Things you gain by becoming an I-Tuber: audience reactions, satisfaction of the desire for self-expression, and advertising revenue based on view counts.
The inconveniences that arise from becoming an I-Tuber: the work of filming and editing videos, leaks of personal information, and slander.
If you were to ask what the hardest part is, it would surely be making the videos. If one could easily film interesting videos that catch many people's eyes, no one would struggle. What subject matter to handle, and how to edit it to make it easy to watch and entertaining?
Once you actually stand on the creator's side, you realize that finishing just a single video takes quite a bit of effort. The "pain of creation" is an unavoidable path. If you reject that, nothing will ever begin.
There is also the "flame-baiting" business model, where one intentionally posts videos that provoke the audience's resentment to rack up views. Naturally, I have no intention of doing such a thing, but I will likely still face slander. It is an issue one must accept if they are to be active on the internet.
Depending on the subject and method of filming, the poster's personal information can also be exposed. Showing my face would definitely be bad. While that makes a stronger impression on viewers and makes it easier for view counts to rise, there is a risk of being identified. Well, as long as I do not show my face, it should be fine.
In short, I had become inclined to post a video. I had not yet decided to truly "become" an I-Tuber. Or rather, I do not think it is something one can simply become just because they want to. No matter how much backup Pomerni provides, I am nothing more than an amateur in the end. However, since I even received a smartphone from him, it would be painful to completely ignore his expectations.
One way or another, Pomerni's words had resonated in my heart. My interest was piqued enough to think about trying to post a video as a test. I have plenty of free time anyway, and nothing else I want to do. It might be a waste of time, but I couldn't hide a faint hope that it might actually work out.
It is not that I want to become a celebrity like Pomerni. But as he said, perhaps somewhere in my heart, I have a desire for someone to see me. Even if I am afraid of interacting in reality, the distance of internet connections feels somewhat reassuring.
I did some preliminary research for video posting. I accessed I-Tube on the smartphone I received and checked what kind of videos were being posted.
I watched Pomerni's videos. He has a staggering number of subscribers—tens of millions. He dominates the top spots in the annual rankings across the board. It is truly the dignity of a king. It seems he originally rose to power after his self-composed music became an explosive hit on I-Tube, but he did not become complacent. I can see he is challenging himself with various projects.
He focuses humorously on small subjects that a person of common sense would find too silly to even consider doing. They are casual videos where just looking at the title makes you think, 'Maybe I'll watch this for a bit.' Even if they are silly, if you actually tried to make a video yourself, you would realize that a person without their "antenna" constantly up would never come up with the same ideas.
These kinds of videos are called "I-Tried-It" types. Every time, his eccentric character—apparently he is playing a role—matches with a series of chuckle-worthy challenges, resulting in high-quality content that can be enjoyed in a short amount of time. He said he had no talent, but that is absurd. I take my hat off to his perspective, creativity, and the high level of his editing skills.
However, even Pomerni was not in a state of complete, solitary dominance. Looking at the ranking trends, I could see that the top-tier creators are locked in a fierce battle for views. A video genre that has seen a rapid surge in popularity lately is the Virtual I-Tuber, or VTuber for short.
The protagonist in the video is not a flesh-and-blood poster, but an avatar modeled in 2D or 3D. A performer provides the voice, or they use speech software to talk. The subjects handled are not that different from other I-Tubers, but because it is a non-existent character, it is easier to realize the audience's ideals and projections. And if they do a live stream, they can engage in flexible, real-time communication with that character.
The most popular VTuber currently is "Magical☆Milky-chan." Her setting is that of an assassin girl from a magical kingdom, and she often uploads FPS—first-person shooter—gameplay videos. She is quite good at games, charming viewers with super-plays, and the "assassin trivia" she occasionally shares has a vivid persuasiveness that makes it hard to believe it is fiction. Her bizarre character has caught on, and she is currently experiencing a huge break.
I also watched videos from the creators called the Official Pomerni Children. Known as the Ten Great Pomerni Children, they are all formidable experts. I did not think they were opponents an amateur like me could ever compete with. I could not help but feel it would be presumptuous to even join their lowest ranks.
The equipment I have at hand is just one smartphone. The camera function on this phone is high-performance, and it seems possible to film videos of decent quality. An app for video creators linked to I-Tube was installed from the start, and filmed videos can be uploaded immediately with a single tap. Of course, it would be better to edit them, but the methods are difficult and I do not understand them...
However, fortunately, this smartphone came with a wonderful bonus. It had 50,000 Jenny worth of electronic money in it. It must be a parting gift from Pomerni. If I use this as my war chest, I might be able to manage something. I enthusiastically bought the necessary items.
As a result, the things gathered are now before my eyes.
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1 Tabletop stove
3 Potatoes
1 Box of butter
## Remaining balance: 16 Jenny
Please let me make an excuse. It was the fault of the text on this smartphone being hard to read. The characters were tiny and packed together like some mysterious hieroglyphs. It is not that I cannot read them, as I can understand the meaning, but it feels like deciphering an unfamiliar foreign language. In short, what I want to say is that the amount in the smartphone was not 50,000, but 5,000.
By the time I noticed, it was already too late; I had already purchased the tabletop stove and the cassette gas. The remaining balance was under 1,000 Jenny. Since Pomerni seemed so well-off, I almost started to complain that he could have blessed me with a little more, but I had to convince myself that he was merciful just for giving me the smartphone. For the first time in my life, I truly felt the importance of money.
Giving up, I bought ingredients within my budget. As you can see from this lineup, I am planning to post a cooking video. Putting aside the debate of whether a video of just roasting potatoes can be called "cooking," I decided on this after agonizing in my own way.
At first, I tried to film a game commentary video. It seemed like the easiest way to rack up views. Even without elaborate editing or production, people interested in that game would watch. However, I reached the conclusion that it was impossible with a budget of 5,000, as game consoles, capture boards, and PCs cost money.
It had to be a theme that could be filmed at a low cost. For someone like me who lacks skills like singing or dancing, the options are limited. That is when I thought of a food report. Eating food and giving reviews on the taste.
To be honest, it was a theme so common it wasn't even a copycat anymore. To show even a little originality, I plan to film the process of buying the ingredients and cooking them. I thought desperately about what kind of dish would be easy for a beginner to make, low in cost, and look delicious.
Even so, a video of just making and eating buttered potatoes will not get views. That is a grim fact I know without even uploading it. To get many people to watch, I need a "weapon" that other posters do not have. The weapon I have, since I lack original ideas or skills, is my appearance.
When I am not in "Indifference Mode," people occasionally talk to me. I am often approached by elderly people, and their first words are usually praising the beauty of my features or my hair. From this, it is assumed that this girl's appearance is at or above the average level.
With my senses mixed with those of an ant, to be honest, it is difficult to accurately judge human beauty. I know as a matter of knowledge that there are people in the world who are obsessed with every millimeter of their features and even undergo plastic surgery to pursue beauty, but frankly, all human faces look exactly the same to me. There have been several such gaps between my knowledge and my senses.
Therefore, as a result of estimating the beauty of this girl's appearance from the objective opinions I have gained so far, if their testimonies were not just social pleasantries, I can say I have a beautiful appearance. At the very least, I likely have a child-like cuteness that appeals to the elderly.
In advertising media using video and images like commercials, there is a method called the "Three Bs" that is effective for attracting people's eyes. They are Baby (young children), Beauty (beautiful women), and Beast (animals). These are said to have the effect of instantly grabbing the viewer's attention and creating a positive impression regardless of generation or ideology.
For the current me, there is no other path to racking up views than pushing this selling point. However, if I take that path, showing my face to some extent becomes mandatory. I was forced to make a bitter decision.
But even so. Seeing the posters actively shining on the internet made me feel something. They express their true selves with free and uninhibited themes, without being bound by established concepts. And it becomes a place for communication where many people gather.
True, there are those who do extreme things just for money. Everyone likely has such desires to some degree. But can that be said to be purely a bad thing? Because people have desires, they want to do something. And if they work hard, they get compensation. Isn't that why they feel they should work even harder?
I did not want to deny the silly desire for approval within myself. I now have emotions I never would have thought of when I was my previous self, who had no goals whatsoever. While watching I-Tubers, I felt like I wanted to become like them. I felt that was a very human-like action.
In a deserted back alley, I placed the tabletop stove on a discarded wooden box and sat in the seiza position before it. Since I was still a little scared of showing my face completely, I had used my meager war chest to buy a mask.
Checking the ingredients, check. Preparing the smartphone for filming, check.
I can feel my heart thumping wildly. I place my hand on my chest and steady my breath. Remember the battle with Mock. It is not like my life is in danger. It is just filming a video as a test.
The smartphone's timer signaled the start of filming.
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