Must Love Vlogs: 5 Young Video Bloggers to Watch Issue #45

With YouTube turning 5 this year, we decided to talk with these very popular young women about their successes with this exploding media form—and how they use it for creative pursuits

By Molly Horan
Published: November 16th, 2010 | 10:05am

YouTube turns 5 this year, and the company, recognizing its future in video bloggers, recently announced $5 million in grants to go to top “vloggers.” To celebrate, we talked with five popular young YouTubers about how they found success with this exploding media form—and how they use it for creative pursuits.

the Songwriter: Kristina H., aka “italktosnakes”

subscribers*: 67,000+ // age: 22

italktosnakes on Twitter

Kristina, a singer-songwriter and member of the band ALL CAPS has been posting videos for three years. Despite her thousands of subscribers, Kristina still wouldn’t consider herself a successful YouTuber. “Numbers are just numbers, but having an active response to your videos is a much better indicator,” says Kristina. Even with the spectacle of dancing and ping-pong playing cardboard robots in the music videos on Kristina’s channel, her most entertaining posts remain her personal vlogs. A recent upload chronicled her many methods of procrastination while putting off her senior thesis, something all YouTubers can relate to.

the Networker: Lauren F., aka “devilishlypure”

subscribers: 18,000+ // age: 22

devilishlypure on Twitter

Lauren has four years on YouTube, three EPs, and four albums to her credit. She didn’t see YouTube as a vehicle for her band, the Moaning Myrtles, at first. But she soon realized people browsing through her channel discovered her music via her videos. “If they randomly find a video of a song I wrote, they buy it on iTunes and help me to pay my rent,” she says. Though she could easily consider YouTube just another business platform, she believes it allows people to get to know others on a more personal level than other social networking sites. “You feel like you know the people you’re watching regularly,” she explains. Armed with wonderfully geeky lyrics and a ukulele, Lauren continues to post great videos that will surely increase her following.

the Brand Master: Kate E., aka “Katers17”

subscribers: 76,000+ // age: 21

Katers17 on Twitter

Kate began vlogging when she posted a video to enter a YouTube contest. She was shocked when the hits to that initial post kept coming in. “I freaked out when it got to 10,000 views. Then, in a month, it had just under half a million!” she remembers. That was four years ago, and since then she has gathered more than 76,000 subscribers to her mix of comedy sketches, personal vlogs, and original songs. Despite her YouTube success, Kate remains humble, describing every positive comment her videos get as “a virtual hug.” As for advice for those just breaking out their cameras, Kate swears by one tip: “Brand yourself. It may sound scary but it can be a lot of fun. I’m talking a background image for your channel, a logo, and maybe even a catchphrase!”

the Purist: Lex C., aka “Tyrannosauruslexxx”

subscribers: 21,000+ // age: 18

Tyrannosauruslexxx on Twitter

Of the five, Lex is the most traditional vlogger. On her channel you’ll find 41 videos of her staring into the camera and talking about things she finds funny, horrifying, or just plain odd. A recent entry featuring Lex’s deadpan review of unappetizing food ads will make you laugh—and look at Cocoa Puffs in a whole new way. She started by keeping things loose: “I’d sit down in front of the camera with no idea what I was going to say, and then just edit out the worst parts before I uploaded it.” Lex has even gained some paid gigs and commercial opportunities, like a temporary job on “The 5:19 Show,” a live web series. She encourages new vloggers to embrace the opportunity to make friends: “One of the best things that I’ve taken away from my experience is the people I’ve met.”

the Poet: Shawna H., aka “Nanalew”

subscribers: 127,000+ // age: 20

Nanalew on Twitter

Harry Potter fans might know Shawna from her “Growing up Granger” sketches (where she portrays a more trouble-making Hermionie Granger than HP enthusiasts expect). She’s only been uploading those for a few months, but she’s been on YouTube for three years. With over 127,000 subscribers, Shawna has the biggest audience in this group. Also a poet, Shawna made contact with the editor and cover artist of her latest collection Insomniatic Dreams, through her channel. Shawna’s advice for novice YouTubers: “Fight the urge to get popular for popularity’s sake.” She also suggests collaborating with others, as well as interacting with successful vloggers. And Shawna isn’t planning on shutting off her camera any time soon. “I can’t think of any reason I’d stop. I love connecting with people in this way.”

*all subscriber counts as of press time