As yall know, I have been a long time member of a tween vlogging collective. We had a really great run on our youtube channel, amassing over 7.5 million views from over 7.5 million interested humans from around the world. This means we were an organic, grass roots diy global brand. We achieved more than many people with youtube accounts could ever imagine... And I am proud. Proud of me and my business partners/friends.

Unfortunately, it is time for us to 'call it quits' on our vlog collective, even though we really achieved something. We became a relevant brand within the tween community of youtube, taking the art of vlogging to the next level. We built a brand, and we decided to retire so that we could 'go out on top.' [via James Murphies]

(Full Disclosure: We also became Youtube Partners, making enough money to treat ourselves' to a meal at TGIFridays twice a year.)

A lot of people ask me why I started vlogging? Why did I turn to youtube? Why did I make my best friends on the internet?

It's really difficult being a tween/teen. Sometimes IRL, I feel like people don't understand me, so it was really good to finally meet a network of like-minded people across the world. If u weren't familiar with what we were all about...here's a video that explains it all.

We came together as artists...young people... and friends who came together to communicate, try to have some fun, to get creative and challenge eachother, to get into the world and try new things... and boy did we.

A lot of people don't realize that vlogging is an art. I am sitting on camera, telling you about my life, making DYNAMIC, INTERESTING content that is not masked behind words. It is not some dude on a blog who is hiding behind high-level ideas and conceptual literary tactics. Vlogging is just me, the camera, and U. And a little bit of iMove editing in between. A vlogging collective engages viewers on a regular basis, creating the feeling of a traditional television channel with a programming schedule, as opposed to putting the burden of extreme content creation on one human being.

We became more than just a youtube channel, more than an inspiring collection of jovial youtubers who knew how to emote into the camera in order to generate compelling content, sort of like 'high school public speaking' on steroids...We became friends. Friends from around the world, who vlogged like no one was watching, but at the same time... vlogged like every1 was watching.

I'll never forget the time a company gathered together some of the most popular youtubers on the internet, and held a 'convention' in South Florida where youtubers could come together, network, talk about how to install green screens and purchase HD cameras on the cheap. We had a live show. It went really well, and we got very interactive.

It was great to actually INTERFACE with real users, the long tail users and failed content-providers on youtube. The lamestreamers who needed some time to kill between streaming Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and Rebecca Black videos.

It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday when u put so much of urself into your Vlog Collective.

The truth is that we are all trying to be creative. Some people start bands. Some people go to art school. Some people start a tumblr for two weeks. We ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING and produced results. A lot of people say that youtube hits are worth 10% of a 'real hit', but they don't realize that numbers don't lie. We are more than just youtube famous. We are more famous than the Mayor of most small cities across the United States.

It's so hard
to say goodbye
to the content that I created yesterday
when there is more content to be consumed tomorrow
and I don't have the time, energy, and passion
2 keep producing premium content
I want to do 'normal teen things
I want to grow into a young adult
I don't want to have to tell people at my college that I'm a vlogger
I want to experiment with drugs, drinking, sexuality, and even producing amateur snuff films
But I need some time... some time away from my Vlog Life
as sweet as the Vlog Candy tastes
I need to build a new rewards system.

The End.
PS: Ur kinda keut....

I will miss all of u. Not just my fellow vloggers, but the community/tribe that we built. Together, we made history.

We used to be young people
We used to be artists
We used to be friends

But we all grow up
We all want grown up things
We don't want to be the 'sad 40 year old on youtube'
We don't want to be those people, who stayed past their prime
Who stayed 'past the prime of youtube'
Youtube--a dying content dump
Every time a video is uploaded... A premium vlog becomes more meaningless
It's more than just a vlog
It's my life.
It's my life.

Sometimes youtube fame
can only make u feel microfamous
Usually macrofame means ur brand is effectively monetized
When art does not equal commerce... Sometimes it is just hard 2 find an incentive to keep going

I'll miss my youtube friends
But we still have twitter, facebook, myspace, gmail, dailybooth, and Vimeo (for artsy videos)
Goodnight, sweet Tween Vlog Collective
It's time to put my vlogging behind me
I guess this is growing up
I promised myself I wouldn't cry...

*****
Do u watch 'famous youtubers'?
Do youtubers have a warped view of the world?
Do youtubers 'get rich' quick?
Are youtubes the most naive/innocent artists in the world?
Are you glad they didn't have Macbooks when u were a tween/in your early adulthood?
Do we all want so badly to believe that there is truth that your human existence is 'special' and deserves 2 be documented?
Is it sad to watch tweens 'grow up' and find a generation microtrend 'go obsolete'?