8 QUESTIONS FOR WILL CARMACK Michelle Criqui, James Madison University
BUSINESS, COMMUNICATIONS AND JOURNALISM STUDENTS USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO COMMUNICATE AT
2X
THE RATE OF OTHERS
A ND T HE NEWS
MICHELLE CRIQUI: Favorite social media platform? WILL CARMACK: Snapchat. It’s definitely the easiest way to interact with your viewers. If you leave your Snapchat account open,
An online survey was conducted by the American Press Institute and Twitter, in collaboration with research company DB5. 4,173 people 694 not on Twit ter
you can constantly get snaps from people who watch your videos, and that, I think, is one of the most rewarding things about being a YouTuber — seeing the faces of the people who watch your content. MC: Favorite YouTuber? WC: Probably Philip DeFranco. He’s real. He has a news channel, and he tells it really, really well. He’ll give you both sides
Use Twit ter for news. 74% do so daily.
of the [issue], and then give his opinion. I think that’s a really respectable way to do the news. MC: Craziest and/or funniest moment while filming a video? WC: Actually, I was filming a video two weeks ago called “The Coffee Song,” and I didn’t realize until I was editing the clip, but the guys in the background were talking about doing cocaine. This one guy literally goes, “Uh, yeah, I did two lines, three shots,” and then someone went: “Did it make you feel good?” and [the first guy] said: “Yeah, but the next morning I felt like I was gonna die!” Like, no shit, you did cocaine!
STUDENTS WITH HIGH SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ARE THE
LEAST LIKELY TO IGNORE EMAILS
MC: What camera do you use to film?
Follow individual journalists, writers and commentators on Twit ter.
WC: I film with a Canon 70D. But I switch off between a 135mm lens and a 50mm lens, both Canon.
Non-Twit ter users have seen t weets on T V.
MC: Weirdest comment you’ve ever gotten? WC: I get a lot of weird ones. Recently I did a wedgie prank on someone, and I didn’t realize that for some reason, there’s this audience who likes wedgie pranks, I guess? It got, like, 22,000 views, and there’s a lot of people commenting about making the girl I gave a wedgie to in the video do a “wedgie war.” But I think the weirdest one was when this guy asked: “Where are you the most ticklish?” MC: Favorite videos you’ve made? WC: “Tall Guys vs. Shor t Guys,” “The Cof fee Song” and “How You Feel Af ter Watching Casey Neistat.” MC: YouTube Red: Yay or Nay? WC: I’ve never used it and I don’t plan on using it. I think it’s kind of a cheap way to use your fan base to make money. MC: What advice do you have for someone looking to expand their social media presence?
INCREASINGLY, PROFESSORS ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH
Use Twit ter to be aler ted of breaking news.
TEXTING THEIR STUDENTS
WC: There are two things that are really important: continuity and collaboration. You have to make it known that you’re posting every week, and you can’t just say that — you have to do it. [Second], you have to reach out to people. As a YouTuber, it’s really hard to get big on your own. The best way to expand your social media presence is to collaborate with other people. STUDYBREAKS.COM
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