Category / Youtube

by WetheGeek

Don’t panic. “Momo Challenge” isn’t what you think.

Misinformation

My fiancée woke me up the other day sending me texts and freaking out about some new dangerous fad. Apparently she wasn’t alone I’m freaking out. But after doing some digging it seems she was subject to “fake news”.

This seems to be all the rage today, misinformation. The media wildly speculating on things they know nothing about, blowing normal news stories way out of proportion. No I’m not talking about politics.

I’m talking about the “Momo Challenge”.

Don’t start freaking out. That’s part of the problem. The “challenge” or so it’s called is a hoax. It’s a total fabrication that has caught wind on Facebook and news outlets (much in the same way Anti-Vaxxing caught on). But it doesn’t exist.

Forbes wrote an article that best discusses what is happening. “You have likely seen a number of stories in your news and social feeds about the dangers of something called The Momo Challenge. This usually accompanies an image of a grotesque bird-head with warnings about children being encouraged to harm or kill themselves.” I get how that seems scary. But if people would look a bit past the scare and fake news they could see what is really going on.

What is going on? It’s an old fashioned email chain letter. That’s all it is. Remember those dumb emails that said “send this to 10 people or you will have bad luck for all of 2003!”? It’s exactly like that. Facebook has caught wind of this chain letter and made it much worse than it is. The Forbes article goes on to state “The image and the story of children harming themselves or their families is, of course, shocking. However, as ParentZone recently highlighted, the number of reported cases of children harming themselves because of the game is extremely low. Even those cases that are linked in the media, of teenagers killing themselves in Asia and South America, are not suggesting the game was the direct cause.”

“Andy Phippen professor of social responsibility in IT at Plymouth University, told me, “things like Momo become social media storms because folk are so keen to share. It’s a nasty looking image which looks scary, so, the gut feeling would be this would scare kids. But check the sources and the evidence trail soon runs dry. It’s viral content at the end of the day, propagating just adds fuel to the fire, and creates unfounded hysteria. Don’t believe everything you read online.””

Forbes isn’t the only one reporting the truth. So is YouTube in official comments, Parentzone.org, The Guardian and others.

What can we learn?

First parents do need to keep track of what their kids do on electronics. They aren’t babysitters. Be actual parents and slow down.

Second don’t believe everything you see on the Internet, especially Facebook.

-RytheGeek

Here are several sources to read

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2019/02/27/dont-panic-what-parents-really-need-to-know-about-momo-challenge/

https://parentzone.org.uk/article/three-minute-briefing-momo-challenge

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/28/viral-momo-challenge-is-a-malicious-hoax-say-charities

by WetheGeek

Smosh, GameTheory, and Defy

Defy Media and the Fallout

It’s been a while (November) since I’ve given an update on Smosh, Defy, and the collapse of YouTube. We have a lot of news both great and terrible.

Let’s start with the bad news first. Defy Media really has collapsed. We reported it when Smosh fell into disarray and subsequently several other YouTubers have come out to say they were part of, and hurt by, Defy Media. Matthew Patrick of GameTheory has been the loudest in his complaints of Defy. You can check out his first video here. https://youtu.be/ACNhHTqIVqk

Through the confessions of the other former Defy YouTubers we have learned a lot. First Defy was a middle man. The company was designed to help small YouTubers advertise and build their brand. For a small fee off the top Defy would help with these things. They would take the money from YouTube, take their cut of the ad revenue, then pass it on to the YouTubers. Defy would use the money coming in, the total, not their cut, and show investors how much they were making. But the money wasn’t theirs. Most of it belonged to the YouTubers. In the end when Defy collapsed they had stollen $1.7 million from the YouTubers they represented. They kept many of these Internet personalities paychecks and said too bad. Matpat does a much better job explaining so go watch his video.

Simplified down Defy stole $1.7 million from people like GameTheory and Smosh.

Besides stealing, Defy also closed on of the most well known YouTube channels, Smosh. We reported on in back in November and you can read the article here https://wethegeek.water.blog/2018/11/12/the-fall-of-smosh/

Thankfully Smosh has some good news. After several months in limbo Smosh has a new home, Rhett and Link. Yes the duo who stars and runs Good Mythical Morning has taken Smosh under their wings and given them a home. We aren’t sure what changes, if any, will happen to Smosh but this is definitely great news.

Stay tuned as the Defy scandal unfolds.

-RytheGeek

#Defymedia #smosh #goodmythicalmorning #gmm #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

The Death of YouTube

PewDiePie v. T-Series

Don’t ignore this just yet. I’m not another crazy fanboy who is willing to rent out billboards to advertise for PewDiePie. I’m not particularly a fan of his. I never have been.

But what he stands for as the “King of YouTube” is extremely important.

The age of creators and subsequently YouTube as we know it is over.

Why so dramatic? Before I get into why it matter I guess I should go into who PewDiePie and T Series are.

PewDiePie is a Swedish YouTuber who for a very long time has had the highest subscriber count to date, around 79 million. He is known for his gameplays and strange sketches. At times even bordering into the controversial. He is a self made internet star that has only achieved such success by his own hard work. All that aside he has remained the “King of YouTube” for years.

T Series has now dethroned him. T Series is a Bollywood based company that mass produces cheesy music videos. T Series is a corporate organization that has monopolized on mediocre content.

So why does it matter?

PewDiePie was a self made success story. He didn’t start with backers or money. He started with a strange sense of humor and Minecraft. T Series is a corporation with backers and money and a total lack of respect for the average creator. It’s become less about content and more about the almighty paycheck.

For a while YouTubers thought having contracts with big companies was a good idea. And for a short time it was. But reality has set in. Names like Logan and Jake Paul have destroyed the opportunities for young stars to get sponsored. Companies like Disney used to want to partner with young creators but that’s all changed. Instead companies like Defy Media (See https://wethegeek.water.blog/2018/11/12/the-fall-of-smosh/) have completely taken over channels and turned them into commercial money factories.

But with the realization that companies can fall apart at a moments notice the young sponsored star has no place to go.

T Series is proving to corporations that they can make a profit from useless content. If enough money is poured into YouTube, a profit can be turned.

So long to the small creator and YouTube.

I’ll see you geeks and nerds later!

-RytheGeek

#blog #wethegeek #geek #nerd #rythegeek #pewdiepie #youtube #tseries #defymedia #smosh

by WetheGeek

Role for Damage

When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016 one of my best friends held my hand so tight she almost broke it. I saw an grown man sit down on the ground and cry. And I just wanted to go to bed.

Right now, as I am writing this it is almost 1 am in the morning, a similar time to when the Cubs won, and I’ve been watching 6 people play Dungeons and Dragons on Twitch for the past four hours. And I’m going to be honest with you here, I’m crying because it feels like my team won the World Series. I have never been someone who was ever really into watching or playing sports, but right now, I feel like I just ran a marathon. I have been hyperventilating and yelling at my laptop while I watched 6 people I do not know describe themselves fighting and casting spells and rolling dice to see if they were successful. How did I get here?

Two weeks ago, I got onto YouTube and was looking to waste a little time before I would start my homework, and the livestream for Critical Role had begun about 40 minutes earlier. Critical Role started off as a part of Geek and Sundry, and their dnd campaign videos can be watched on the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel. It’s where a bunch of nerdy voice actors sit around and play Dungeons and Dragons. It has consumed my life.

I’ve watched parts of Critical Role before, but they are in the middle of a campaign right now, so I was not looking to commit to anything. I just wanted to see if the episode was interesting. It was. Two Thursdays ago I became enthralled by the characters and the story of Critical Role’s second campaign. Over the past two weeks I have watched 24 episodes trying to catch up (episode 43 aired tonight) because I cannot get enough of the Might Nein. I have watched with bated breath as I listened to backstories, watched fights, and attended festivals with Fjord, Beau, Caleb, Nott, Jester, Mollymauk, Yasha, and later Caduceus.

All my family, friends, and casual acquaintances have heard me talk about how I have been watching people on YouTube play Dungeons and Dragons for the past two weeks, and the only people who understand are my friends who play dnd. For me, I love Dungeons and Dragons for the same reason I love watching boomwhacker music videos: cooperation and teamwork. All the players work together to create the story of the campaign. They work together to help each other meet their group goals. It is fascinating to watch because it is also in the interest of their characters to keep some things secret. They walk a beautiful tight rope as they balance the interests of the group and their own self preservation.

I also love the epic story. Not an epic in the conventional sense, but an epic like the Odyssey. A long tale with many different stories woven together to create a whole. All the threads woven together to create a masterpiece. I love seeing characters and plots develop over long periods of time. I love watching relationships build up and sometimes seeing them get torn down. Dungeons and Dragons is all about the story, and the most important rule I’ve learned while watching Critical Role is everything is acceptable if it makes sense narratively.

I’m still reeling from everything that happened in tonight’s episode, but I am so glad to that Critical Role exists for me to help me avoid my homework. The only thing I have left to say is “Is it Thursday yet?”

-KaytheHuman

#CriticalRole #IsItThursdayYet #FjordTough #Fjord #Beau #Beauregard #Swoleregard #BigBeau #Caleb #CalebWidogast #Nott #NottTheBrave #JesterLavorre #TheTraveler #Mollymauk #Yasha #YashaNydoorin #Cad #Caduceus #CaduceusClay #Pumat #dnd #nerd #wethegeek

by WetheGeek

The Fall of Smosh

The Fall of Smosh

It was announced on November 7, 2018 that Smosh and Smosh Games are shut down. Not shutting down in January as many suspected but immediately. As of the official announcement from the parent company, Defy Media, Smosh is done. The 80 or so people who worked there are now all out of work.

It’s over.

This is one of the larger closings we have seen in the YouTube community. Most of the time when channels shut down it’s a small group or an individual. It’s never been one of the giants like Smosh, Fine Brothers, or Rooster Teeth. Each of those companies employing into the double digits and being widely successful.

Until now.

Smosh was one of the oldest and most successful channels on YouTube. It started in 2002 as a website called Smosh.com, created by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. After the creation of their website they started posting videos and YouTube and by 2005 they were one of the top channels.

In 2011 the duo sold the company to Defy Media. The duo only received stock options in the company, no actual payout. Stock options only work if the company goes public, which Smosh never did. The duo never made any money from the sell out. But under Defy Smosh grew and expanded to several other channels.

On June 14, 2017 Padilla announced he was leaving Smosh. He left for details that had never really been discussed.

Till now.

Padilla has since come out with a tell all video after the closing of Smosh. Padilla said in his video that Defy made radical changes after the sell out. Defy changed staff, shows, and managing style. Defy also reportedly took Padilla’s Facebook page, Twitter, and denied him from joining the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and ignored sexual harassment issues with other employees.

Defy reportedly has debts to several large backers and employees, and even though Smosh was widely successful, had to shut it down. Several early reports were that Defy was shutting down it January. But since then several sources in Defy have said that is not true. The closing is immediate and permanent.

All is not bad though. Ian Hecox said on Twitter that Smosh would find a new home, so there is still hope.

Be sure to see watch the videos from those closest to the shutdown here:

Padilla: https://youtu.be/1_zuDvgfULw

Lasercorn: https://youtu.be/d6TcHAggoy4

Joven: https://youtu.be/mXUvpLQRoBo

Mr. Sunday Movies: https://youtu.be/LBcbknAcJwk

As more news comes out we will update you.

-RytheGeek

#smosh #smoshgames #youtube #defymedia #wethegeekry