My interview went live today and I had to thank Property Station Team for having me. It was a wonderful time with the team and the whole interview was done professionally. In the interview, I discussed my views on YouTubers and I think the words on the article express how I feel precisely, if you are interested, please go check out this link for the details.
I talked about Social Responsibility in the article and indeed just last couple weeks, I encountered an incident which I would like to share with you here. I did struggle whether I should write about it or not because I don’t want people to take it in the wrong way, but oh well, I choose to be me and I should be entitled to my thoughts. I will try my best to put them into words and I hope it does come across positively.
Four PR agencies contacted me a couple weeks ago about a collaboration job. First let me define the word “collaboration”, to me, I use the word “collaboration” in the sense that a company would pay me for a YouTube video or a blog post or even sometimes the company sends me to other countries to better experience their brands without paying me in monetary terms (like Filorga and SVR). “Collaboration” mostly associates with money or huge expenses paid for, and usually it would mean there is a deadline of when the video/ blog will go live. And if I say a product is being sent or sponsored by a company, it just means in simple terms they send me the products for trial without paying me anything and I have total freedom of whether I talk about it or not. Now you understand the difference between the terms I use, then let’s go back to the story.
Right, four PR agencies contacted me for the same collaboration job. I saw the name of the company and it was a well-known company, a company that I do buy from and personally like. So at first, I was thrilled with the idea, but then as I continued to read the emails/ messages, I saw the term “the client (company) must have the right to edit the video at least twice”. “Nah!” I thought to myself and I quickly fired back emails/ messages telling them that I treasured the content that I created and I wouldn’t change anything unless it’s misrepresentation of product information. I politely declined and started thinking…
I am sure all of you know by now that I don’t do collaboration often and I don’t get sponsored products as often as you imagine. But I am sure some of you don’t understand why the heck that is or some of you just think I basically lie about every single purchase that I make (for those who dislike me, of course). Let me tell you. I don’t do collaboration that often because it’s extremely hard to find a collaborative partner that would just allow your creative juices flow, and mostly importantly, respect you for who you are.
I think we can all agree that YouTubers are different from celebrities, celebrities are known for and are accepted for working on pure advertisement. A company pays a celebrity to endorse a product and of course reading scripts is part of the contract. I don’t think anyone would expect a celebrity would try and test the products before endorsing it, if he/ she does, then he/ she cares about her reputation, which is a bonus.
On the other hand, YouTubers start off by having a genuine passion and wanting to share that passion with the world. That alone would mean that somehow we (YouTubers) get to where we are because we share our real life experience (whatever that is). We are liked by the public because we could offer certain solid “expertise” in the field that we are interested in. And yet, some companies think that because they pay, they could alter what we say. I know the practice exists for a long time, but honestly I didn’t give it too much thought before, I usually just politely declined any “job” that would request to alter my content. However, this time I am saddened. I am saddened by the fact that some companies still try to use their traditional marketing way to “control” the market; I am saddened by the fact that they don’t just let us be individuals and share our true and honest experiences; I am saddened by the fact that they see YouTubers as an influential opportunity to bring them more sales but at the same time have no respect to the audience/ consumers (do they still think that the general public are dumb?); I am saddened by the fact that they pick a YouTuber because they like him/ her in a certain way, but they don’t let him/ her shine through their own content. Do they not think for a moment if they choose to work with a YouTuber, they should respect what they have to say? Do they not think the audience can sense that certain words or phrases are not from the YouTuber’s heart?
Is it just me? Is it just me who takes this way too seriously? Maybe. Maybe it’s just me and my silly principles. Maybe it’s just in Hong Kong. But I do believe…
YouTubers are supported because we do care about our audience, we have a special bond with our online buddies though many of us haven’t even met each other. We are loved because we are real people who live in the reality. Many of you have told me you are so proud of me being interviewed and of my hard work, you are proud of me because… yes because you treat me as a very dearly friend. Friends are happy for each other’s success, friends cry for each other when things are difficult, friends are honest to each other, at least true friends are. And YES, the bond between us is special and priceless.
I understand that people have a job to do and yes paying someone would mean that they have to ensure that money spent is worthwhile. I owe a business and I understand all that. And I know I can’t change the world or how some companies see things, but I do have a choice (everyone has a choice), I choose to not work with those who make me feel “my content is not good enough”. I choose to be me and stay true to myself (and what I have to say) and I will let the audience judge whether my content is good, bad or indifferent. Though I have been doing this for a long time, today I officially announce that I am not going to collaborate with any company that would want to alter my content. It indeed feels great to finally get this off my chest out in the open. Phew.
By now, you should understand why I don’t collaborate that much. Who would want to work with someone that have one million principles and who would want to work with someone as difficult as me? It doesn’t matter to me, really. I didn’t set out to live a glamorous lifestyle, I didn’t set out to please others. I set out to do what I love to do and I always remember….
No matter what you do, don’t forget your roots, don’t forget where you come from and how far you have come. Stand firm on the ground and build your dream from the ground, because it’s the most solid place to start. Don’t get distracted by the oh-so-glamourous life, always remember the ones who really matter. Once you can see this clearly, I am sure you are very close to the right direction.
**I don’t know how other countries do it, I can only speak from my experiences of being in the industry of Hong Kong. I hope one day, brands and content creators can inspire each other to do something more bold, exciting and fun, instead of focusing on “excellent fake feedback on the products”.
[I apologise for writing the most emotional posts in English, my Chinese is not always the best – sure you can tell, I feel that it’s less likely to come across in the wrong way. Thanks for bearing with me.]
