Is Ray William Johnson original or just riding on others’ content?
You need to have several characteristics to be considered a YouTuber. You need to be original, productive, have a decent audience, and that’s just to name a few. Recently, several people have expressed that they felt Ray William Johnson doesn’t fit the YouTuber profile with his show =3.
If you’re not aware of Ray’s series, =3, it’s a short 4-5 minute show that makes observational humor out of three videos. These videos are content uploaded by other websites or various individuals. You can easily compare this to The Soup; a television show that makes observation humor out of other shows. There’s no question that Ray is equally as funny as Joel McHale.
The argument is that Ray isn’t original, because he’s using others videos to support his own. This is half true. Some originality is loss from the use of others’ videos; however, another type of originality is gain. Never before has a YouTuber MCed viral videos the way that Ray has.
Too many networks have tried to create shows that are base on web videos. While this may bridge the gap between online and television entertainment, shows such as Web Soup won’t get the audience it deserves. It’s only natural that a web version of Web Soup would become successful. The =3 show brings both the internet audience closer together and gives new media more merit.
Ray William Johnson’s main channel fits the profile of a YouTuber. He’s productive with two shows a week, has an audience that rivals that of some television shows, and is both original and innovative with something that brings the community closer together. It’s also a step closer to seeing a full fledge YouTube channel that focuses YouTubers’ videos rather than YouTubers themselves. By the way, he’s doing your mom.
My name is Zachary James, but most know me as OutbackZack. As a dedicated YouTuber both on and off the camera, I seek to bring news and give insight on the YouTube community. While not working on PauseStopRewind, I entertain many with my insane comedy style videos. Also, many know me as an artist who has worked with various YouTubers ranging from Andy Warski to Shane Dawson.
Anonymous Says:
This website stopped reporting news and started reporting gossip. It’s really annoying and to be honest makes you, and your website seem like total shit. You’ve lost a lot of users and will continue to. Have fun with your failing website, Perez.
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
ForFun808 Says:
Well I see Ray’s show like a review of viral videos that are out there. Its the same thing as people who review news, video games, movies, phones, and electronics.
Ray was just one of the first ones to do it and make it funny. True he does use other people’s clips, but its all in fair use of criticism in my opinion. I still say Ray deserves to be where he is, kudos to you my friend Ray!
-Aron
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
admin Says:
@ Anonymous It was only a review, not gossip, and I’ve always done reviews. Also, this is a positive review so I wouldn’t see what the problem is.
@ ForFun808 Very well put! I agree
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Kurt Says:
I’ve been subscribed to Ray since he did political videos at around 2,000 subscribers (on an old account), and to be honest I really support him. His videos always put a smile on my face and expose me to some funny and just downright funny content!
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
TheGreatNate Says:
I find his comedy very unoriginal. He seems to want to be a combination of The Soup, and The Philip Defranco Show. His literal translation gets lost somewhere in the middle, with an abundance of “hit or miss” jokes, most of which are “miss” to me. All his videos seem extremely manufactured and badley scripted, all jokes appear planned and it lacks a natural feeling. But, that’s just how =3 hits me comedically.
Posted on January 11th, 2010 at 6:38 pm
nitro nick Says:
to the first guy the one who chose to stay “anonymous” you just made yourself look arrogant. did you even read the review before you left a comment? i hope not otherwise youre too illiterate to know that this was a good review and not a bad one. i also dont get where youre getting this gossip from? i reread this twice and still cant find any. sounds like someone is just looking to throw bitch fit.
to obz. very well written review and hit the points that i felt could have been hit with a =3 review. always supported rays videos and will keep on doing so. hes def original.
Posted on January 12th, 2010 at 7:37 am
Bobby Says:
Good review! I truthfully don’t like all of Ray’s videos, but he is a good YouTuber who’s worth subscribing
Posted on January 13th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Cole Says:
awesome review man
Posted on January 28th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
CustomMadness Says:
i think rays show is overtly original due to the fact that no other top 100 show really does anything like it, i mean reviewing three random viral video’s and putting your comedic spin on whats happening, all the while creating all sorts of youtube memes in the process. the guy is a marketing genius. i mean christ he has youtube phoning him to help promote and maybe even fund his super secret project. sure some of his jokes are hit and miss, but who’s aren’t. when you do two or more shows a week you can’t always be hilarious, otherwise he wouldn’t be on youtube, he’d be on some stage in some arena telling jokes along side the best comedians in the world.
Posted on February 18th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Brad Says:
I agree with CustomMadness
I love =3, it’s easily one of the best shows on youtube. If you want to criticise the originality of =3, there are plenty of others like sxe phil that do the same thing (more or less). Also you can always look at his breaking nyc daily video blogs and how many people watch/subscribe to those to see how popular he is.
The man has a lot of charisma, sure not everyone will find him funny but a hell of a lot do. While the show isn’t totally perfect, it’s youtube not a top-notch quality prime-time tv show.
All in all I think the idea of his show is original and will hopefully continue to provide the community with much needed lols for long time.
Posted on February 19th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
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