What would we do without YouTube? In 2005, three former PayPal employees set up a video sharing website with a difference, as well as watching and commenting on videos, the website was community powered focusing on user generated content allowing registered users to upload their own videos for the world to see. There are many different versions of the story of how the site was started but the most popular story is that after having difficulty sharing videos of a dinner party they attended, the three founders thought how easy it would be to share videos if there was a site dedicated to doing this, thus the idea of YouTube was born. Starting from humble beginnings with offices above a pizza shop in California, the site grew rapidly, and by July 2006 the company reported that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day, and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day. Since then, they have gone on to become the go to site for videos of any kind ranging from the average music video to more obscene
material in the form of “Two Girls One Cup” and even the downright weird! They have become so popular that even large media corporations including BBC and Vevo now have their own channels on the site. They also have localised sites in more than 40 countries as well as instant suggested videos based on your tastes. While other video hosting websites had been launched before YouTube, YouTube is by far the most famous and world renowned. They have not just given users a video hosting service, they have also changed popular culture as we know it by becoming the go to site for popular trends and making ordinary people become overnight
internet celebrities. But is it really as good as we think, with YouTube we have seen a darker side with some uploading strange and creepy videos to the site. Gone are the days when we need to wait for an episode of You’ve Been Framed to see someone hurt themselves, it’s now available instantly at the click of a button.
We want to hear from you. Let us know what you’re favourite and worst YouTube videos are. The best 3 entries will be featured in next months issue so please get your entries in by 6 January 2014. Entries can be sent to the usual address: chelzblocktalk@gmail.com
What’s Hot- H+:
The Digital Series: Season 1 Overview: Brought to your computer screens by acclaimed producer Bryan Singer (director of the X-Men films), H+ is a futuristic thriller with a difference. Although fictional, the subject featured is very real. The term H+ is an abbreviation for an intellectual and cultural movement called transhumanism. Supporters believe that one day humanity will advance to a stage where they will be able to eliminate human aging as
well as developing other new extremely advanced technologies and treatments which will greatly enhance humanity. The series is set in a future where roughly 30% of the world have a new microchip implanted in their bodies called the H+ Nano. The chip is implanted in the users head and projects a transparent screen in front of them which is invisible to others, this allows them to do many things including being able to go online. But what happens when the network gets a virus infecting the millions of chips implanted inside people’s heads?
Image Courtesy of Warner Brothers - Copyright 2013 WBEI
Comments: I was extremely impressed with the production; the acting is excellent as are the camera shots and storyline. The use of a fragmented timeline can be slightly confusing at times but the story is so compelling, it’s easy to get hooked on the series. Each episode is roughly between 3 and 7 minutes long which is perfect for those of you who haven’t got much time, if you intend to watch it in one go, look around for a chronological playlist to avoid confusion.
We give this an awesome 5/5
… continued
What’s Not
The 21 Conspiracy: The Series Overview: Although this is old, I only just recently watched this. The series follows a group of young adults who will soon be turning 21. Rather than being excited about their impending descent into adulthood, they are gripped by the fear of a conspiracy that they will only learn of on their 21st birthday.
Image from www.spaceboy.com.au/21
They begin to search for the truth desperate to uncover it before they suffer a terrible fate. Comments: The beginning and the storyline were extremely promising and I watched this with baited breath. Unfortunately I was extremely disappointed by the ending, it seemed as if they just couldn’t be bothered to think anymore and slapped down anything on paper.
It’s so bad, if it were a movie I’d paid to see, I would want my money back which is a shame because the acting and filming are superb. This is definitely still one to avoid as even the acting doesn’t make up for the awful ending.
We give this a disappointing 1/5
- Fashion & Beauty -
Her YouTube channel can be found here:
I was lucky enough to be able to attend an entrepreneurial event called Beauty and the Brain which was part of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). The aim of the event was to encourage and empower entrepreneurship in social media forms; it consisted of a question and answer session with four YouTube fashion bloggers one of whom was Wande. Since then, I regularly visit her blog and tune into her YouTube channel. Her friendly, girl next door personality makes the videos fun to watch and easy to relate to. She offers practical advice that even the fashion haters amongst us can follow.
Also if you would like to hear more about the event and GEW please see my article in Issue 9 of Endz 2 Endz Magazine which can be found here:
creators” with authentic Jamaican humour. The funniest by far is Kevin who comes straight from a bush in Jamaica (lol) and what his shows lacks in setting and costume, it makes up for with genuine Jamaican charm, laughs, clever puns and hilarious anecdotes. His videos take a tongue in cheek look at life as a Jamaican and their mannerisms. I think the best videos by far are - ‘Christmas in Jamaica’ and ‘The end of the world……again’. The videos can be found here:
- Comedy KEVIN2WOKKRAYZEE of The Duke Powell Show The channel is a “collection of Jamaican content
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- Factual/Documentary World’s Scariest Drug (Documentary Exclusive) This video takes a look at Scopolamine a dangerous drug “worse than anthrax” used widely in Colombia that when taking, turns the user into a puppet that can be used and toyed with easily by anyone around them. Scarily after taking the drug, the user will be susceptible to any suggestions and will do anything they are told to do even giving their pin numbers and giving away their possessions, all whilst being fully conscious and acting normally. The presenter tells us of one user’s horror story, he allowed thieves to empty the contents of his flat after his drink was spiked. The next day he asked the doorman why he had let this happen to which the doorman replied “because you told
me to”. The drug is feared and one user says just a gram of the drug in powder form can kill 10 people! This documentary s good for those bored day, also if you or anyone you know is travelling to Colombia or surrounding regions, it’s a good idea to alert them about this drug; it is colourless, tasteless and odourless so it can be easily slipped into drinks in an instant.
-DramaBlue Starring Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance), this series follows Blue a
mother, office worker and prostitute (yes you heard right!) as she struggles to make ends meet and raise her teenage son. Find out what happens when the lines between personal life and work life begin to cross.
Catch Up: Ready When You Are Documentary special Each issue, I’ll share the best shows on mainstream TV in the UK which are available on a ‘catch up’ service. I Player- Series 4: Toughest Place To Be A… Bored at home one day, I stumbled across this series which sees ordinary British workers accept a challenge to do their job in another country “under the most stressful and dangerous conditions on the planet.” They will be taught in preparation for their final day when they will have to do their foreign counterparts job alone with no supervision or help. In Episode 1, cab driver Mason McQueen travels to Mumbai. He meets with his tutor Brudeep who takes him on a tour of the local area in his cab. Mason is stunned by lack of by driving rules and sheer chaos on the roads. Watch the episode to see how he fares against the traffic on his final day.
the harsh conditions the cab drivers live in and the programme makers ensure that they remind the audience about how hard life can be in another country. Originally made by the BBC, the show is now only available on YouTube:
months! As well as this, they face a constant threat of attack from predatory animals and other tribes. This episode really touched me and the grace and appreciation that Richard demonstrates and the respect he shows for the villagers without ever being patronising or snobbish is admirable and commendable. The show is no longer available on BBC IPlayer but can be found here:
If you liked this, you might also like: The second episode which sees Richard Gibson accept the challenge to become a farmer in rural Kenya battling the harsh arid conditions where they are often without rain for up to 8
Although funny at times, this documentary doesn’t detract away from the seriousness of Tony Hirst May 26, 2010.
Catch Up: Ready When You Are Documentary special … continued Watch this for an alternate look at WW2 sufferers that you may not have thought of before.
ITV Player: Perspectives Episode 1: The Seven Dwarves of Auschwitz This ITV series follows well known personas as they investigate issues close to their hearts. The first in the series joins Warwick Davies best known for his role as Professor Flitwick in Harry Potter, as he learns about the Ovitz family. The family were Jewish performers during World War Two with a difference; seven of the family were dwarves. Because of this rare occurrence, when they were taken to Auschwitz concentration camp, they were subjected to inhumane torture in the name of scientific and medical research. The sheer brutality of their treatment shocks Davies throughout the show as he struggles to comprehend how they felt, in some ways lucky that they were ‘special’ and avoided the gas chambers or hard manual labour but in other ways unlucky because of the brutal torture they faced.
This episode is now only available on YouTube it can be found here:
40D: America’s Serial Killer This documentary is at times more terrifying than a horror film, depicting the killing spree of a violent serial killer -dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer-who charms his victims with a comforting façade. The documentary takes a troubling look at a new breed of prostitution
where women are using Craig’s List to advertise their services. The killer taunted one victim’s sister with phone calls from his victims’ mobile phone. Unfortunately, the killer is still at large in America and residents of the town dread the day when he may reemerge and kill again. One resident leaves us with this chilling quote. “A serial killer doesn’t stop killing, he stops killing when he gets caught.” The video can be found by clicking on the clink and scrolling down to find the documentary.
Every issue, we’ll print our favourite oldie but goodies posted more than 2 years ago (in internet that’s and age)!! We’ve got some great ones for you so cancel your plans, turn off your phone, make a cuppa, sit back and relax because we guarantee once you watch the first episodes of each one you’ll be hooked!
At times whilst watching (The Mis-Adventures of) Awkward Black Girl (ABG), it seemed like she’d been stalking me my whole life and had now compiled enough information to create a series and put it on screen. A more likely explanation is that there are other awkward people like myself out there. The series is a fresh, innovative creation that strives to reach a wide audience and personify general awkward situations and personality traits. Like most web series, the pilot episode ‘The Stop Sign’ as well as the first few episodes are kept relatively short but still manage to establish character stories and character mannerisms and characteristics as well as their importance to the story as a whole. As the series goes on, the episodes do get longer which might put some of you off especially with the final episode being 25 minutes. But don’t despair and stick with it for guaranteed laughs and cringe moments.
This will have you hooked and spending a day glued to your laptop watching the whole of Season 1!