Talentless? Then you too can make millions by becoming a Youtube star!

For those who haven't heard about Rebecca Black, or seen her infamous video "Friday," please consider yourself lucky. For those of you who have, I am sorry, and I feel your pain. For those that are really interested...here's the video:

If you sat through the entire video, I applaud you. I have attempted several times but to no avail, in fear of losing my already diminishing IQ points from watching other pointless and utterly brainless videos sourced from YouTube. But one thing still remains: this video has over 62 Million views. That means 62 MILLION PEOPLE have seen this video. Despite the un-catchy, lyrically incompetent song and horrifying portrayal of  rich North American girls (how many 14 year olds do you know roll up to pick up chicks at the bus stop in what looks like a convertible benz? and why is there a rapper 3 times her senior in the video? should someone tell her parents?), you have to admit, this video "worked." So what do I mean by "worked?"
I mean, GIRLZ GOT $$$

According to Forbes, YouTube makes approximately $1 for every 1000 views (according to 2010 reports), and content creators earn 68% of the profits earned by YouTube. "Friday" is also being sold on iTunes, with artists receiving $0.70 for every download. So according by these figures, Rebecca Black can earn somewhere over $1 Million, not including other endorsement deals that I bet she'll receive. But at least shes donating it.

YouTube has become a melting pot for entertainment and a general source of procrastination and distraction since its creation in 2005. I've always been curious as to how and if YouTube stars make money, and after a little digging, it turns out that top YouTube channels, or "YouTube Partners" can earn up to 6 figures a year, depending on their channel views, subscribers and other factors (ads through cost per click, commercials). That said heres a list of the top 10 YouTube Partners and how much they averagely earn per year.

Kinda makes you re-think your future career choice eh?

Why so blue?

Having been a Facebook user since 2006, it is hard not to notice the obvious design changes the site has undergone in the last 5 years. 


From then:

(ah..the early days of facebook...back when it was called "the facebook")


...and now:

(If you don't see a difference you're either blind or don't have a Facebook account, but I find that highly unlikely.)


But one thing still remains the same...the colour scheme. 


This reminded me of a article I read a few years back in Wired back in 2003 that showed the colour shade of the corporate companies of america:

(as you can see, blue is a very dominant colour with corporate industries, even back in 2003, before the success of facebook and other social media sites)


This really got me thinking. The majority of the companies listed in the article are more physical, corporate companies, with very little website companies listed. After much research and extensive digging around on the internet, I found a more modern colour scheme chart listing the current top 100 company logos by colour (okay, I lied, it didn't take me long to find this. Thank you Google):

Just at first glance of this colour scheme layout, you can almost tell that the majority of relevant website companies have a blue colour scheme, including Facebook and twitter. (sorry blogger)

Interestingly enough, other major powerhouses such as Google and ebay have an array of colours, breaking the norm.

According to holistic online, the key features of the colour blue include: "Peace, faith, aspiration, and creative expression."To me, the "creative expression" part makes the most sense in relations to social media and marketing. 

It is interesting how colours can dictate one's social behaviour or mood, and I guess this is why companies have such a hard time when creating (or recreating) their company logo's. 

But does this also mean that when Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook back in 2004, his sophomore year at Harvard, he considered the emotional and behavioural appeal of Facebook users when he chose to use the colour blue as his main back drop? Did he realize the effects he would cause on the future generation of Facebook users and how the main sign in page of his blue website would forever be ingrained into the minds of millions upon millions of registered Facebook users? Did he conduct experiments and/or asked his Harvard colleagues if blue was the best choice to use?

No, turns out he was colour-blind and that blue was the only he could see on the colour spectrum. 

(sorry about the anti-climatic ending, so i hope this video will make you feel better)