Find Your Future in Flappy Bird
Most video games nowadays consists of lifelike graphics with customizable features that can make the player feel as if they are the one in the game themselves and not an avatar. However, games available in the app-store are popular because of the opposite reason. Simplicity and elementary effects make games more popular based on the most recent fad, Flappy Bird.
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Due to its popularity among iPhone and Android users, the game brought in $50,000 a day from advertising revenue to its creator, Dong Nguyen. However, this game was not an overnight sensation. It was first made available in the app-store in May of last year. It wasn’t until YouTube gamer Felix Kjellberg, also known as PewDiePie, uploaded a video of favorite games and featured ‘Flappy Bird’ as one of them that the game acquired more buzz.
Before pulling the game from the app-store, Mr. Nguyen could’ve easily lived off of the money from the elementary app comfortably. This is only one of the examples of how the Internet can make for an alternative to a ‘real-life’ career. Many tech-savvy teenagers, and twenty-somethings, are finding creative ways to make a few bucks off of the Internet.
YouTube seems to be a great alternative for a 9-5 office job. Being part of the site’s Partner Program can take home six figure incomes. YouTube’s Partner Program enables users to add advertisements on their videos and monetize their content on YouTube. Anyone from health instructors to gamers can participate; if someone wants to watch your video, you can make money from it.
One prime example of this is 25-year-old Michelle Phan who makes videos instructing women anything and everything you need to know about cosmetics. Starting her YouTube channel in 2006, Phan has gained more that 5 million subscribers, uploading over 280 videos. In addition, she is also Lancôme’s official video makeup artist and even started her own makeup brand in collaboration with L’Oreal, EM by Michelle Phan all because of her YouTube channel’s success)
Perhaps a more relatable sample would be 18-year-old Bethany Mota who, like Phan, upload videos. However, Mota’s videos consists of “hauls,” DIYs, fashion videos, and makeup tutorials. With almost 5 million subscribers on YouTube, Mota has managed to create her own clothing line in partnership with Aeropostale and even went as far as going on tour to promote it. She has even done an overseas trip to Asia, and Paris, with her own team consisting of her father, lawyer, and agent, backing her.
The idea of not going to college and making a career out of a website has received mixed reactions.
“I want to have a college experience. I want to learn, take advantage of the opportunities colleges offer, and meet new people,” says Gabriela Leon, senior. “If I did have the opportunity to make a living off of the internet I would probably do it depending on the responsibilities I would have”. Some people criticize the people who choose this path.
Junior Petey Condoleon says “You have to know what you’re doing. You can’t be clueless and jump right in with your ideas.”
Whatever your course of action is for your future, it is important to consider its repercussions. Opting out of college can make you money at a job, but your chances of having a career are slimmer. In contrast, the fast-growing and ever changing economy makes it easier for the young generation to get creative and become instant entrepreneurs.
by Vanessa Valdez ’14