If you’re a millennial, a generation-Zer
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
A millennial or a generation-Zer:
"Un millennial o un membro della Generazione Z". Anche se non esiste una denominazione ufficiale, i millennials sono i ragazzi nati tra l’inizio degli anni ‘80 e l’anno 2000. Sono conosciuti anche come Generazione Y, si tratta di giovani completamente digitalizzati e con un’enorme presenza sui social (heavy users). Per logica alfabetica, a questi segue la Generazione Z, i cui membri sono nativi digitali, cioè nati e cresciuti con (e spesso grazie a) internet dalla seconda metà degli anni ‘90.
or the parent
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parent:
genitore (padre o madre)
of one, you’ll know all about them: those ‘youtubers’ that spend their days playing video games and commentating on what they’re doing. While this may not sound like a productive way to pass the time, for a handful
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handful:
pugno
of ‘Let’s players’ (LPs) – gamers
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gamer:
giocatori di videogiochi
that record themselves playing video games on YouTube and who comment on what they’re doing – the rewards are huge
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the rewards are huge:
le ricompense sono enormi
. These youngsters
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youngsters:
ragazzi
are gaining millions of followers, and, in some cases, making millions of dollars as well. It’s a gaming enthusiast’s dream come true
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a dream come true:
un sogno che si realizza
.
PRANKS
It is not just gaming, either
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it is not just gaming, either:
ma non sono solo viedogiochi
r. Some youtubers become famous for the pranks they pull on their friends
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
Some youtubers become famous for the pranks they pull on their friend:
"Alcuni youtuber diventano famosi per gli scherzi che fanno ai loro amici". Una ‘battuta’ o una ‘barzelletta’ è a joke, mentre a prank è ‘uno scherzo’, ciò significa che comprende una componente pratica. Perciò to pull a prank si può tradurre con ‘fare uno scherzo’.
. Others do sports challenges or scientific experiments. Then there are those who broadcast
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broadcast:
trasmettono
everyday things like making breakfast or playing a board game
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board game:
gioco da tavolo
with their family.
FORBES RECOGNITION
The most popular youtubers turn gaming into a business. So successful are they, that American business magazine Forbes now publishes the YouTube rich list. In the last list at the time of writing, half of the top ten were LPs. Six were newcomers
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newcomers:
nuovi arrivati
who entertain with videos. Together, they earned
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earned:
hanno guadagnato
€106 million.
ADVERTISING
It may not be immediately obvious how online gaming and home videos translate into dollars. Basically, most of it comes from advertising revenue
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advertising revenue:
proventi della pubblicità
. The more views a video gets, the more ad dollars the youtuber receives. As they become more famous, they get better content deals
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deals:
accordi
. The Google Preferred program creates packages of its most popular channels for advertisers, paying lucrative rates
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rates:
tariffe
to its members. The more sophisticated youtubers sell merchandising and promote themselves off-screen too, with tours and events.
THE GENERATION GAME
So what is the fascination with watching these youngsters play video games online? After all, their commentary is not especially witty
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witty:
ingegnoso
or sophisticated. The best LPs are admired for their gaming skills, much like watching sports on TV. Followers can also pick up useful tips
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pick up useful tips:
imparano trucchi utili
and strategies for their own games. What is certain is that the most popular LPs can seriously boost
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boost:
stimolano
the sales of video games.
PLAYING TO THE PUBLIC
More important, perhaps, is the fact that these youtubers connect on an instinctive level with their audience, in their native internet environment. They are like one of their friends online. In a society with diminishing
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diminishing:
in calo
social contact, many followers feel a connection with their favourite gamers. Regular video uploads and live streams
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live streams:
trasmissioni live
can make them feel like an actual
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actual:
vero
friend.
AN APOLOGY
The gamers themselves tend to be young millennials, too, growing up together with their audience. They are having to learn that, with great influence, comes responsibility. Swedish gamer PewDiePie, for example, felt the consequences of that responsibility when he made some racist comments last year. He dropped
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dropped:
è sceso
to number six in the rankings and Google pulled him out
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pulled him out:
o hanno espulso
of its Preferred program. As a vlogger
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vlogger:
vlogger
committed to
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committed to:
involucrato con
his sixty-two million fans, he posted an apology
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apology:
scusa
. “I’m really sorry if I offended, hurt or disappointed
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hurt or disappointed:
ferito o deluso
anyone with all of this. Being in the position I am, I should know better
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I should know better:
dovrei saperlo bene
,” he said. “I owe
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to owe:
dovere
it to my audience and myself to do better than this.”
secrets of the trade
YouTube is full of gaming videos. You can watch the masters at work
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the masters at work:
i maestri in azione
in Minecraft or pick up tips on games like Fortnite. However, the top gamers also use YouTube to talk to their fans. When DanTDM first reached
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first reached:
arrivò ai primi
eighteen million subscribers, he was ecstatic
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ecstatic:
euforico
. He immediately sent out a message to his followers.
DanTDM (English accent): We did it! We did it! We made it to eighteen million subscribers! That is absolutely insane
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insane:
folle
!
CONNECTING PEOPLE
He was quick to praise
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praise:
elogiare
his fans, declaring he felt a connection with them beyond a shared love of gaming.
DanTDM: I just feel like we’re on a great level together, where we properly connect every single day
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every single day:
ogni giorno
. I feel like, through the silly
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silly:
stupidi
videos that I make, whether it’s pretending to be a baby in VR
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VR:
realtà virtuale (virtual reality)
or playing The Escapist or doing a stream, I just feel like there’s that connection every single time.
GOOD ADVICE
Another big league
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big league:
di serie A
gamer, PewDiePie, offered advice to his fans on how to get started on YouTube. One of the key things, he said, is to find ways of promoting yourself.
PewDiePie (mild Swedish accent): Market yourself
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market yourself:
vendetevi
. Most youtubers that you are watching got a helping hand
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a helping hand:
una mano, un aiuto
to get where they are. Maybe they don’t admit it. Maybe I’m just wrong. Most youtubers had some helping hand ... The hardest part of YouTube is to establish your very first audience.
FOR LOVE NOT MONEY
He also says that it is important you do it for the right reasons. The most successful youtubers are those who do it because they love it.
PewDiePie: Make YouTube with the right intention
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the right intention:
buone intenzioni
. I see so many people wanting to make YouTube videos because they want to get famous, they want to make money, which is all great stuff. And YouTube really is an amazing place for that, but make YouTube videos because you enjoy making them.
DEDICATION
Success does come at a price
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does come at a price:
ha un prezzo
. As a full-time youtuber, PewDiePie offers a word of warning to those starting out
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starting out:
iniziando
.
PewDiePie: YouTube is a hobby and a job at the same time, which can be really hard to balance
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balance:
equilibrare
. I think a lot of people don’t realize this, but you get to set your own hours
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set your own hours:
stabilire i tuoi orari
, you get to set your own pace
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pace:
ritmo
. But it basically means you’ll be working 24/7
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24/7:
tutto il giorno (lett. 24 ore al giorno, sette giorni su sette)
. It’s really hard to turn off
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turn off:
staccare, scollegare
YouTube in your brain … I guess my advice here is to try and separate it. I treat YouTube with a lot of respect, because I feel so lucky to be in the situation that I am.
CHANGING THE WORLD
DanTDM feels the same. He’s in the fortunate position of making a living out of
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to make a living out of:
guadagnarsi la vita con
doing what he loves to do. He even claims they’re somehow changing the world! Once again, he acknowledges
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acknowledges:
ringrazia
his fans with a heart-felt
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heart-felt:
sentito
message.
DanTDM: I honestly feel like one of the luckiest people in the world and I know that sounds cliché but it’s so true! I get to do something I love every single day and that is all thanks to you guys
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you guys:
voi ragazzi
, because, if you didn’t watch my videos, I wouldn’t be able to do this on such a grand scale
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on such a grand scale:
a un ivello così alto
. We wouldn’t be able to change the world together, wouldn’t be able to do the big things that we do and we won’t be able to hang out together
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to hang out together:
divertirsi insieme
, which I kind of like.