Wish Upon A Star

Can Internet Video Save Radio?

Radio Ink
By Publisher Eric Rhoads
Posted March 9, 2009

If you haven’t heard about Caitlin Hill, a.k.a. “TheHill88,” do this now. Go to www.youtube.com/user/TheHill88. Take a few minutes and watch some videos. What you’ll see are short videos, often funny and never slick — quick takes on one or two topics, filtered through one young woman’s own quirky worldview. They routinely collect tens of thousands of views, and many have been seen hundreds of thousands of times. Over two-and-a-half years, Hill’s homemade videos have been seen more than 20 million times.

This is what stardom looks like in the Internet age. Caitlin Hill is now chief creative officer of Hitviews, co-founded with Walter Sabo to match other Internet stars with leading marketers. It’s an ambitious project — Weinstein Co. co-founder Bob Weinstein is one of the investors — and TiVo and Reader’s Digest are among the brands that have gotten on board. In total, the company serves up video to more than 12.5 million viewers monthly, more than People.com or CNN.com.

Here, Hill talks with Radio Ink about what it means to be an Internet star, how success is measured in the online video world, and how people her age — that’s 20 — think about radio.

>> What can you tell us about the name “TheHill88”? Why didn’t you use your real name?

I originally wanted to simply be called TheHill. I had a fairly unhealthy obsession for The O.C. at the time, and my favorite character, Seth, was always putting “the” before everything.

Unfortunately, TheHill was taken, so I added my birth year on the end. I sort of regret the decision because it has brought me a lot of unwanted attention from people who misinterpret the meaning behind the number.

I didn’t use my real name because it was always deemed unsafe to put that out there. However, now that everyday people create brands using their names, it is more acceptable.

>> What does it mean to be an “Internet star”? What kind of viewership are you experiencing?

The great thing about the Internet is that it is huge, so even if you spent all your time watching videos, there would still be that one viral hit that all your friends knew about but you didn’t. It’s crazy that way.

Online video reached that tipping point in August 2006, where it was being blasted all over the news. It was this hot new thing: Teenagers were becoming celebrities overnight, videos of stars were being leaked and spread, shows that were fading were suddenly brought into the limelight again through [YouTube], and news corps like CNN and Fox just loved it.

There was so much scandalous footage to watch and report condescendingly upon — but then YouTube grew into a site that could actually produce fantastic quality videos, where we could connect with politicians. Now, after YouTube Live, I think people in the entertainment industry can see that there is true talent there.

To be an Internet star is to be threatened, criticized, humiliated, praised, adored, stalked, etc. These people deal with massive numbers of views from all over the world and thousands of comments telling them that they are either so great or that they should die.

People on the outside think Internet stars think they are hot stuff and want to be famous, but a lot of them just have a passion for whatever talent they reveal on the Internet, whether it is playing a guitar super-fast or showing off their favorite body feature.

There is an element of narcissism to it, but when you meet these people in real life, most of them are great. They are loving, caring, and thrust into this crazy world of the micro-celebrity. That’s a lot to deal with as a young person, and so much more intense than a celebrity because you can receive the most awful comments within moments of uploading stuff. Real celebrities are so sheltered from the real world, but these people live the “norm” every day.

Some of them do freak out when their popularity decreases, but that often helps them find themselves or look for a different way to express themselves. It is hard, though, because as each medium creates a new star, it also creates a shorter lifetime for that star. In a year or less, a person can go from utter obscurity to working with famous singers and hosting shows. It’s a lot to deal with, and most haven’t had the time to prepare themselves.

>> Throughout history, new mediums have started out by trying to apply the stars and techniques of old mediums, and it’s ended up a failure. For instance, most silent film stars did not translate to the talkies. Is this the case with online video?

The only time I’ve seen online video work for traditional stars in TV or film is with young teen celebrities. They know how this works, they have the MySpace page and the digital camera. People like Miley Cyrus and the rest of the Disney girls have all had successful channels on YouTube because they know who their audience is and how to just have fun and not be so produced. But just watch a celebrity try to put a product-placement video online, and it will create quite a drama.

Our stars — the ordinary people with extraordinary talent — have grown with their audience, and their audience now knows that these people have to pay their bills. As long as they don’t forget to respond to their message every once in a while, they’ll still love them.

>> What are the elements of success in online videos?

It really is hard to measure, but it’s got to be something that hits people in the face: hilariously funny, super-cute, emotionally uplifting, an inspiring call to action, or just brutal honesty, such as a girl talking to her camera about feeling lonely or a boy doing stuff that girls do, too, but alone in front of our bathroom mirrors.

Once you find what you think is missing out there for people to watch and you post consistently to your website, they will find you and embrace you. Then, once you know that they realize how hard you have worked at this, you consider integrating ads or products into your video. Less is always more, and a punchline always goes down well.

>> How long have you been doing this? How did you start? How many video views have you had?

I’ve been online for two years, and I never thought I would give so much of my attention to a simple hobby. I started because I had just finished a shift at Blockbuster and was watching Zach Braff’s film Garden State, and I decided to hop online to learn more about him. I found his blog and then this video that came from this weird-looking site.

I watched another video, and then another, and finally found this girl, Lonelygirl15, who I thought was amazing. Eventually I knew that I just had to post because I thought she was on to something big. And she was, but it wasn’t exactly what we were all thinking....

I’ve had over 20 million videos views all together. I have made 160 or so videos, but I’ve privatized most of them.

>> Is anyone making any money? What will be the business model?

Yes, YouTubers are making some real good pocket change from the sites. There are other sites that do revenue-sharing too. Live video sites like BlogTV have recently introduced a partner program for the most-watched live broadcasters.

Our business model is fairly simple: a flat fee for the work involved on the talent side and on our marketing side. You can choose from an instant hit, which is many videos released by lots of stars all at once (imagine over a million people received your branded video in their in-boxes on one day!) or a hit series, where a talent can start a small series of 12 videos over a quarter, all involving your product.

>> How can radio employ video at their stations?

Radio shows often have live streams of their shows for people to watch, but most rarely interact with the camera or the camera is placed at an odd level, so it feels like you’re watching a security camera — not exactly the most entertaining viewing.

Radio can employ videos with behind-the-scenes of a celebrity interview or have the full interview available for download. If people really love the host, he or she should create videos to connect with the audience. This won’t work for all radio announcers, as some of them truly belong as just a voice, but a lot of people are willing to watch anybody they admire, even if they are crazy or whatever.

Also, creating podcasts and posting them on iTunes is a great way to reach listeners who don’t have a portable radio but do have an iPod.

>> How does your generation perceive radio?

I love the idea of radio, but I rarely listen to it. I haven’t found a host in America that I truly enjoy or connect with, apart from Jake Fogelnest — but I work him, so he’s not cool anymore! If I could have my own radio show, I would think I had the coolest job ever. A lot of people desire to be on radio, but it seems so inaccessible. If they loosened up more and just accepted the change in mediums, they would probably be very successful with online content — as long as they distribute it right.

>> Statistics say that rumors about youth no longer listening to radio are not true. What do you say?

I’m sure lots of teens listen to the radio, and I know a lot of them download podcasts. I adore the Sirius satellite portable radio. It’s just finding the time to listen to the radio when there is so much new music to be listened to on sites like MySpace. I think teenagers who drive cars probably listen to the radio more, but most of them can’t afford to keep a car anymore or are choosing not to due to how damaging it is to the environment.

One of the most successful ways I’ve seen of distributing a radio show online was by the Top 40 Australia website. This was back in my school years, so I’m unsure of the host. During computer tech lessons at school, all the kids would jump on this site and play the music; the music was listed in segments, and by clicking on one song you would also get the commentary, interview, or sketch that came with it. It was really fun to listen to while working or surfing the ’Net, and being able to choose what song you wanted to hear was great. You felt like you had control and were still in the know on what was cool.

>> What can radio do to interest your generation?

Be accessible. Let us crawl all over your sites and voice our opinion. Most people who have become successful have followed, either on purpose or by accident, the Lonelygirl15 model: Start off flattering your audience, by telling people who you enjoy watching, and create drama by being honest about your fellow video-makers. There is a fine line between, “Wow, that guy is so cool and refreshing” and “You’re just a hater. GTFO!” so be careful!

If your company is a “n00b” at distributing content on the Internet, sign up with TubeMogul. Not only will they distribute you to all the good video sites out there, but they’ll measure your hits so you can keep the number people happy.

>> I recently heard a statistic that 3 billion videos are being served today, and 12.4 billion will be served by 2010. YouTube receives 190,000 video uploads a day. What is your vision for the future of online video?

It will only get harder to find your audience as more content is uploaded and more people discover the Internet. The popularity and excitement of YouTube comes in cycles. Wait for a news report on YouTube or some drama to start within the community before you launch your channel. Don’t just post when the CEO says “Go,” because it will get lost in the sea.

I can only see online video getting more professional. People will continue to explore ways in which they can reach an even deeper level of connection with their audience. Stars will rise and fall, some will cross over to movies and maybe even go on to be mainstream celebrities. Everyone is waiting for that one breakaway star to come from YouTube because it will make a great little story for them to report on. However, most will fade into obscurity as the new wave of teens and adults satisfy their audience with “LOLs” and “WHOAAAAS!”

Brands will try to take over, and we may see a revolution on our hands if our favorite video platform sites are taken over by whoever is willing to pay the most. But I do believe the creators will keep the sites user-friendly and that brands will learn from their mistakes and realize that collaborating with these artists is the only way to reach a true engagement with their potential buyers.

Many people in the broadcasting business are hung up on production values — having the right lighting, equipment, proper personalities, slick, animated openers, and yet it’s my belief that these elements can backfire in terms of online video. We’re in an age of authenticity where anything slick and produced — on video and on radio — is the wrong direction.

>> You’re considered one of the top 10 Internet stars. What is your story? What are your future plans?

Top 10? I don’t know about that! I was just your average loser kid who decided that strangers on the Internet were cooler than my real friends. (I obviously grew up and have rekindled the real friendships!) When I was in New York City for a YouTube gathering, Walter Sabo and I had a meeting about the business. I thought it would be a great way to help out my fellow online video friends and the production teams that I admire, but who aren’t seeing as many views as they deserve.

I plan to make Hitviews a success and get all the talent some gigs where they can have the money to be creative and keep improving their skills. I would also like to go to university and study film and art history, and maybe a few lessons in psychology. NYU has some great short courses that I’m just dying to attend when I have the time and have saved up enough money.

Hitviews will succeed because the talent are already succeeding and companies online are realizing that their million-dollar campaigns that turn out 15 views and their “exciting new forums” (blargh!) are just not working. We believe 2009 is the year for change in many different ways, and companies embracing the Internet APPROPRIATELY will be one of them.

>> What is the play for radio stations as it relates to your business? Why not just self-produce and create their own Internet stars?

By all means, radio stations should create their own content, but it is much easier to kick off the whole movement by collaborating with an online personality that seems to fit the station’s style. Not only will you get instant cred for treating these people as equals, but you’ll also be introduced to the online world in a massive way, and for a good price. One hundred thousand or so people are better than 4,000 views or from the “empty eyesockets” audience — the people who are led to your page by an ad buy but aren’t the kind of people who are passionate enough to truly listen to your content and seek it out by subscribing.

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