Rating my favourite YouTubers | My HONEST opinions
- Carly Morton
- Nov 2, 2019
- 5 min read
I caught myself yesterday wanting to write in the comments on someones video "OMG I loved your video...blah blah blah" when actually, many of this person's recent videos weren't up to the usual standard and I was becoming frustrated with the half-hearted content they had been putting out. It made me realise, that I only ever write in the comments nice things. I never give these people the constructive criticism they need.
Now I realise there are a BUNCH of trolls out there who do a pretty good job of waging war in the comments. I in no way condone what they do. They are often mean, small minded people who have nothing better to do. BUT I think it's entirely reasonable to offer feedback, to talk about your likes and dislikes in a video and to request content.
So here is my unfiltered opinion on all the YouTubers I spend countless HOURS wasting my time watching...
Kalyn Nicholson
Kalyn was probably one of the first YouTubers I started watching. I'm pretty sure I clicked on a routine video and was hooked from then on. I loved her videos for her routines, cleaning, organising and in particular her GYST (get your shit together videos). I would say Kalyn is definitely one of my biggest influences and inspiration in the desire to create my own channel and the kind of content I put out.
When Kalyn broke up with her previous boyfriend and then not long after, moved houses, her content shifted. All of a sudden her videos seemed more 'scripted' and fake. They weren't the fun, real, motivational videos we were used to and the audience noticed. I quickly saw countless comments wishing 'for the old Kalyn back'. Perhaps she just lost some creative direction and needed to take a moment to figure out what she wanted her channel to look like now that she was getting older and her life was changing.
The thing that I admire about Kalyn is that she listened to what her viewers were saying. She took steps to rebrand and figure out her direction and since then, her videos have been fantastic quality and with even greater frequency. This is definitely an example of a YouTuber taking her job as a content creator seriously.
Whitney Simmons
Whitney was one of the first YouTubers I started watching when I really got into YouTube. Prior to going to the gym, I pretty much never went on YouTube. But when I started working out, I saw it as a fantastic resource to get workout tips, routines and inspiration. The very first fitness video I watched was from Heidi Sommers (who I'm still subscribed to and continue to love her content) and I'm pretty sure it was all about workout supplements. Whitney was a natural progression from Heidi.
In the space of a few short years, Whitney's following has skyrocketed. I think that being the face of Gymshark really helped with that. Being subscribed for over three years, I have to say, the quality of her videos has improved significantly over that time. I also like how she is dabbling in lifestyle topics- highly requested by her community. When I first started watching Whitney, she created strictly fitness videos. However, now she is putting out fashion and beauty videos also.
In trying to show both the pro's and con's of everyone, I guess the only thing I can say about Whitney is that because she is putting out daily workouts on IG, we aren't getting as many full gym routines on YouTube.
Lilylikecom
I discovered Lily at the start of the year and immediately fell in love. She had such a beautiful aesthetic and clearly put a lot of effort into her videos. At the time, she was living in DC and going to law school. Her DC diaries were fun, upbeat and all about organisation, fashion, beauty and exploring DC.
Mid-way through the year she moved from DC after Visa drama and her videos took a turn for the worst. All of a sudden she wasn't posting consistently, her videos were mostly taken up with collaboration/sponsorships and you could tell from looking at her Instagram stories that the videos that were coming out were pre-filmed and didn't accurately reflect what was going on in her current life. When I decided to comment on a recent video saying that I missed her DC diaries she replied. I expected something like 'what would you like to see more of?' but instead, it was obvious that she was offended that viewers weren't liking her new content. Her replies were sarcastic and clearly reactionary.
I'm not the type of person who continues to watch videos by people I don't admire, simply to write hate in the comments. So I immediately deleted my comment and promptly unsubscribed.
A few others worthy of note
Summer Sheekey- I love Summer's videos. I think it's super cool that she lives in LA and her videos certainly have that warm, hip, trendy vibe to them. The only downside of Summer is that her posts are often inconsistent.
Lucy Jessica Carter- I love Lucy's weekend vlogs and particularly her cleaning and organisation videos. She is now pregnant with twins and it is super cool to see her journey. Lucy does do a fair few sponsored videos but I often skip them.
Elle Darby- I only started watching Elle recently, even though I had been watching Lucy for some time (they are sisters). She mostly creates vlogs, which are my favourite. Elle and her partner Connor frequently travel and I love watching their travel vlogs. She does talk to the camera for longer periods of time and sometimes I skip through parts of the video.
Elena Taber- Another recent discovery. I'm pretty sure I found her through one of her 'New York vlogs'. Elena not long ago made the move to NY and frequently does a day/week in the life. I love being able to see this amazing city through her trendy lens. She is a pretty laid back sort of person and her videos are certainly hip. She does a lot of thrifting videos (as does Jessica Neistadt) and I tend to skip those ones because you can't find similar pieces in Australia.
Girl and the word- I literally only JUST discovered this channel. I was attracted by the aesthetics in the thumbnail of one of her home decoration videos and from there watched her entire channel (she is only new to YouTube and doesn't have a heap of videos yet, but DOES have a heap of subscribers). The thing I found really different and unique about all of her videos is that she never sits down and talks to the camera, but instead has a voice over for all her videos that has an uplifting and often biblical message.
I am also currently subscribed to Racheleea, Karen Bohn, Jessica Neistadt, Heidi Sommers, KOZE, Maggie McDonald and Sarahs Day.
I almost wish I had never discovered YouTube.
While it has been such a source of learning, motivation and inspiration, it has also been a source of a lot of wasted time. I spend FAR too much time on YouTube. I virtually don't watch any TV any longer and instead spend countless hours consuming YouTube videos. Most of the time, these videos are valuable and from people I genuinely enjoy. But a lot of the time, I'm just watching whatever looks 'ok' because I don't have anything else to do.
In saying that, if you are looking for fresh YouTube content, why not check me out? I'm Carly Morton over on YT and @a.life.by.carly over on IG. I'm still learning when it comes to filming and editing, but I've got to say, my videos have come a LONG way from when I first started.
Carly xx
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