The Power of Content Creators Social Campaigns on YouTube Student Name: Bianca Andreea Banu Supervisor: Dr. Alex Gekker Second reader: Amanda Wasielewski Program: MA Media Studies Specialisation: New Media and Digital Culture Date: 26th of June, 2017 !ii !iii Abstract For a long time now, spreading awareness about different social causes has been done by using different media channels such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television or social media. These channels were and are the fastest ways through which a message is able to reach a high number of people. Nowadays, the new generation gathers their everyday information and news mostly through Internet-based forms of communication. Consequently, one of the most successful ways for both transmitting and gathering information is via social media, specifically by making use of Social Network Websites (SNSs). Therefore, it is important to further analyse the potential of such platforms and how successful they are in not only spreading awareness, but also getting people involved. Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has developed and emerged into something rather different than its initial purpose - that of a video sharing platform. The content which can be found on YouTube nowadays ranges from low quality amateur clips to high quality, well- produced videos. The creators of those videos have various aims, from sharing content with friends and families, to motoring their content as a form of income. Moreover, each tool and functionality present on YouTube has developed overtime as well as the potential uses of the overall platform. Therefore, it is essential that new researches should address the new affordances of the platform, and the practices that emerged as a result of the platform’s growth. As (to some extent) YouTube creators had to work very hard to gain their online popularity and the status of ‘YouTubers’, they feel responsible to give back to the community and help other achieve their own dreams and objectives too. The aim of this thesis is to research the ways through which content creators make use of their YouTube platforms to develop communities, and to engage and enable their audience to get involved in helping with social causes, differently than mainstream celebrities do through other types of media. Moreover, it will examine how YouTube, as a social networking website, facilitates the development of social campaigns differently than other mediums due to the platform’s affordances. The conducted research used different perspectives, and an important aspect of it was to closely follow the development of the three case studies (1) The #GirlLove Campaign by IISuperwomanII, (2) The Cringemas Livestream by PewDiePie, (3) The Solvey Project by FunForLouis and Dave Erasmus !iv Table of contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions 1 1.2 YouTube and YouTubers 4 2. Literature Review 9 3. Methodology 15 4. Case Studies 19 4.1 The #GirlLove Challenge by IISuperwomanII 19 4.2 The Cringemas Livestream by PewDiePie 28 4.3 The Solvey Project by FunForLouis and Dave Erasmus 34 5. Discussion 40 6. Conclusion 45 Bibliography 46 Literature 46 YouTube Videos 48 !v Banu !1 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions For a long time now, spreading awareness about different social causes has been done by using different media channels such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television or social media. These channels were and are the fastest ways through which a message is able to reach a high number of people. Nowadays, the new generation gathers their everyday information and news mostly through Internet-based forms of communication. Consequently, one of the most successful ways for both transmitting and gathering information is via social media, specifically by making use of Social Network Websites (SNSs). Therefore, it is important to further analyse the potential of such platforms (i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) and how successful they are in not only spreading awareness, but also getting people involved. YouTube (2005), as a social network platform, is becoming more and more popular among the young generation. In a study concerning YouTube’s social character and its affordances which facilitate participatory culture, Clement Chau argues that “44 percent of teens find YouTube to be a better source of video entertainment than other sources” (66). Moreover, Chau explains that “[t]he explosion of youth subscription to original content- media-sharing Web sites such as YouTube has confirmed their relevance and importance in the lives of today’s youth” (65). Hence, it can be argued that YouTube and social media platforms in general are becoming the main channel for information exchange among the young generation. General studies have been conducted within the field of social networks (Dijck “Engineering Sociality” 2013; Haythornthwaite 2007), and also specifically referring to YouTube as a social platform (Lange 2007; Van Dijck “YouTube Beyond Technology” 2013). However, these are either outdated or solely make reference to the platform’s potential without further development on the subject. The type of research conducted thus far no longer matches the possibilities offered by the platform. In a research conducted in 2016, Hector Postigo, explains how “YouTube is never absolutely a means of extracting value not it is always just creating community; it is doing all those things and some new things, none of which can be said to be the sole function for the platform” (336). Hence, new studies should have as focus those ‘new things’ (features/ Banu !2 practices) that make the platform what it is. Each tool and functionality present on YouTube has developed overtime as well as the potential uses of the overall platform. Therefore, it is essential that new researches should address the new affordances of the platform, and the practices that emerged as a result of the platform’s growth. Since its launch, YouTube has developed and emerged into something rather different than its initial purpose - that of a video sharing platform. Various practices have appeared, within the site, which have a great impact on both its users and the way it is being used. The content which can be found on YouTube nowadays ranges from low quality amateur clips to high quality, well-produced videos. The creators of those videos have various aims, from sharing content with friends and families, to motoring their content as a form of income. Therefore, focused research should be conducted in order to understand how these practices develop and whether or not they reach their goals. For instance, some of these practices include using the YouTube community to solve a social issue or spread awareness regarding different social causes. As (to some extent) YouTube creators had to work very hard to gain their online popularity and the status of ‘YouTubers’ (this term will be explained in more detail later on section 1.2), they feel responsible to give back to the community and help other achieve their own dreams and objectives too. The aim of this thesis is to fill in part of the above-mentioned research gap by analysing how YouTube creators (YouTubers) make use of the platform’s affordances in order to raise awareness regarding different social causes. Moreover, it will study the reasons why the YouTube stars have (seemingly) a higher chance than mainstream celebrities (such as singers, actors, TV stars) in getting their audience involved and persuading them to partake in helping a certain social cause due to platform-related practices. Regardless of whether they have a large or focused community - this referring to communities devoted to a niche of people rather than a larger and mixed audience - YouTubers’ messages (arguably) tend to have a higher impact on the viewers than any other message transmitted through other means of communication. According to a research conducted by Hye-Jin Paek et al. “a video produced by a peer rather than an expert will be more likely to match what individuals expect to see on a UGC [user generated content] website such as YouTube, and therefore more likely to get their acceptance” (165). Therefore, based on the idea that YouTubers are presumably to get the audience’s acceptance, I hypothesise that they are considered more reliable, Banu !3 trustworthy and credible; thus, the way they deal with social causes is different. For example, one of the main reasons for which YouTubers might have a high response rate from their viewers is due to the fact that “audiences probably expect to encounter videos produced by laypeople similar to themselves, and not by professionals and organisations who promote specific social causes and issues” (Paek et al. 179). Thus, it is arguable that YouTubers are more trustable and reliable (on platforms such as YouTube) than specialised people, due to the fact that the audience can identify with them more easily. Due to the increased popularity of both the platform and the number of communities developed within it, different practices have emerged among content creators. Some of these practices include using creators’ online popularity to raise awareness regarding different social issues (such as empowering women and fighting for gender equality) and ask for people’s help in raising money for charities or for access to resources in unprivileged countries. By looking at different creators and the projects developed, this paper will evaluate the outcome of their efforts to making a social change by using their YouTube platforms. Within this research, three projects will be used as case studies: (1) the #GirlLove campaign developed by the YouTuber Lilly Singh; (2) the Cringemas campaign organised by the YouTube creator Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg; and (3) the Solvey Project established by the YouTubers Louis Cole and Dave Erasmus. In order to evaluate the outcome of these projects, this research will look into how each of them was developed (i.e.