Casey Neistat
The internet is abuzz with "news" that YouTuber Casey Neistat ended his popular daily blog, which in just 18 months, had amassed nearly 6 million subscribers, and then sold out, sorry, then sold his social media app BEME, to CNN for $25 Million.
Basically, CNN bought Casey Neistat.
THEY NOW OWN HIM.
I've been a fan of Casey Neistat long before YouTube even existed.
Neistat and his brother used to produce a show on HBO titled "The Neistat Brothers."
As someone who also began doing videos long before YouTube (since 1995), I really enjoyed Casey Neistat's work.
And I respected his climb as a filmmaker, moving to NYC early on, and living on welfare, in a small apartment where he could barely open his futon/bed.
One of my favorite short videos by Casey Neistat was
"iPod's Dirty Secret", a 2 minute 38 second short film Neistat produced in 2003, about Apple cheating customers by equipping their iPods with an irreplaceable sub par battery which only lasted about a year on average, before going bad, and as a result rendering the iPod useless.
In other words, a nice way for Apple to force customers to have to buy another iPod.
In the video, Casey Neistat places a call to Apple where a rep tells Neistat that Apple charges a $255 fee to refurbish the iPod.
The Apple rep then nonchalantly tells Neistat that for that price, he should just buy a new iPod.
After the video went viral, Apple made changes, replacing the batteries on their iPods.
Now that's powerful.
That's the sort of power video has.
The power to expose.
The power to bring change.
And that's what Casey Neistat did.
Expose a corporate America scam.
Another favorite of mine is Casey Neistat's "Bike Lanes", in which Casey Neistat exposes the NYPD's revenue generating ticket scam where they fine bicyclists (taxpayers) for not staying in designated bike lanes.
ANOTHER SCAM.
In the video, Casey Neistat shows just hard it is to commute on bike in New York City.
And Neistat does it in an impactful, yet humorous way.
In one scene, Neistat, showing all the obstacles that bicyclists in New York City face, Casey runs into an NYPD cruiser, which is blocking a bike lane.
Again, a perfect example of using video to not only entertain, but expose.
But that was then.
Long before Casey Neistat sold out.
As a police accountability activist, if there's one thing I despise as much as dirty, rogue cops, it's fakes and hypocrites.
Casey Neistat sold out to the very same corporate America establishment which he, in large part, made a name for himself criticizing and standing up to.
He sold out to the very same system he referred to on his vlog as being "evil."
And in my book that's a fucking hypocrite.
About a year and a half ago, Casey Neistat began his daily YouTube vlog.
Neistat's vlog, which averaged about 10 minutes in length, lacked any real substance.
Each vlog began looking the same.
A narcissistic Casey Neistat flaunting his endless gifts from fans in a segment titled "Mail Time."
A miserable, controlling wife who clearly didn't give two shits about his passion for making videos.
And corporations shiwerong him
with gifts such as free international flights, electronics, skateboards, and other promotional items.
You see, in many ways, corporations began using Casey Neistat to promote their products to his viewers.
And he obliged.
Money and free stuff has a certain way of making people do things.
Which is why I wasn't surprised that in the end Casey Neistat sold out to corporate America-run mainstream news media giant, CNN.
Because I, unlike his brainwashed fans, knew something they didn't.
Casey Neistat sold out a long time ago.
He just didn't have the respect or the cojones to tell his loyal fans that he sold out.
HOLDING COPS ACCOUNTABLE...
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