somewhere else. I hope it doesn't work for him. I know what kind of videos he does and you can't really call them entertainment. He spends five minutes looking into a camera and ranting about whatever and he made $5k off of that and think that is a reason to complain?
Ever see any bloggers complain about not getting enough traffic or money from their work although going in they should have expected what it would take to make it to the top? How much work do you think they really put in for each entry? This rant alone will probably take me no more than 20 minutes and when all said is done if no one responds do I have the will to complain? Hell no, I just want to write because I want to write.
Perez did the videos because he is a diva (I'm not that far off admittedly) and yet when money got thrown into the equation he figured why not complain to the world that his talent was being paid enough? This is what the web does to people. Sure he is a big name, but he is big because of his audience, not the other way around. Web superstars unlike other old-fashioned stars (movies and music) get to a certain level because their audience helps to get them there. No I don't think they deserve the same fame, glory or money that non-web superstars get because they don't put in as much effort or need as much luck.
There was a time I was at the top of my game in whatever realm of the web you wish to consider this, but that isn't the case anymore. I was making Perez Hilton money and was grateful for making it and because of that I took it for granted. I didn't complain when I put in a little effort and made some cash. Hell, it's the web, it was free money basically for no work. I only wish I could go back to those days, but have the passion and drive that would have took me even higher.
So Perez, you are a big man now and you do your little productions, be happy with the money you make. If you wanted more then you should have done it differently. Till then, accept what you have and be grateful. Many people would trade anything to be in your position.
(Please excuse any grammatical/spelling errors, I'm not going back to re-read this immediately. Just posting it now to show Mike that it is done and it really is possible to rant about anything and build a fire within.)
Michael
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
How did Perez Hilton start off anyway? I was under the impression that he did not start off purely on the web but I guess I was wrong.
Tyme
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
Um...You Tube suspended Perez's channel and the email was sent to a generic email address. You Tube claimed Liza Minnelli sent a cease/desist about a movie taken of her drunk. Perez had permission from the person who took the movie to post it. Anyway, his channel was suspended instead of the offending material removed.
This caused an upset. Perez was rightly pissed off but it was a wake up call. Perez sends You Tube more traffic than any site on the internet. He posts his videos there but he rarely posts links to his video on his site. Instead he points to other videos on You Tube and gives people exposure along with the opportunity for fame. Some have actually had opportunities given to them because of Perez.
In an interview Perez said he wasn't linking to You Tube videos for the money because he only made $5000 from You Tube (because he rarely links to his videos from his high-traffic site) he was doing it because there was content on there he wanted to share with his fans. There is where the "only made $5000" quote came from, completely twisted out of proportion.
His channel being suspended was a wake up call for You Tube users. If it could happen to someone like Perez unfairly what chance did "the little person" have to get their channel unblocked? In the end, Perez's channel was unblocked and he is posting new videos there.
Perez made a video thanking his fans and wishing everyone a happy new year. He always thanks his readers/fans for their support. Perez earned what he has (like Arrington) by working hard, not getting free money for basically no work.
@Michael: Perez did not small-time acting work and got into blogging because he thought it would be easy. He found out to be the best it took hard work but it was work he enjoyed doing. He had one of two key people in his life, trusted they had his best interests in mind, blocked out the noise, worked hard following their advice and rose to the top.
Scrivs
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
Well this rant worked out even better than I had hoped. Not only was I corrected, but I got a better rundown and understanding of the situation than I probably could have found anywhere else on the web! I still stand by my words, he is a diva and that is what makes him (insert your own adjective here). As for the rest, oh well, that's what you get ranting on things you hear in the wind. Won't stop me from doing it again though :P
Going back to YouTube I really don't think most people care if Perez was shutdown, they will continue to do their own thing on YouTube because that is where the audience is. What else you gonna use? Viddler? Veoh? You want millions of eyeballs you go to YouTube and considering how much traffic and how many people they have maybe Perez should have had a personal account executive working with them, but if they got some form of legal letter asking them to take stuff down then they just probably did it blind. No doubt they get that stuff by the minute.
People would just move on to the next great video site and the same thing would occur. Permission or not we will always use stuff that isn't our's trying to make the illegal legal. This doesn't apply to the Liza video because I'm not going into whether it was legal or illegal to post it as I really don't care.
Tyme
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
Actually...people realized on grave difference between them and Perez. They rely on You Tube for traffic so if they were blocked, especially for an unfair reason, it would be devastating. Perez, on the other hand, kept rocking on because he protected his main source of traffic.
Excellent business principle there.
Anyway, people were talking about using MySpace instead similar to what Chris Crocker did. He was popular on You Tube but his MySpace popularity fueled his You Tube popularity. If one is going to be dependent on a 3rd party service it is wise to have a safety net because, in the end, the user has no control over their content.
But I agree the average user just wants to upload it some place and doesn't care about the drawbacks in using those services - until they become popular.
Ozone42
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
How do you guys hear about these wackos in the first place?
Tyme
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
@Ozone42 - I read the site. I have a diverse range of interests. I'll laugh/shake my head at what Perez said to break up the monotony that tends to hit me in the afternoon. From a business perspective he fascinates me. Good at what he does but he has reached that growth spurt stage many companies reach and stumble on. He's done a good job monetizing his content, balancing the extra responsibilities that comes with owning your own business and keeping the site updated.
I admit Perez's site is a lifesaver when it comes to finding out things so I can properly discuss them with my daughter before she discovers it or I'm informed when she mentions it.
Scrivs
Written Jan. 3, 2008 / Report /
First you must become one yourself.