WATCH: Mike Drolet looks at how YouTube has changed everything about how and where we view video.
TORONTO — Ten years ago today, YouTube’s first video was uploaded. The 18-second video, titled “Me at the zoo,”shows a guy standing in front of some elephants, talking about their “really, really, really long trunks.” The 19 million views on that video likely earned him a pretty penny.
There are many others like him who have cashed in on seemingly regular (and somewhat mundane) activities that they’ve broadcast on YouTube for the world to see. Here are a few of them.
WATCH: Online producer Yuliya Talmazan talks about YouTube celebrating its 10 years and some of its most viral videos.
Saskatchewan’s YouTube ‘star’
Samantha, a 24-year-old from Saskatchewan, was able to quit her day job years ago to focus solely on her online presence, which she devotes about seven hours a day to. She says ad-revenue sharing from the site allows her to make a comfortable living and helped her buy a house.
The majority of her presence is under the username “PiinkSparkles,” where she posts videos that deal with everything from fashion to personal stories.
One of her latest videos, titled “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge,” earned more than 70,000 views in less than 24 hours.
WATCH: Joel Senick has more on the impact the site has had on Samantha
From Ontario accountant to YouTube personality
Matthew Santoro, a St. Catharines, Ont., native, is bigger than Drake if you’re counting YouTube subscribers.
The 29-year-old specializes in creating videos based on BuzzFeed-style lists, and steadily pulls in millions of views for creations such as this one.
He reached YouTube stardom status last year, and now just about every video he posts cracks the million-view mark within a few days, generating more advertising revenue than he made at his office job.
“It took just under four years to get any sort of growth whatsoever,” he said last fall, “but when it rains it pours.”
Making money playing Minecraft
Dan Middleton, a twenty-something from Northamptonshire, England, pulls in up to $1.1 million a month producing videos about Minecraft, according to Socialblade, a YouTube analytics blog.
His channel, TheDiamondMinecart, is most popular with kids between five and 10 years old.
“I tell stories in Minecraft but also kind of teach them to play as well,” he told BBC a year ago.
The world’s richest video-game player
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as “PewDiePie,” is one of the top money-makers on YouTube. Socialblade shows he makes an average of $84,100 to $1.3 million monthly, or between $1 million and $16.2 million annually. And he earns that for playing video games, while his reactions are shown in a box in the top corner of the screen.
The 25-year-old was described by Business Insider as a “foul-mouthed Swedish video-game commentator,” whose success is attributed to the attention he pays to his fans.
His subscribers have jumped from 12 million in August 2013 to more than 36 million this month.
Professional toy unwrapper
Sitting at the top, though, is DisneyCollectorBR, a Brazilian woman whose “kid-friendly videos for toddlers, babies, infants and pre-school children,” rake in up to a staggering $20.8 million a year. She earns that for, as Business Insider puts it: opening, assembling, and playing with Disney toys, all while providing commentary in a soothing voice.
With files from The Canadian Press and Joel Senick, Global News
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