INFLUENCE Matt Silverman

When I was coming up in media and learning about online video around 2010-2011, Craig Benzine (known to the Internet as @wheezywaiter ) was a big inspiration. His videos were so absurd, so fast, and so funny. I felt like he was speaking to a new kind of audience. "YouTuber" was starting to become a job, and being ridiculous on the Internet could pay the rent. Loyal subscribers and conversations from the comments section were the gold standard.
But as YouTube became more algorithmic, Craig's channel started to stagnate. His core audience was remained, but the growth had stopped. He felt completely stuck, for about 5 years. Then, in 2018, he made a radical change to his content that doubled his audience — from 500,000 to 1 million subs — in just a year.
I'm thrilled to talk to Craig about making Internet videos for 16+ years(!), and what drove him to "make a movie every day." We discuss how YouTube editing became a unique artform, why getting 30 views and 1 comment from an online stranger was the best feeling in the world, the years he toiled in obscurity before the Internet finally took notice, and the re-invention of his channel.
Plus: Your voicemail!
Subscribe to WheezyWaiter on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wheezywaiter/
This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod
Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod
Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548
Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE)
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🐤https://twitter.com/Matt_Silverman
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The mysterious Jack Rhysider talks to hackers, cyber criminals, bank robbers, crypto scammers, (real!) spies, CIA agents, and penetration testers. Because his job sends him to the darkest corners of the Internet, his true identity is not known. But that never stops him from sharing how his extraordinary podcast - Darknet Diaries - comes together. From the kernel of an idea, to sweeping stories full of twists and turns, his true crime episodes started with the InfoSec crowd, and quickly gained mass appeal. Jack joins Matt to discuss his obsession with security and privacy, his journey from IT to blogging to podcasting, how he learned from the world's best audio storytellers, the moment he knew people really loved his show, why he loves to make things that are not sustainable, and the possibility of a new podcast in the works.
Check out Darknet Diaries (True stories from the dark side of the Internet): https://darknetdiaries.com/
This show is made possible by listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod
Watch & subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InfluencePodcast
Join our Discord community! https://discord.gg/influencepod
Call the show and leave a message: (347)-871-6548
Email me with guest & trivia suggestions! influencepod69@gmail.com (NOICE)
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Oh hey there! Matt here. It's been a minute, but if you're subscribed to this feed, I have a big update for you. 2G1P is now INFLUENCE, and I'm very excited (and nervous!) to be taking the reigns of a show we are so proud of. All the details you need to know are in this ep, and down below. I hope you'll join me for this next chapter!
Help me reach 1,000 subscribers (even if you don't listen on YouTube!): https://www.youtube.com/@InfluencePodcast
This show is made made possible with listener support: https://www.patreon.com/influencepod
Join our amazing Discord community: discord.gg/influencepod
Email me with your dream guest! InfluencePod69@gmail.com  (noice!)
Call me and leave a voicemail! (347) 871-6548
Connect with me: https://twitter.com/Matt_Silverman
https://www.instagram.com/matt_silverman/
-Show Description-
What does it really take to make a living (and an impact) on the Internet today?
Join Matt Silverman (who has been covering online culture for 15+ years) in conversation with YouTubers, musicians, podcasters, streamers, journalists, TikTokers and more about turning creativity into a job, building community on ever-changing platforms, and their complex relationships with huge online audiences.
INFLUENCE is the relaunch of 2 GIRLS 1 PODCAST, a weekly comedy/interview show about fascinating online communities, which ran for 7 years and nearly 300 episodes.
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Happy new year! We wanted to share an update about some truly unexpected circumstances, and explain that the show (and all Patreon contributions) will be paused while we figure things out.
We hope you'll still hang with us on Discord, and please get in touch if you have any questions:
discord.gg/2g1p
2g1podcast@gmail.com
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This week we're joined by an EXTREMELY special guest. You might even say ... it's a Christmas miracle.
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Academic researchers have typically kept to universities and book publishing. But as the Web was maturing in the mid 2000s, blogs and social media accounts devoted to history attracted significant audiences. It turns out lots of people (besides professors) wanted to learn about stuff like: The Middle Ages.
Danièle Cybulskie (known as the "5 Minute Medievalist" online) is an author and historian who began pulling medieval research out of the library and onto the Web, much to the chagrin of the academic world. But she was clearly ahead of her time. These days, her mission to make medieval studies more accessible has turned into a fulltime online career. Her show "The Medieval Podcast" is a favorite of esteemed professors and long-haul truckers alike — anyone who loves knights and castles and wants to learn more about what life was really like between 500 and 1,000 CE.
Alli and Lindsey speak with Danièle about how she got interested in Medieval studies, the online community that has formed around it, and why we are still so obsessed with chivalry, lords, and peasants across every form of media.
Follow Danièle: https://twitter.com/5minmedievalist
And check out The Medieval Podcast: https://www.medievalists.net/category/podcast/
Support 2G1P on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/2G1P
Join the 2G1P Discord community: http://discord.gg/2g1p
Join the 2G1P Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2girls1podcast/
Email us: 2G1Podcast@gmail.com
Call the show and leave a message! (347) 871-6548  
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