Then the only thing we're missing here at FFL is the display of all our luscious cleavages. I can already hear it from Barry, "No we're not."
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > No, this is not a post about women who can't think of anything of their > own to say on FFL, and are therefore limited to replying to other > people's posts. It's about their counterpart on YouTube, users (mainly > women) who have developed a following by just replying to other popular > videos on the site while displaying lots of cleavage. I find the whole > phenomenon fascinating -- people developing a significant following by > having absolutely nothing to say, but saying it anyway. It's like FFL, > only monetized. :-) > Alejandra Gaitain and YouTube `Reply Girls' > [Reply Girl] Are YouTube Reply Girls empowering or > demeaning? > > You may not recognize Alejandra Gaitan's face, but her voice and > especially a certain area of her body have won her millions of views > (and a number of sponsorships) on YouTube. Gaitan, who calls herself > "The Reply Girl <http://www.youtube.com/thereplygirl> ," has > carved out a career making YouTube videos commenting on other videos on > the site. While a major source of YouTube's democratic appeal > <http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/01/16/120116fa_fact_seabrook> > is that everyone from your grandmother to a preteen can upload and > discuss videos, Gaitan's unconventional methods have earned her both > advertising dollars and, now, a death threat. > Gawker's Max Read describes the method Gaitan uses to get views: > she copies the original video's tags and secures herself a spot on its > page. Her shirts do the heavy lifting of bringing people to the video, > and then a quirk in YouTube's "related videos" algorithm kicks in: when > viewers register their dislike of Gaitan's video en masse with the > "thumbs down" button, it actually drives the video further up the > "related videos" ranking. > <http://gawker.com/5889759/weird-internets-how-thereplygirls-breasts-ear\ > ned-her-youtube-death-threats> This makes sense if the Speaker > of the House makes a reply to President Obama, Democrats will hit > "dislike," but his video is still a legitimate reply but it can > allow for deeply-hated videos to climb to prominent placement. > His reference to her shirts is an understatement: Filmed in what > appears to be a bedroom, the camera in Gaitan's videos cuts off part > of her forehead in favor of focusing in on her prominent breasts, which > in video thumbnails are often framed by a low-cut shirt -- a tease Read > refers to elsewhere in his piece as a "YouTube Porn Fakeout > <http://gizmodo.com/5887978/the-biggest-youtube-porn-fakeouts-of-all-tim\ > e> ." > > Gaitan's isn't the only "reply girl > <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/reply-girls> " on YouTube. The Daily Dot > defines the phenomenon as "young women -- some young enough to still > be in high school -- who make videos in low-cut tops and push-up bras > <http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/reply-girls-yogscast-meganspeaks/\ > > . Rather than baring their souls, they're baring that age-old > device often used to get attention: cleavage." > > Detractors, identified as the "Anti-Reply Girl movement" > <http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/q8p5h/antireplygirls_movement_g\ > ains_steam_as_youtube/> on Reddit, see content like Gaitan's as > "video spam," attracting clicks that would otherwise go to > "real" content. There's even a change.org petition > <http://www.change.org/petitions/google-youtube-give-youtube-users-tools\ > -to-combat-video-spam#> to stop it. > > But Read argues that the success of `reply girls' is empowering: > reply girls have industrialized the business of sexy YouTube thumbnails > <http://gawker.com/5889759/weird-internets-how-thereplygirls-breasts-ear\ > ned-her-youtube-death-threats> . They've set up their own channels and > monetization agreements. They produce and control their images and > content. And they've turned a profit by intelligently, and ruthlessly, > exploiting YouTube's own sharing mechanisms and algorithms. > What do you think: Are these women just exercising their right to free > speech? Is their ability to cash in on men's desire to click on > their bodies empowering or demeaning? > > Video available at the original article: > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/alejandra-gaitain-and-you_n_132\ > 8195.html > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/alejandra-gaitain-and-you_n_13\ > 28195.html> >
