Are these Vloggers just a scam? SOL or Shmee etc???????
Discussion
It might sound hard to believe but there is a very different attitude in other parts of the world towards social media than here in the UK, and particularly amongst users of Pistonheads.
It is substantially more 'received' as a media outlet in North America, the Middle-East and even Eastern Europe than it is in the mainstream Euro countries; UK, Germany & Switzerland for example. Through just my Shmee150 channels we receive multiple messages literally per day from customers of all sorts of cars referencing that they watched the content I created as part of their buying process and I think that is now quite representative of a general car buyer - you search YouTube to feast on content of the car you are interested in. This is in addition to reading the website, perhaps some formal magazine reviews, and finding the info that's out there. Of course there is an intentional positive angle on my content and that is generally the kind of angle that appeals to a buyer; people subconsciously want to be made excited about an expensive purchase they are considering. Nobody wants to watch something that bashes to bits the thing they thought they wanted; whether it's cars, electronics or anything else. When I am filming I try to focus on the things I do like, not the things I don't - equally because I am well aware I lack the technical experience at this stage of the magazine journalists, however the more I do the more I am learning.
McLaren is a particularly quirky one because I am often left feeling like I have to beg them to do anything that involves their cars, more so than pretty much any other brand in the class. When it comes to the absolute top end, say Pagani, Koenigsegg and Bugatti; quite literally these companies find that a seriously high percentage of their customers follow in some form the type of content that is posted online - certainly from me. This is how I frequently find myself behind the wheel or with these kind of cars; because the owners are following me and send invitations my way which I would be foolish to turn down.
For my own interest I keep some sort of note of acquaintances with interesting cars on the horizon, and for example I personally know 14 people directly who have McLaren BP23 contracts signed; out of just 106 cars - and that's only the ones I've spoken to or heard from in the last 2 months since allocations.
It is substantially more 'received' as a media outlet in North America, the Middle-East and even Eastern Europe than it is in the mainstream Euro countries; UK, Germany & Switzerland for example. Through just my Shmee150 channels we receive multiple messages literally per day from customers of all sorts of cars referencing that they watched the content I created as part of their buying process and I think that is now quite representative of a general car buyer - you search YouTube to feast on content of the car you are interested in. This is in addition to reading the website, perhaps some formal magazine reviews, and finding the info that's out there. Of course there is an intentional positive angle on my content and that is generally the kind of angle that appeals to a buyer; people subconsciously want to be made excited about an expensive purchase they are considering. Nobody wants to watch something that bashes to bits the thing they thought they wanted; whether it's cars, electronics or anything else. When I am filming I try to focus on the things I do like, not the things I don't - equally because I am well aware I lack the technical experience at this stage of the magazine journalists, however the more I do the more I am learning.
McLaren is a particularly quirky one because I am often left feeling like I have to beg them to do anything that involves their cars, more so than pretty much any other brand in the class. When it comes to the absolute top end, say Pagani, Koenigsegg and Bugatti; quite literally these companies find that a seriously high percentage of their customers follow in some form the type of content that is posted online - certainly from me. This is how I frequently find myself behind the wheel or with these kind of cars; because the owners are following me and send invitations my way which I would be foolish to turn down.
For my own interest I keep some sort of note of acquaintances with interesting cars on the horizon, and for example I personally know 14 people directly who have McLaren BP23 contracts signed; out of just 106 cars - and that's only the ones I've spoken to or heard from in the last 2 months since allocations.
Ok I seriously cannot fathom how Mo Vlogs is getting such a viewership. He has 2.8m subscribers snd pretty much every video has about 500k views within 24hourd and ultimately ends with 1-2m views. By YouTube standards that is insanely good, 33-66% audience attraction rate. Most YouTubers with even with more subs than him barely get about 10% if that. It seems people fall for the click bait on every video eg his current video is called £21,000 first class seat. If you actually watch the video he ends up flying on economy and then for about 1 minute of the 10 min video he manages to talk his way up to first class and sit in the seat.
TopGear7 said:
Ok I seriously cannot fathom how Mo Vlogs is getting such a viewership. He has 2.8m subscribers snd pretty much every video has about 500k views within 24hourd and ultimately ends with 1-2m views. By YouTube standards that is insanely good, 33-66% audience attraction rate. Most YouTubers with even with more subs than him barely get about 10% if that. It seems people fall for the click bait on every video eg his current video is called £21,000 first class seat. If you actually watch the video he ends up flying on economy and then for about 1 minute of the 10 min video he manages to talk his way up to first class and sit in the seat.
You've pretty much encapsulated the skill of the You Tuber right there.It's all about the ability to hook people in to drive views. There's little difference between the scenario you outline and then"Shall I buy a ....." . For an audience of aspires/dreamers/kids it's a very successful model.
I've said it before and I will say it again - I can't fathom who watches Mo Vlogs at all. Shmee et al have some content. Mo Vlogs lives the most tediously dull life trying to fill his days with childish games and weird friends and an odd relationship with his moderately attractive sister. It's all very odd and I would genuinely like to know what it is that interests people to get his viewing numbers. Going for a burger? Throwing a water bottle up to land on its base? Checking in to a hotel for a spa? Are these genuinely interesting topics that are inaccessible to viewers? zzz
Mo Vlogs - Very boring, I have no clue how he is so successful!
Shmee - good and getting better
Jon Olson - my fave
Fitness youtuber interest me, there is a massive range, I like a few informative channels and a few lifestyle/training channels!
Shmee get out to Houston and train/hangout with Christian Guzman he has a 458 and a quality gym, it would be weird to cross genres like this but it would be new, he has a decent following and apart from anything looks to have developed a successful business from youtube!
Shmee - good and getting better
Jon Olson - my fave
Fitness youtuber interest me, there is a massive range, I like a few informative channels and a few lifestyle/training channels!
Shmee get out to Houston and train/hangout with Christian Guzman he has a 458 and a quality gym, it would be weird to cross genres like this but it would be new, he has a decent following and apart from anything looks to have developed a successful business from youtube!
Going back a bit now, but the one thing that struck me at the Wilton Classic & Supercar show was the incredible swarm of vloggers who descended on a car anytime it was even remotely accessible, even down to blocking the view of the thousands sat patiently along the entrance road waiting to see the cars arrive by crossing the barriers and walking alongside filming cars.
Similar at Goodwood FoS (but not quite as bad as it's slightly less accessible once the cars are moving), the general etiquette that most people follow when photographing etc at these events has completely gone out of the window (vloggers tend not to want to shoot through the equivalent of a 200mm lens).
The 'must get content at all costs' mentality to the detriment of everyone else there is pretty depressing, all in the quest for viewing figures. Will be interesting to see how things are this year now it's truly 'mainstream'.
Similar at Goodwood FoS (but not quite as bad as it's slightly less accessible once the cars are moving), the general etiquette that most people follow when photographing etc at these events has completely gone out of the window (vloggers tend not to want to shoot through the equivalent of a 200mm lens).
The 'must get content at all costs' mentality to the detriment of everyone else there is pretty depressing, all in the quest for viewing figures. Will be interesting to see how things are this year now it's truly 'mainstream'.
I quite enjoy how most of them go on about how they don't make any money out of it, and that it's all hard work, but there seems to be a good number of them who start getting a bit more exposure to their videos, and then they seem to be driving around in a Lambo all of a sudden.
For the record, I have no issue with them making the money. In fact, I take my hat off to them
For the record, I have no issue with them making the money. In fact, I take my hat off to them
joshcowin said:
Jon Olson - my fave
Jon Olsson has been on youtube for ages. I think he's much different than any of these bunch (no offense!). He's an award winning pro athlete first of all and been working with sponsors and sport events for ages. He also has a good taste imho, on many things! 
ooid said:
He also has a good taste imho, on many things!
Yeah, but I can't help thinking that the 'girlfriend' is just a, erm, there's a word for it.... *Scratches chin*On a totally different note... how many vloggers are openly gay? Probably about the same ratio as there are professional sportspeople, pop stars, A-listers and TV talent show judges..
I guess a post aimed at / about Shmee as he is an avid poster on this thread.
Firstly; gigantically jealous and full of admiration of the situation he has afforded himself.
However, and I'm not sure how to word this kindly so I'll write as is I think it and see how it turns out.
I want to like Shmee. I like his content 80% of the time. I like his presenting style if not a little public school boy about it. I'm interested in what he has to say. But, from reading his posts on here it's put me off him a little but I'm not 100% sure why. One thing that sticks was the ability to afford an R8 conversation and video. Don't agree. Won't agree. Can't agree. With this and the way in which he interacts and presents himself behind a keyboard a get a whiff of "holier than thou".
Firstly; gigantically jealous and full of admiration of the situation he has afforded himself.
However, and I'm not sure how to word this kindly so I'll write as is I think it and see how it turns out.
I want to like Shmee. I like his content 80% of the time. I like his presenting style if not a little public school boy about it. I'm interested in what he has to say. But, from reading his posts on here it's put me off him a little but I'm not 100% sure why. One thing that sticks was the ability to afford an R8 conversation and video. Don't agree. Won't agree. Can't agree. With this and the way in which he interacts and presents himself behind a keyboard a get a whiff of "holier than thou".
Joe5y said:
I guess a post aimed at / about Shmee as he is an avid poster on this thread.
Firstly; gigantically jealous and full of admiration of the situation he has afforded himself.
However, and I'm not sure how to word this kindly so I'll write as is I think it and see how it turns out.
I want to like Shmee. I like his content 80% of the time. I like his presenting style if not a little public school boy about it. I'm interested in what he has to say. But, from reading his posts on here it's put me off him a little but I'm not 100% sure why. One thing that sticks was the ability to afford an R8 conversation and video. Don't agree. Won't agree. Can't agree. With this and the way in which he interacts and presents himself behind a keyboard a get a whiff of "holier than thou".
I would say the very fact that he is on here, typing away and engaging with us suggests quite the opposite - that he considers himself just another PHer. None of the others are on here giving us a "behind the scenes" (and sometimes almost too honest) account of what they do... unsurprising considering there is zero advantage for them in doing so. On the contrary, often it seems to trigger unpleasant backlashFirstly; gigantically jealous and full of admiration of the situation he has afforded himself.
However, and I'm not sure how to word this kindly so I'll write as is I think it and see how it turns out.
I want to like Shmee. I like his content 80% of the time. I like his presenting style if not a little public school boy about it. I'm interested in what he has to say. But, from reading his posts on here it's put me off him a little but I'm not 100% sure why. One thing that sticks was the ability to afford an R8 conversation and video. Don't agree. Won't agree. Can't agree. With this and the way in which he interacts and presents himself behind a keyboard a get a whiff of "holier than thou".
Joe5y said:
I guess a post aimed at / about Shmee as he is an avid poster on this thread.
Firstly; gigantically jealous and full of admiration of the situation he has afforded himself.
However, and I'm not sure how to word this kindly so I'll write as is I think it and see how it turns out.
I want to like Shmee. I like his content 80% of the time. I like his presenting style if not a little public school boy about it. I'm interested in what he has to say. But, from reading his posts on here it's put me off him a little but I'm not 100% sure why. One thing that sticks was the ability to afford an R8 conversation and video. Don't agree. Won't agree. Can't agree. With this and the way in which he interacts and presents himself behind a keyboard a get a whiff of "holier than thou".
I'm the opposite. I'm a subscriber but I probably watch about 20% of his videos and often feel shortchanged by them, it'll be a video about a car i'm interested in but I don't get much out of them. He doesn't go into anything technical or talk about anything that really interests me. A good example is the 1200bhp R35 GTR, I didn't feel I learnt much about it. He puts his fist inside a tail pipe to demonstrate the size of the exhaust, i'd have rather he asked the diameter of the actual system. It all seems to be superficial, colours, optional extras, etc. Stuff I don't care about. I'd rather know what clutch he's running, is it on standard diff's, etc.Firstly; gigantically jealous and full of admiration of the situation he has afforded himself.
However, and I'm not sure how to word this kindly so I'll write as is I think it and see how it turns out.
I want to like Shmee. I like his content 80% of the time. I like his presenting style if not a little public school boy about it. I'm interested in what he has to say. But, from reading his posts on here it's put me off him a little but I'm not 100% sure why. One thing that sticks was the ability to afford an R8 conversation and video. Don't agree. Won't agree. Can't agree. With this and the way in which he interacts and presents himself behind a keyboard a get a whiff of "holier than thou".
I get his videos probably aren't aimed at me (and modified cars isn't his typical content). I also struggle to get past the public school boy thing but I think Shmee comes across well on this forum and I think it's good of him to post on this thread. I probably wouldn't if I was in his position.
RSK21 said:
Started out as one of the richest before any YT monies you mean ?
On many occasions I have sat finding myself jealous of the type of content that has been created by the likes of Chris Harris on Cars, Petrolicious and to some extent Salomondrin, but the reality of the situation is/was that none of those were running a profit making business and if this wasn't positive in the books for me then I couldn't be doing it in the first place.
In this world you can quite clearly accelerate your social media growth by simply being more ridiculous and in-your-face but ultimately the easiest way to make money out of it is to be very clever with where you spend it in the first place. Sensible outgoings or minimised expenses were key to me in the early stages, for example doing return flight/hotel trips to Dubai inside of £500 to ensure the content would cover it etc.
Renting race circuits, hiring full scale production outlets, or simply being more extravagant without the content to back it up just doesn't work as a business, even if it does bring social media fame. As the numbers grow larger and these things start to have their costs covered then it all starts to piece together and if a person's budget is unlimited then I suppose eventually they will get there but otherwise it's a serious patience game.
In this world you can quite clearly accelerate your social media growth by simply being more ridiculous and in-your-face but ultimately the easiest way to make money out of it is to be very clever with where you spend it in the first place. Sensible outgoings or minimised expenses were key to me in the early stages, for example doing return flight/hotel trips to Dubai inside of £500 to ensure the content would cover it etc.
Renting race circuits, hiring full scale production outlets, or simply being more extravagant without the content to back it up just doesn't work as a business, even if it does bring social media fame. As the numbers grow larger and these things start to have their costs covered then it all starts to piece together and if a person's budget is unlimited then I suppose eventually they will get there but otherwise it's a serious patience game.
bluemason said:
salomondrin and team are miles ahead when it comes to cars and vlogging
Don't get me started on Salomondrin...I've watched all of his videos, they've got worse over time in IMHO.
Also how he made his money... real estate
He made a video saying 8 years ago he had a Aston Martin DBS, he was 31 at the time of making that video, who owns a DBS at 23???
Not only that but how can you own £150k+ cars at that age and still have enough money to invest into real estate. Doesn't add up I'm afraid.
Shmee said:
On many occasions I have sat finding myself jealous of the type of content that has been created by the likes of Chris Harris on Cars, Petrolicious and to some extent Salomondrin, but the reality of the situation is/was that none of those were running a profit making business and if this wasn't positive in the books for me then I couldn't be doing it in the first place.
In this world you can quite clearly accelerate your social media growth by simply being more ridiculous and in-your-face but ultimately the easiest way to make money out of it is to be very clever with where you spend it in the first place. Sensible outgoings or minimised expenses were key to me in the early stages, for example doing return flight/hotel trips to Dubai inside of £500 to ensure the content would cover it etc.
Renting race circuits, hiring full scale production outlets, or simply being more extravagant without the content to back it up just doesn't work as a business, even if it does bring social media fame. As the numbers grow larger and these things start to have their costs covered then it all starts to piece together and if a person's budget is unlimited then I suppose eventually they will get there but otherwise it's a serious patience game.
With regard to costs it was really interesting to see behind the scenes of the car throttle video when he picked his MX5 up from ring garage after it broke down as I didn't realise quite the number of people, gear and production he had with him for that video which when it was released came across very lo-fi in its filming:In this world you can quite clearly accelerate your social media growth by simply being more ridiculous and in-your-face but ultimately the easiest way to make money out of it is to be very clever with where you spend it in the first place. Sensible outgoings or minimised expenses were key to me in the early stages, for example doing return flight/hotel trips to Dubai inside of £500 to ensure the content would cover it etc.
Renting race circuits, hiring full scale production outlets, or simply being more extravagant without the content to back it up just doesn't work as a business, even if it does bring social media fame. As the numbers grow larger and these things start to have their costs covered then it all starts to piece together and if a person's budget is unlimited then I suppose eventually they will get there but otherwise it's a serious patience game.
Misha Charoudin's (aka boosted boris) blog of rescuing phil
Edited by Silent1 on Saturday 11th February 22:47
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