youtubers – The Dork of All Trades

Written By: Tim

It’s no doubt that YouTube has become one of the biggest forms of entertainment in the world, whether it be funny cat videos, thug life compilations, or epic fail videos just to name a few. Now is the age of the YouTube celebrity and the videos that make them famous. But before I talk about some of my favorites let’s take it back to the beginning. When and how did YouTube begin?

YouTube was founded in February of 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. Prior to making YouTube, the three had worked for PayPal. Unlike the show Silicon Valley, this start-up company first originated above a Pizzeria and Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California. In November 2005, YouTube was giving a $3.5 million investment by Sequoia Capital, a venture capitalist company, out of California. By April of 2006 Sequoia invested another $8 million into the company after the site reached popularity. The first video shared on YouTube was uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim of himself at the San Diego Zoo and can still be found on the site. In 2006 the company was purchased by Google for $1.65 million in stocks. The breakdown of profits between the founders and investors was Chad Hurley’s at more than $395 million, Steve Chen’s at more than $326 million, Jawed Karim’s at more than $64 million. Sequoia invested around $9 million and received $516 million and Artis Capital Management invested $3 million and received $85 million. That’s a lot of keesh (slang for money). Years later the company has grown to what it is now.
Now onto some of my favorite YouTube personalities and favorite clips by them. My first choice is the guys over at “Epic Meal Time” starring Harley Morenstein and his friends. The concept of the show is that the group will cool elaborate meals mostly of meat with a high calorie count. Two of the main ingredients are bacon and Jack Daniels whiskey. At the end of the episode the group chows down on the meal. My favorite episode is “Fast Food Lasagna.” Well, the title is self-explanatory. They get shit-ton of fast food and make lasagna out of it.

Next on my list is of favorite YouTube videos goes to “My Drunk Kitchen” with the lovely Hannah Hart. John introduced me to this show and I instantly fell in love with it. The concept is quite simple: every episode Hannah, with a guest or alone, will drink alcohol and make a meal. Sometimes it comes out good, and sometimes bad. My favorite episode would have to be “Fish Fingers and Custard” with guest Chris Hardwick. Now Doctor Who fans know the reference that the title entails. Also, this episode was different because Chris Hardwick is sober and does not drink, so Hannah had to drink for both of them. This is definitely a show to check out!