Role Model

J.: Look, don't you want to get anywhere? Time is passing!

M.: There's nothing I hate worse than marketing!

J.: This is something that can be done!

M.: (Frackin' ambition.... But one must admit, it's a good role model):

A Modesto woman has won $35,000 and a trip to New York because of her entertaining and creative YouTube videos.

Meghan Camarena, known as Strawburry17 on YouTube, is one of 25 people selected nationwide to be a part of the Web site's first NextUp program. As part of her New York trip, she will attend YouTube Creator Camp, where she will receive mentoring to improve her skills.

Camarena started making YouTube videos in 2008 when her parents got her a camera. She began by asking record labels and artists for permission to use their music to make her videos, then started lip-syncing to their songs, with her brother dancing in the background.

She has had 16 million views of her videos and 3 million people look at her YouTube channel. She has 100,000 subscribers who get updates on her new videos. She got her biggest boost in viewers when YouTube featured her on the front page for a few days in February 2009.

...Camarena has been so successful at YouTube that it has become her full-time job. She is a partner in the Web site and makes money from ads placed on her videos. She also makes money by selling her work on iTunes.

A friend taught her the basics of video editing — the rest she taught herself. An online fan gave her a free Macbook that was loaded with Adobe Premiere Pro video-editing software.