TECHNOLOGY: Creating YouTube videos is Philip Baker’s favorite pastime.
By Kate Weggeland, Features Editor
For many students on campus, it is a rare sight to see a red-headed student walking through the quad, let alone a student who voluntarily dyed his hair red for a YouTube competition. That, to the common student, is quite absurd.
But for senior Philip Baker, it is nothing out of the ordinary. Baker is not an average student in the slightest. From making YouTube videos… wait, did someone just say YouTube videos? Baker is actually quite the YouTube sensation- stay attentive Poly high, we have an up-and-coming celebrity in our midst.
Baker, however, only recently discovered YouTube. Over a year ago, out of complete and utter boredom, Baker found himself searching the World Wide Web, and happened to find himself on a little website called YouTube. “Before then I, like I am sure other people still do, saw YouTube as just some weird website where people uploaded funny cat videos,” said Baker.
Baker was originally inspired by an English YouTuber, who also was a journalist at one point in his life, named Benjamin Cook. “This man is my idol. He runs a series on YouTube called Becoming YouTube,” said Baker. The purpose of Cook’s videos is to call youth talent to create videos and become involved in YouTube. After idolizing Cook for months, Baker had the opportunity to meet with Cook in person at a YouTube gathering called VidCon in Los Angeles. “I credit my entire channel to his inspiration,” said Baker.
Soon, Baker realized that not only is YouTube a massive community made up of millions of people, but those people have significant titles and leave an impact on those watching their videos. These people are known as YouTubers. Quickly, the realization that YouTube can act like a job prompted Baker to journey into the depths of video cyberspace.
As of now, Baker has 45 videos streaming and over 200 subscribers on his YouTube channel, known as “Naffarus.” He dedicates much of his time to this practice, uploading one video every Saturday. During the summer Baker created three videos a week, and over Thanksgiving break, he created one video every day.
During the week of Thanksgiving, a week Baker dubbed “my week of videos,” Baker had his subscribers vote everyday for the color he would dye his hair at the conclusion of the week. At the end of the week, red was the most popular color. “For the finale of my week of videos, I dyed my hair red,” Baker said.
YouTube opened a whole new world to everyone, particularly Philip Baker.