In the absence of the API detailed functionality found on networks like Twitter and Facebook to gather data over time, interested parties, whether commercial or research, must either take regular snapshots or receive authenticated access the user’s analytics.
Roman Atwood, a YouTuber who makes prank videos such as these, attracts millions of viewers.
Many of these YouTubers use platforms other than YouTube to build their public profile. We can then investigate what points in their career on YouTube boosted their profile.
According to Jean Burgess’ and Joshua Greene’s seminal work on YouTube, YouTube : Online Video and Participatory Cultural (2013), once you get past the big multinationals and the traditional media companies and look at the “most-subscribed” list of YouTubers – people that have built their careers using the platform – the list is dominated by “YouTubers”. PewDiePie , a YouTube star, is one of many examples.
They note that engagement with YouTube’s community is often a prerequisite for achieving success of this kind. This engagement often extends beyond YouTube and onto platforms like Twitter.
Previously, Accession charts were used to measure Twitter follower growth. This method can also be used to estimate users on other platforms. We can estimate the date that a specific user first followed a Twitter profile by combining the date the user joined Twitter with the order in which they followed the account.
This chart is for YouTuber Charles Trippy, who has both skits as well as vlogs.
Charles, a member of We The Kings, is also a vlogger who has five YouTube channels. His main channel, CTFxC, receives an average of between 300,000 and 2 million views per video. The graph shows his Twitter growth in relation to his YouTube career. This includes a spike in Twitter followings around his 2009 proposal video, which was widely shared online and in traditional media.
Charles Trippy has become a YouTuber model.
Another spike was also tied to major events. On 20 November 2011, Charles and his partner Alli were married. Their wedding hashtag #CTFxCWedding, became a worldwide trend. This caused a rapid increase in followers within a short time. Charles’ 2012 announcement of his brain tumor diagnosis and the vlog he made during brain surgery led to the rise in Twitter followers. It also reached traditional Media.
CTFxC has clearly connected with people at a personal level. Peaks are related to serious, unique situations, which allow users to feel this connection.
Collaborations can also lead to a notable increase.
As shown in the graph, Charles Trippy’s April 2013 collaboration, which involved popular YouTubers PrankVsPrank, shows a pattern that is noticeably different from his overall growth. A larger percentage of Twitter users who have older accounts (and are, therefore PrankVsPrank followers) began to follow.
As can be seen in the graph below, Corey Vidal is a smaller YouTuber who collaborates with other YouTubers to create vlogs and also organizes the Buffer festival.
The key growth periods (October 2011 and January 2013) were directly linked to collaborations. First, the Charles Trippy Wedding Video was filmed. Second, the announcement for the motion picture I’m Vlogging Here” (now called “Vlogumentary”) was produced in collaboration with ShayCarl.
