Here's a link to a blog about how things are connected on the net using Loading Ready Run and Thatguywiththeglasses.com as talking points, but if you can't or don't want to access the link, I'll post it long form here:
Geek Rant 17: Internet Interconnectivity
I'm going to complain for a few moments, but after this little history lesson, you'll see my point
Once Upon a time, two young adults named Graham Stark and Paul Saunders situated in Canada decided to gather a group of their friends and make sketch comedy once a week. They have been doing this once a week consistently for... wow, seven years now. The website is called Loading Ready Run. Graham and Paul, along with a semi-rotating cast of friends have been doing this since 2003. They've also done a few live shows around Canada.
In 2008, Graham and Paul created a Mystery Science Theatre 3000-like show called Unskippable where they made fun of video game cutscenes that are too long and were hosted by The Escapist Magazine, an online gaming news/review/commentary website. In 2010 Loading Ready Run proper was picked up by The Escapist. Also in 2010 for The Escapist they began a show called The Daily Drop where they have dropping objects and the drop is slowed down by a high speed camera. They have been doing these videos weekly without fail, and the Daily Drop daily without fail. Additionally, within the weekly Loading Ready Run they have commodoreHUSTLE, a mini sitcom about selfish exaggerated versions of the main Loading Ready Run cast. Furthermore from 2009 to 2011 the did a fake comedy news show called the Escapist News Network, a show that made fun of video games in the style of a news channel and just recently they have rekindled their fake news network efforts with Checkpoint on Penny Arcade TV.
And in 2007, they began their annual charity drive, Desert Bus for Hope where Loading Ready Run plays the world's worst and most boring game nonstop while doing funny things per request of viewers on a live streamed video. They then give the money to the Child's Play charity established the creators of the webcomic Penny Arcade.
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Once Upon a sooner time, Doug Walker of Chicago, Illinois had something of a mid-life crisis involving nostalgia and to strike back at the past, he invented an angry and bitter and loud persona named the Nostalgia Critic that had a go at all the old shows from the 90s and 90s we thought was good and godly when we were kids and we realized that it was bad. He also made 5 second movies, and He made a crazed hobo persona, Chester A. Bum, that reviewed current movies, and a sadistic psychotic "gentleman"who answered questions in a sick and wrong manner known only as Ask That Guy. This began in 2007.
In 2008, Doug Walker, his brother, and his web and financially savvy friends created a website called That Guy With The Glasses.com and became an overarching production company called Channel Awesome where they gathered a small assortment of people who also did reviews or entertainment reviews over the internet of other geeky media who either were already well known like The Spoony One the film and video game reviewer who also started in 2007 but before Doug, or gained their fame from the website like Linkara the comic book reviewer among others. They currently have over 35 regular contributors and associates including the Internet famous Angry Video Game Nerd. The Website has garnered contributors from Oceania, Europe, and North America. Their contributor base is so large they've separated them into separate teams, Inked Reality the anime, cartoon, and comic reviewers; Blistered Thumbs for the video game reviewers which has become it's own website; and Team TGWTG for everyone else (Movie and Music reviewers primarily as well as everything else that doesn't fit into a neat category.).
Every year as many of them as possible gather together to make a movie to celebrate the anniversary of the website. They just recently returned from Chicago for their 3rd year anniversary. Additionally in 2009 they had a charity drive for the Ronald McDonald House charity and they did it again in 2010. Furthermore, after they got their website and moved their videos from youtube to blip, Doug Walker was able to make enough money based on ad revenue to quit his day job and make doing videos for TGWTG.com as his career and the other contributors are essentially moonlighting for what seems like decent money.
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Now why did I explain this? Well guess which one is the more well known among the internet? I'll give you a hint, it's not the guys who are literally older than YouTube. The sad thing is that I had never even heard of Loading Ready Run until just this past August, yet I heard of The Nostalgia Critic et al. a few months after they came up.
How did this happen? How did the geeky sketch comedians who have been working out of pocket longer than they have been getting paid for their work be significantly be less well known in comparison to the now large and almost over encompassing Nostalgia critic and company who are making good money off of their enterprise? Both groups are hilarious, both groups have a lot of stuff that's hit or miss and both groups have things that are not for everyone. What happened?
I have a few theories.
1) It's What They Do
This is the biggest reason. Everything else is window dressing and qualifiers so that I make sure I covered everything but this is the biggest one.
The Nostalgia Critic and et al. are derivative humorists. They make you laugh by making fun of something you already know about or want to know about. Or in the case of some of the contributors who want to be serious reviewers, they are providing their perspective on something you might be interested in. Basically, if you're looking into something you're interested, chances are you'll find one of these guys, perhaps find them funny, tell your friends, the cycle continues.
Loading Ready Runs done the occasional parody or they do game humor but really, nothing specific, and since they cover all sorts of humor and topics each week there's very little you can find them by unless you're explicitly searching for something about the Commodore 64 (the old computer game system Loading Ready Run bases a lot of their music and visual stylings from.) or you're looking for sketch comedians specifically. I mean from what I understand people loved Unskippable and those that did were blissfully unaware of Loading Ready Run or just didn't care about it. And on Talk Like A Pirate Day, people spread around their hilarious "How To Talk like a Pirate" video but viewers seem to be willingly unaware of the website forcing it's name and web address into the beginning of the video despite viewers asking for more funny stuff like it.
2) It's Who They Know
Loading Ready Run is on the website The Escapist, where the Escapist's claim to fame is the English-Aussie fast talking trash talking nitpicky video game reviewer who is known for his unusual style and harsh reviews named Yahtzee and his show Zero Punctuation. This is probably almost all The Escapist is known for. People go there for a few things and that's it, Unless someone points you in a certain direction or you're feeling adventurous, you're not going to find Loading Ready Run all that fast. I sure didn't until I decided to feel adventurous one day. It's not like they referenced each other often or had crossovers or anything like that.
The Nostalgia Critic et al. practically had a huge network to work from. I mean first of all, you had him starting out with a small group of contributors who had their own small amount of fans. Then he had a mini-"rivalry" with the already internet famous old video game "reviewer" The Angry Video Game Nerd who had been doing his thing since 2004. They crossed over a few times in fake fights which ended in an all out Video Gamers versus Critics brawl in the TGWTG.com's year 1 anniversary which by then the TGWTG.com had gathered a modest amount of contributors, enough to cover almost every reviewing niche. And these contributors brought their own friends who told their friends, and the Angry Video Game Nerd's fans told their friends and the empire just grew.
Furthermore, because TGWTG.com is like one big happy family, cameos, and inter video jokes are frequent and during get-together crossovers are abound. Who exactly does Loading Ready Run have crossovers with?
Do they need to do that? of course not, it would take away from their already excellent videos, I'm just taking note but really, no one on the Escapist is open for that sort of thing besides the occasional shout out and plug to one another and really only when it's relevant to the video they're doing .
3) It's Where They Are
Canada, the hat of the United States that is simply known for maple leaves, maple syrup, beavers, hockey, snow, lumberjacks, Mounties, and being not as interesting as the United States. Oh and a lot of Lifetime movies are filmed there, I did not see that coming.
The United States. I think those two words say enough, it's just the United States, the self-important policing country of crazy people with views so polarizing they practically screw themselves over while they try and fail to not screw the rest of the world over.
Everyone knows about The United States.
Few people remember Canada is even there.
My poor logic therefore states that people will know about the Nostalgia Critic et al.
And Few people will remember Loading Ready Run is even there.
And That's terrible.
4) It's How They Are
A lot of the things on the TGWTG.com, following the Nostalgia Critic mold, tend to be yelling or angry, or start out as such or are well known for their louder or angrier reviews, especially if it's of something people like, becuase controversy sells, even if it's fake or used for mostly comedy.
Loading Ready Run is friendly. These guys aren't controversial or mean-spirited, they just make eccentric sketch comedies each week. The moat mean-spirited they've been was that one time they made a whole video about how much Uwe Boll (German movie director known for making bad movies based on beloved video games) sucks, or the video where they make fun of the people who make the -Movie movies (Epic Movie, Scary Movie, Meet The Spartans, Vampires Suck, etc.). They're almost piggy backing on the fame of their meaner and more controversial associates on the Escapist i.e. Yahztee and MovieBob. Their modesty really puts their video about Canadians and apologizing into a strange light.
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So What is the issue here?
I guess it's just taking a look at the fascinating difference between the internet and television. While TV has commercials so you can hear about other shows to check out as well as ads in other media, webshows tend not to have that sort of luxury. Everything usually done cheap to maximize their meager profit so advertising is not the biggest priority. This means everything is communicated via word of mouth, or in some cases, some random guy gives a link to some friends and acquaintances in a message board thread. Unless you're looking for something specific or someone points something about to you, everything will remain in obscurity.
I mean would unless you were a regular on Drunkdunk.com, would you even know of Charby The Vampirate, probably one of the greatest webcomics ever? I surely wouldn't have until I was told about it directly. You think anyone would cared about how funny and well written I'm A Marvel and I'm a DC and all it's skits and stories if they used anything but superhero figurines?
And I suppose it's the hands of fate that determine what gets know and what doesn't when it comes to the internet. Doesn't matter how talented or funny you are, if few people are seeing you, you're not going anywhere. And I suppose I'm mostly jaded because I love Loading Ready Run and find that they should about as big as The Nostalgia Critic or TGWTG.com and they're not.
Oh well, that's life I suppose.
-Good Bye, Good Luck, and Imagination Is Your Greatest Power.
Mousa The 14
