A writer who chronicled the rise of MrBeast and his appeal to his followers has divulged more insights on the popular YouTuber during a recent podcast interview. The conversation, which includes both praise and potential criticism, comes as MrBeast passed 150 million subscribers on YouTube to become the most followed individual account on the platform.
What Happened: MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has been loved and followed by a generation of younger fans who gravitate to his YouTube videos. One video that generated lots of views and publicity was MrBeast paying for 1,000 blind people to see thanks to cataract surgery.
That video is one of the key highlights in a profile on MrBeast titled “How MrBeast Became the Willy Wonka of YouTube.” Article author Max Read was recently interviewed on the New York Times “The Daily” podcast where he discussed the evolution of MrBeast's career, the increased scrutiny that came with his fame, and how he came to view the influential YouTuber in a positive light despite the criticisms.
Read said he has been watching the rise of MrBeast on YouTube, a unit of Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL for the last four or five years.
Donaldson, who now has over 164 million subscribers on YouTube, started in a much more humble space according to Read.
In the beginning, MrBeast videos were in the “let’s play” category, where he would play a video game like “Call of Duty” and comment on his play. Read called this a really common YouTube genre.
While he was doing this, Read said MrBeast was also studying the YouTube masters and learning what titles and thumbnail videos got the most views. Read described the strategy MrBeast employed while in high school as reverse engineering of sorts.
Donaldson decided not to go to college, against his mother’s wishes, so he could focus on content creation and his growing YouTube business.
According to Read, one of MrBeast's earliest standout videos showcased him counting from 1 to 100,000 while positioned at his computer. “People loved it, it went viral.”
Read noted that this video was instrumental in showing Donaldson that hard work and a visible investment of time can result in more views, a concept that diverges from the conventional wisdom of the volume of videos being the most important thing for content creators.
MrBeast instead put a focus on fewer video releases, but ones that came with big time commitments, efforts, physical pain in some cases, and cash rewards.
“MrBeast has mostly spent his time putting on these stunts and giving away money. That’s something that YouTube viewers connect with.”
Read said that MrBeast has invested in and perfected what he called “junk lord” videos. Spending a lot of money on a huge stunt that is silly and funny can bring in a lot of viewers. Another type of video that MrBeast has produced with huge success is one where he he distributes money.
“A lot of his junk lord videos involve giving money away.”
Read said this is important as videos that feature MrBeast giving away money to Uber drivers, waitresses and homeless people can have the same amount of viewers as more elaborate ones that he releases.
Related Link: YouTube Stars Take Google To The Bank, How Much MrBeast, Jake Paul, Other Content Creators Make
Is MrBeast Good?: Read said it was impressive that MrBeast has passed Cocomelon on YouTube, a channel that most parents know all too well.
“He’s done it by being very different than what I think people imagine YouTubers to be like,” Read said.
Read wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times, focusing on a video published by MrBeast in February. The video featured MrBeast paying for cataract surgeries for 1,000 people, helping them to see for the first time.
The video saw criticism and pushback due to a thumbnail featuring MrBeast and a child appearing to cry, which Read called cheap, baffling and said there was “something a bit icky about it.”
Read also said that putting a counter in the video of blind people he helped save was similar to a video game. MrBeast received criticism for the video, with some viewers alleging that he didn’t care about people and was using exploitation for views.
“If you watch the video, the criticism is not baseless.”
The backlash from the eye surgery video has publicly polarized opinions on whether MrBeast's actions are altruistic or merely performed for viewer count.
Read said that MrBeast has made promises to viewers to put the money he makes into more videos and giveaways. This leads to a suggestion that if you subscribe, you could be a recipient of his generosity someday.
This included buying an island and hosting a Survivor-style competition with subscribers to win the island after MrBeast passed 100 million subscribers on YouTube.
“He’s both entertaining and also able to transform your life as a viewer.”
Read said that subscribing and watching MrBeast is almost like entering a lottery as you could become the object of his charity.
“I call him the Willy Wonka of YouTube.”
Read said one thing that helped him get past the criticism of MrBeast was speaking with teenagers and 20-year-olds who have watched MrBeast for years and appeared baffled by a question of whether the YouTuber is only doing the charity videos for views.
“In the end, I was mostly won over.”
Read highlighted MrBeast's talent for engaging his audience and ensuring that they gain something from each video. He also noted MrBeast's generous efforts, such as donations to food banks and other charities. In Read's view, these actions enable viewers to feel involved and contribute positively to society merely by watching and enjoying the content they usually consume.
Read Next: MrBeast Embodies His Creator Name, Prepare To Be Shocked By YouTuber's Physical Transformation
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