YouTube NextUp Class of 2021 is looking for 20 South African content creators!
If you love making videos and you want a production kit worth R14,500, this is for you.
Gone are the days where making videos and creating content online wasn't a valid career option.
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YouTubers, TikTokers, and influencers are the new celebs, whether we want to admit it or not.
These creators are making six figures while sitting in front of a camera - and don't even get us started on YouTuber David Dobrik who has been able to gift his friends their dream cars every time he mentions a certain company's name in one of his videos.
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While this is not the reality for all YouTubers or content creators, it has proven the point that it is possible to quit your boring day job and do this for a living if that's your dream.
But a little guidance might be appreciated.
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And what better teacher than the mother of all content-creating platforms - YouTube.
Only a decade ago, YouTube wanted to focus on discovering and developing new talent. So they started their very own Creator Camp called, YouTube NextUp.
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The course includes everything from training, workshops, and even provides the attendees with a video production kit worth R14,500 ($1,000). Everything has been designed by content specialists and the educational workshops and talks are led by successful YouTube content creators.
But that's not all. After the initial event, the finalists will receive three months of extra support from the YouTube content team.
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It has previously been impossible for South African content creators to enter the contest, but it has finally been expanded to include SA and Nigeria.
Google announced that it will be looking for 20 finalists from these two countries who will be taking part in the five-day virtual event starting on the 8th of November.
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But is it guaranteed to help you if you attend and will you really learn anything?
YouTube NextUp alumni include ASAPScience (9.7-million subscribers), Laura in the Kitchen (3.8-million subscribers), and Ingrid Nilsen (3.5-million subscribers), as well as Kwangsook “Maangchi” Kim who was part of the inaugural class and who now boasts 5.6-million subscribers.
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In order to be eligible for entry, you have to meet a very specific set of criteria that is YouTube-related, with the first and most obvious being that you have a YouTube channel, with monetisation enabled.
Your channel has to have between 10,000 and 100,000 subscribers at the date of entry, be in "good standing", have no copyright strikes or violations of YouTube’s Terms of Use, be active, and have uploaded at least two videos within 90 days preceding the entry.
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You can enter here.
To get a better understanding of what exactly YouTube NextUp entails and if it's even worth it, here is a firsthand account from the 2017 winner, Simon Clark:
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Main image courtesy of iStock/SeventyFour