Have you ever heard the name Valenti Sanjuan? Neither had I prior to Monday’s class. Sanjuan is a great example of the new forms of journalism that is capable of being produced on the Web 2.0 Web 2.0’s main feature is user-generated content and Sanjuan does just this.
In order to truly understand how Valenti Sanjuan got to where he is today, it is important to note his background. He originally worked for Catalunya Radio and after his contract was not renewed with the radio station, there was an opportunity for him. This opening in his life was the perfect opportunity for him to find something new to do that filled this void and that he truly enjoyed doing. Additionally at this time, the media had been damaged so due to this, he had to do something different and reinvent himself.
This is where the Web 2.0 comes in and Valenti Sanjuan begun to produce user-generated content. His first project was called “Visto Lo Visto” which was a late night show. This was produced and streamed live on YouTube to followers. Sanjuan and his partner used the popularity of social networks to their advantage and began to integrate the show with social networks. For example, he explains how they would invite popular “instagrammers” with a lot of followers onto the set in order to Instagram pictures of what was currently occurring. They hoped that this, in turn, would lead to more people beginning to watch the show on YouTube. Although Sanjuan ultimately received multiple offers to bring his show to actual television, he turned it down because his form of user-generated content had an advantage. It was accessible at all times and additionally, they were drawing in various advertisers because advertising with them was much cheaper and more direct in terms of reaching targets.
Sanjuan’s innovative idea has been used by other people in society as some people may be familiar with Joseph Gordon Levitt. He has created his own YouTube show that is streamed live and of course, has a large following due to his previous celebrity status and success.
As technically has progressed along with time, Sanjuan has advanced his projects to a different line of work. He now, due to his internet popularity and following, has been able to create his own audience, channel and brand. This has led to the possibility for him to create his own type of show in the form of documentary. This show follows Sanjuan as he races in insane 4-day long marathons that are like nothing you could ever imagine being involved in and additionally in different settings around the world such as deserts and snowy mountains. This is all made possible not only due to his following and the Web 2.0 but also simply because of his small tool of a camera, called a GoPro, that enables him to film himself. This is an advantage as he does not need to hire people to film him and he receives good quality footage from a small tool with minimal effort. Sanjuan has become such a success that he receives 2.5 million views per week. This is absolutely crazy but he has such a following and produces great content that audiences love so props to him!
all around the world 