In the past five years, YouTube has become a site which often features self-promotion and self-expression. YouTube has become an outlet for many to allow others to know about them. Examples of this are Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black.

Justin Bieber, now a world famous pop star, was found on YouTube by Scooter Braun, his current manager. Braun was searching for hopefuls on YouTube and came across Bieber performing at a local contest in Ontario. No one wanted to sign Bieber until he sang in front of his idol, Usher. Since then, his career has taken flight.

Rebecca Black was discovered through her music video. Although the video, entitled “Friday,” was viewed negatively by many, it was the most watched video of 2011. The music was also accused of “bad lyrics” and “overuse of autotune,” but Black was still featured on television where she had a chance to show her talent. Black has since released singles that seem to get better reviews.

YouTube is not only for music, but for genres from comedy and vlogs to fashion and beauty. Many YouTubers never plan on becoming viral hits. A factor that connects YouTubers is the passion and consistency of doing what they love.

Junior Aimy Ung is one of those YouTubers.

Ung said, “The name of my YouTube channel is Aimyloves. I post videos mainly about Sometimes I do DIY (Do It Yourself) projects and videos that relate to school. Factors that set me apart from other beauty and fashion channels are my personality and style.

“Since the eighth grade, I have been watching beauty-related videos and I thought it was intriguing that girls would share their tips and tricks for other girls looking for advice. At the time, my friends all had different hobbies. I tried to take on ballet and playing the violin and piano, but they didn’t interest me as much as YouTube did.

“Once I started making my videos, I really enjoyed it. I get inspiration from other YouTubers such as Missglamorazzi, also known as Ingrid,” said Ung.

Top YouTubers have many subscribers. To subscribe means to be notified when a particular YouTuber has liked, commented or uploaded a new video. Some channels have a million subscribers and more.

YouTube channels with many subscribers usually have other outlets of social media for fans to communicate with them. Channels with many subscribers are granted partnership within the YouTube program.

Ung said, “I currently have 4,815 subscribers for my channel, and my average views range from 600 – 1,500 per video. I think it is crazy that so many people would subscribe to my videos, but I am also very thankful. Without my subscribers, I would not be able to get beauty products sent to me to review for a video. Also without my subscribers, I would not have been granted YouTube partnership.

“YouTube partnership is when you get more features to play on your channel, and you are given an option to put a banner on your YouTube page. A banner would be a type of advertisement on your page or videos. If you were to choose a banner, then that YouTuber would be able to collect income. You would be paid per click per video from your channel.

“I am a YouTube partner, but there are rules once you become one. Each video must contain original content, meaning that there shall be no copyrighted material, such as music. To be granted partnership, I would say 1,000 or more subscribers and a certain amount of videos would get you approved,” explained Ung.