Web Traffic

So the basic idea I've gathered from Web 2.0 is trying to "harness the power of the crowd", which seems to mean creating a web traffic jam. Trying to gain a large audience to whatever a user decides to put out on the web. I'd like to demonstrate this idea by comparing it to "vlogs" [video blogs].

A video blog concept is typically the same as any old blog like this one. But vlogs have seemed to expand to mini webisodes for entertainment and not just a cataloging of knowledge and ideas.

An example of a vlog webisode series would be the popular Youtubers --- SMOSH
Each video they post is intended for entertainment and they gain a huge audience with these videos that many people are interested in.

An example of a vlog that shares knowledge is Michelle Phan's make-up Youtube series. Although what she shares with the world isn't necessarily life-changing (to most) and will help solve the world's problems, she gets an enormous amount of traffic. Many people go to her Youtube page to learn how to do certain styles of make-up and she is very well-known in the web world. As I skimmed through her various videos, her view counts went from 500,000 to 3 million.

Popular blogs/vlogs that generate a big audience basically have those readers/watchers in the palm of their hand. I have a friend that basically religiously watches Michelle Phan's videos and gets all her makeup advice/tips/aid from her.

I found it amazing that regular, run-of-the-mill, ordinary people could become basically big stars.
I'm sure many have heard of the "teenage dream" - Justin Bieber [insert groan here], his career was launched by Mr. Bieber posting videos of himself singing online.

The main principle behind trying to gain a wide audience is to be consistent and diligent. If you were to look at any big blog/vlog, you'll notice that they consistently and regularly post.

Web traffic isn't a difficult thing to accumulate, it just takes the determination to get it.