SerpentZA and Other Vloggers

[Randy W]

Wow! I have no idea what set him off like this, all of a sudden, but Grey Loud REALLY lights into the "Anti-China California Clowns". He has wavered between speaking up about them and just leaving it lie, but this is WAY off the deep end.

 

Grey Loud is still in Thailand.

 

I won't embed this one - you'll have to go watch it yourself.

 

https://youtu.be/HE-aos5rlyM

[Greg.D.]

He can choose not to like them but the ad hominem attacks and all you're doing is shilling for the ccp from the comfort of Canada is pretty sad.

 

The two guys, while tedious, are almost never wrong. Like a good baseball game, they are 5 minutes of excitement packed into 3 hours. Meaning, they have little to say and it is the same thing. No doubt they have their contacts and most of what they say is close to accurate. This seems to hurt the Canadian guy. Oh: I only got halfway through. The wumao's jumped right in with their comments supporting him. And, here I am reading them at lunch time. Hard to eat.

 

In addition to needing a producer to oversee their videos, and a writer, Winston and C-milk probably need to drop the China theme since they won't be back there too much. Gweilo got some things wrong: they are not two years out of China, and they have been de-monetized by youtube. And their stuff just isn't that shocking or novel anymore.

 

Amy blondie quite possibly has some help from the party as her production quality is very high. But at least her vid's are easier to watch and they're scripted and there is no party loving bs in them. Or she doesn't have party help but at least hasn't run afoul of them yet. They do take me back to the days when people discovered china for themselves and it was easy to love.

 

This Gweilo (sp) guy is being used by the party and he may not even realize it.

 

As Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Tippin each said: if you don't stand for something you will fall for anything

[Randy W]

Gweilo60 is in Thailand as a coronavirus exile. His wife is a cancer survivor, so he thought it best to leave. I expect they'll be back soon.

 

I think he's right about the 2 years - I don't think they've been back, except when C-Milk sold his home in Huizhou.

 

Their last trip was to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Viet Nam, and Japan. I don't think they have recorded any new footage in mainland Chins for the 2 years.

 

They apparently don't expect to return.

 

But yes, I see no reason for Grey Loud to jump on the boys like that.

 

Except for the house sale, I don't think C-Milk's been in the Mainland since Vivi got her green card. Winston moved to California a little later. Their income is through Patreon, where they have maintained a fairly constant number of patrons.

[Martin B]

This Gweilo dude needs to stop acting like these two guys are nothingburgers. Yes, they aren't in China now. I don't particularly care for their recent videos. But they lived there for 10+ years. They worked in China. Both married Chinese women. Bought and sold houses, cars ,bikes in China. Laowhy raised a kid there and had to deal with his in-laws while doing so. In his earlier videos, SerpentZA spoke excellent Chinese. SerpentZA has over 600k subs, Laowhy has over 400k, ADVChina has 300k.... and Gweilo has what, 40k? Probably at least half which are CPC wumao or bots?

 

Gweilo criticizes them for leaving China yet he did so in an instant when it was advantageous to do so. And don't give me the bulls**t about his wife's immune system - tens of millions of elderly and sick Chinese stayed behind rather than fleeing to Thailand. And it looks pretty f*****g hypocritical and cowardly to do this after you've spent the last two dozen videos blabbing about how China is perfect and how nothing can go wrong.

 

Seriously, who is Gweilo to grandstand? The dude claims to have lived in China for 15 years yet still can't pronounce "Shenzhen" or "Yuan" (money) correctly. He's plastered in nearly all his videos. In this most recent video he claims SerpentZA and Laowhy don't have "real" Chinese friends, but yet when he makes videos of gatherings with so called "family and friends" he stands around like a f*****g potted plant.

 

The only possible explanations are that he's getting paid by the Chinese government or he's going senile.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Barfus (see edit history)

[Cale1953]

The boys made some of the best China videos, but since they've left they haven't found a new niche. They need to refocus on something new and stop harping on the bad things about China. They are mostly right but it is tiresome.

Gweilo and three others have formed a Pro-China vloggers group that does 90 minute live chats on Pro-China themes. They are not archived, for some reason so you have to catch them live. In the middle of the night North American time, I believe. I don't need to sit around for 90 minutes and listen to ex-pat pro china hackery, especially when i should be sleeping.

A talking head blathering at the camera, isn't the best way to capture an audience, Gweilo is like the Grampa Simpson you tube channel.

He needs another hobby. Maybe he can head back to China and do some rides on his e-bike and try to fill the void left by the lads. He would have to sober up first.

[Randy W]

 

. . .

 

Amy blondie quite possibly has some help from the party as her production quality is very high. But at least her vid's are easier to watch and they're scripted and there is no party loving bs in them. Or she doesn't have party help but at least hasn't run afoul of them yet. They do take me back to the days when people discovered china for themselves and it was easy to love.

 

This Gweilo (sp) guy is being used by the party and he may not even realize it.

 

. . .

 

 

As far as being "used" by the party, both Winston and Travellight have remarked about the "free" tours that are offered in return for the publicity. The caveat is that you are expected to put in long hours Both decided it just wasn't worth it.

[Martin B]

 

. . .

 

Amy blondie quite possibly has some help from the party as her production quality is very high. But at least her vid's are easier to watch and they're scripted and there is no party loving bs in them. Or she doesn't have party help but at least hasn't run afoul of them yet. They do take me back to the days when people discovered china for themselves and it was easy to love.

 

This Gweilo (sp) guy is being used by the party and he may not even realize it.

 

. . .

 

As far as being "used" by the party, both Winston and Travellight have remarked about the "free" tours that are offered in return for the publicity. The caveat is that you are expected to put in long hours Both decided it just wasn't worth it.

Randy, what are these "free tours"?

[Randy W]

 

 

. . .

 

Amy blondie quite possibly has some help from the party as her production quality is very high. But at least her vid's are easier to watch and they're scripted and there is no party loving bs in them. Or she doesn't have party help but at least hasn't run afoul of them yet. They do take me back to the days when people discovered china for themselves and it was easy to love.

 

This Gweilo (sp) guy is being used by the party and he may not even realize it.

 

. . .

As far as being "used" by the party, both Winston and Travellight have remarked about the "free" tours that are offered in return for the publicity. The caveat is that you are expected to put in long hours Both decided it just wasn't worth it.

Randy, what are these "free tours"?

 

Exactly what I said there - it's a personal tour offered to a media personality in hopes of getting some "viral" publicity, free of charge to the media personality, but usually a fairly lavish tour.

 

One that Travellight's friend Jason offered her - https://youtu.be/QPBP4RZvcHE

 

Jason is obviously interested in the free publicity.

[Cale1953]

 

 

. . .

 

Amy blondie quite possibly has some help from the party as her production quality is very high. But at least her vid's are easier to watch and they're scripted and there is no party loving bs in them. Or she doesn't have party help but at least hasn't run afoul of them yet. They do take me back to the days when people discovered china for themselves and it was easy to love.

 

This Gweilo (sp) guy is being used by the party and he may not even realize it.

 

. . .

As far as being "used" by the party, both Winston and Travellight have remarked about the "free" tours that are offered in return for the publicity. The caveat is that you are expected to put in long hours Both decided it just wasn't worth it.

Randy, what are these "free tours"?

 

The Chinese powers that be are pretty good at co-opting ex pat vloggers and "influencers" to see what they want them to see.I don't think there is necessarly anything wrong with that as long as you know it is a form of promotion or propaganda. Every country wants to show off its best assets and prefers you not see the seamier side. One of the things I liked about serpentza and laowhy is that they tried to go and poke around in corners of China that they wanted to see, not what the party wanted them to see.

[Randy W]

Notice in Travellight's video that she is imposed upon to retrace a large number of steps for a interview that her host staged with the media. The hosts are generally fairly demanding of their guests. Sites chosen for their promotional value to the hosts are not necessarily relevant to the guest.

[Cale1953]

Notice in Travellight's video that she is imposed upon to retrace a large number of steps for a interview that her host staged with the media. The hosts are generally fairly demanding of their guests. Sites chosen for their promotional value to the hosts are not necessarily relevant to the guest.

Yes. On the other hand she got a luxury tour for free, and it enabled her to post a video that got 1.6 million views, she must have made some money off it.

Its a pretty tough and stressful way to make a living, all we see is a 10 minute professionally crafted video, not the hours of tedious travel to get some place, being herded around by a minder that only wants certain things to be filmed, numerous retakes of shots, and hours of editing.

 

I have a friend who was complaining about these kids supporting their travel by making videos and Patreon.

"In our day we travelled for six months then worked crappy jobs for a year and scrimped and saved to travel for another six months. Not like these kids with you tube and Patreon"

I replied that nobody forced him to watch the videos or contribute to their patreon accounts. Its not an easy stress free lifestyle and I admire those that can pull it off.

[Martin B]

 

Notice in Travellight's video that she is imposed upon to retrace a large number of steps for a interview that her host staged with the media. The hosts are generally fairly demanding of their guests. Sites chosen for their promotional value to the hosts are not necessarily relevant to the guest.

Yes. On the other hand she got a luxury tour for free, and it enabled her to post a video that got 1.6 million views, she must have made some money off it.

Its a pretty tough and stressful way to make a living, all we see is a 10 minute professionally crafted video, not the hours of tedious travel to get some place, being herded around by a minder that only wants certain things to be filmed, numerous retakes of shots, and hours of editing.

 

I have a friend who was complaining about these kids supporting their travel by making videos and Patreon.

"In our day we travelled for six months then worked crappy jobs for a year and scrimped and saved to travel for another six months. Not like these kids with you tube and Patreon"

I replied that nobody forced him to watch the videos or contribute to their patreon accounts. Its not an easy stress free lifestyle and I admire those that can pull it off.

 

 

It's very difficult nowadays to even make side income using YouTube, let alone a full time gig that supports your entire family. Competition is far higher now, ad revenues have dropped, YouTube has gotten more draconian with demonetization and deleting subscribers etc. The big YouTubers out there worked very very hard to achieve their level of success. And they still need to work incredibly hard to sustain their channels and fend off newcomers. It can really become a grind that requires far more than 40 hours a week.

 

I agree with what you said a few posts up that Winston and Laowhy are going to have to find a new niche. They've probably still got some of their 2015-2018 popularity as gas in the tank, but at some point they'll just become another two foreigners ranting about China from abroad and will fall into obscurity. They best thing they could probably do nowadays is to start focusing on another career, getting into health care or IT or something. They've mentioned trying to branch out into other countries but I don't think it'll be a huge success. There are already dozens of established mega-channels dedicated to general travel. It is a very different and much more challenging (and expensive) ball game.

 

These two were literally the perfect guys that came along at the right time, when interest in China was exploding, and they caught lightning in a bottle by being very charismatic & engaging experts on living in China. Things have obviously changed since then.

[Cale1953]

 

 

Notice in Travellight's video that she is imposed upon to retrace a large number of steps for a interview that her host staged with the media. The hosts are generally fairly demanding of their guests. Sites chosen for their promotional value to the hosts are not necessarily relevant to the guest.

Yes. On the other hand she got a luxury tour for free, and it enabled her to post a video that got 1.6 million views, she must have made some money off it.

Its a pretty tough and stressful way to make a living, all we see is a 10 minute professionally crafted video, not the hours of tedious travel to get some place, being herded around by a minder that only wants certain things to be filmed, numerous retakes of shots, and hours of editing.

 

I have a friend who was complaining about these kids supporting their travel by making videos and Patreon.

"In our day we travelled for six months then worked crappy jobs for a year and scrimped and saved to travel for another six months. Not like these kids with you tube and Patreon"

I replied that nobody forced him to watch the videos or contribute to their patreon accounts. Its not an easy stress free lifestyle and I admire those that can pull it off.

 

 

It's very difficult nowadays to even make side income using YouTube, let alone a full time gig that supports your entire family. Competition is far higher now, ad revenues have dropped, YouTube has gotten more draconian with demonetization and deleting subscribers etc. The big YouTubers out there worked very very hard to achieve their level of success. And they still need to work incredibly hard to sustain their channels and fend off newcomers. It can really become a grind that requires far more than 40 hours a week.

 

I agree with what you said a few posts up that Winston and Laowhy are going to have to find a new niche. They've probably still got some of their 2015-2018 popularity as gas in the tank, but at some point they'll just become another two foreigners ranting about China from abroad and will fall into obscurity. They best thing they could probably do nowadays is to start focusing on another career, getting into health care or IT or something. They've mentioned trying to branch out into other countries but I don't think it'll be a huge success. There are already dozens of established mega-channels dedicated to general travel. It is a very different and much more challenging (and expensive) ball game.

 

These two were literally the perfect guys that came along at the right time, when interest in China was exploding, and they caught lightning in a bottle by being very charismatic & engaging experts on living in China. Things have obviously changed since then.

 

The golden age of making money on youtube for regular (non-professional) people is over. Its hard to figure out what people are making, and it is changing so quickly. Winston had a video last month with half a million views and it was demonitized. So he made nothing. On the other hand I see you tubers who are claiming they make enough to keep themselves in cool gadgets and pay their expenses, so I am guessing a few hundred to maybe a thousand per month. Not enough to support yourself let alone a family.

 

I agree those guys hit the sweet spot. So much of life is being in the right place at the right time, we have no control over that, but we think it is all due to us. I wish them well in the future. I wonder what kind of visa Winston is on, I hope he can hang on in the US and I wish the best to his family. I think both of them are decent guys and have a real affection for Chinese people, even if they don't like the CCP, or certain aspects of Chinese culture.

 

This makes me realize that anything that comes out of China now is censored or self-censored. Its always been that way to a certain extent, but it appears to be worse now.

 

Now we will hear from the ex pat pro china shills like Grey Loud ( whom I actually do like). Their voices are legitimate but take with a (very large) grain of salt.

[Martin B]

 

 

 

Notice in Travellight's video that she is imposed upon to retrace a large number of steps for a interview that her host staged with the media. The hosts are generally fairly demanding of their guests. Sites chosen for their promotional value to the hosts are not necessarily relevant to the guest.

Yes. On the other hand she got a luxury tour for free, and it enabled her to post a video that got 1.6 million views, she must have made some money off it.

Its a pretty tough and stressful way to make a living, all we see is a 10 minute professionally crafted video, not the hours of tedious travel to get some place, being herded around by a minder that only wants certain things to be filmed, numerous retakes of shots, and hours of editing.

 

I have a friend who was complaining about these kids supporting their travel by making videos and Patreon.

"In our day we travelled for six months then worked crappy jobs for a year and scrimped and saved to travel for another six months. Not like these kids with you tube and Patreon"

I replied that nobody forced him to watch the videos or contribute to their patreon accounts. Its not an easy stress free lifestyle and I admire those that can pull it off.

 

 

It's very difficult nowadays to even make side income using YouTube, let alone a full time gig that supports your entire family. Competition is far higher now, ad revenues have dropped, YouTube has gotten more draconian with demonetization and deleting subscribers etc. The big YouTubers out there worked very very hard to achieve their level of success. And they still need to work incredibly hard to sustain their channels and fend off newcomers. It can really become a grind that requires far more than 40 hours a week.

 

I agree with what you said a few posts up that Winston and Laowhy are going to have to find a new niche. They've probably still got some of their 2015-2018 popularity as gas in the tank, but at some point they'll just become another two foreigners ranting about China from abroad and will fall into obscurity. They best thing they could probably do nowadays is to start focusing on another career, getting into health care or IT or something. They've mentioned trying to branch out into other countries but I don't think it'll be a huge success. There are already dozens of established mega-channels dedicated to general travel. It is a very different and much more challenging (and expensive) ball game.

 

These two were literally the perfect guys that came along at the right time, when interest in China was exploding, and they caught lightning in a bottle by being very charismatic & engaging experts on living in China. Things have obviously changed since then.

 

The golden age of making money on youtube for regular (non-professional) people is over. Its hard to figure out what people are making, and it is changing so quickly. Winston had a video last month with half a million views and it was demonitized. So he made nothing. On the other hand I see you tubers who are claiming they make enough to keep themselves in cool gadgets and pay their expenses, so I am guessing a few hundred to maybe a thousand per month. Not enough to support yourself let alone a family.

 

I agree those guys hit the sweet spot. So much of life is being in the right place at the right time, we have no control over that, but we think it is all due to us. I wish them well in the future. I wonder what kind of visa Winston is on, I hope he can hang on in the US and I wish the best to his family. I think both of them are decent guys and have a real affection for Chinese people, even if they don't like the CCP, or certain aspects of Chinese culture.

 

This makes me realize that anything that comes out of China now is censored or self-censored. Its always been that way to a certain extent, but it appears to be worse now.

 

Now we will hear from the ex pat pro china shills like Grey Loud ( whom I actually do like). Their voices are legitimate but take with a (very large) grain of salt.

 

 

I believe Laowhy has a "media company" of some sort - the consensus seems to be that Winston is here on some sort talent or work visa. His kid was born in the US but that won't do him any good until the kid is 18 (if the US still allows sponsoring parents by then...) Either that or he came on a tourist visa with the intent of overstaying.

 

I loved Gweilo60's older videos. He also has a great, original niche - being a retired older guy living in a T2/T3 city. But ever since he came back to China last year his videos have been for the most part, unbearable. Really a shame.

 

His earlier video comments were mostly western guys married to Chinese women, now it's all a bunch of wumao ...

Edited March 14, 2020 by Barfus (see edit history)

[Randy W]

 

 

 

 

 

Then there's this guy - How YouTube's PewDiePie Made $12 Million This Year Despite Racist Videos

 

 

 

PewDiePie and buddies listed here (NOT really recommended reading, unless you have a stomach for it) - from the SCMP

 

 

 

Why a YouTube toy reviewer, aged 7, earns US$22 million – more than 9 other top-ranked YouTube influencers

• The youngster, known for his Ryan ToysReview channel, has more than 18 million followers, but who else is in the top 10?

 

 

 

Some of the car YouTubers such as Jay Leno and Doug DeMuro also earn in the millions. The lawyer Steve Lehto generates an average one video every day while holding down his day job, but I'm not sure how much he earns from it.

 

But our China boys are nowhere near in that territory. I'm sure they're just barely eking out a living for now, and that it's less than what they were earning in China.

 

I imagine they had visions of becoming the Jeraldo Rivera of China